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current of pain and pas- sion ran through the protest site outside the Darjeeling district magistrate's office this spring. When I arrived on April 3, a hunger strike had already been going on for a week. For the seven strikers putting starvation on the line, it was a continuation of suffering that goes back years. Shortly after I ducked under Buddhist holy cloths demarcating a quarantine zone for the weak- ened strikers, the skies opened, bringing down rain and then hailstones. Later came the awe- inspiring lightning from which Darjeeling (literally "Land of the Thunderbolt") derived its name. It was the first rain the drought- stricken region had received in five months. Despite the clatter and significance of the storm, the strikers barely moved, too debilitated by hunger to speak, their mouths covered with masks to prevent the spread of illness that had begun amongst them. The reasons for this strike, like many others that have come before it, were multi-layered and held the residue of Britain's establishment of plantation-style tea production centuries ago. However, the protest was also tied to more recent history involv- ing secession, arson, bloodshed … and television. ᜶7+(< &28/' :,1 *25.+$/$1' Without knowing it, I had witnessed a phenomenon leading toward the hunger strike five years earlier. During my first visit to Darjeeling, in 2007, my journey between two tea estates was blocked by a protest. I found a participant who spoke some English and asked her to explain the purpose of the demonstration. She looked perplexed for a moment. Then she smiled and said, "I don't know." Later, I learned that the protests (and a number of petitions, collection funds and other campaigns) actually had to do with "Indian Idol," the enormously popular Indian version of "American Idol." Sanjay Biswas, senior political reporter at Darjeeling's Hindi-language newspaper, later explained that the protests went deeper than just reality TV. "The people of Darjeeling thought that if they could win the contest on TV, they could win indepen- dent statehood," he says. "They could win Gorkhaland." And win Gorkhaland they did. The movement for Gorkhaland independence from the state of West Bengal in recent years veered toward more extreme measures, including the burning of several government buildings and the alleged assassination of an oppos- ing political leader. In April 2011, the Indian government granted a greater level of political autonomy to the hills of West Bengal, and a calmer political era commenced. AILING WORKERS: The majority of the Darjeeling hunger strikers wore germ masks to stave off disease, yet several still developed illnesses in their weakened state. By that time, revolutionary sentiments had taken hold among tea workers. A group known as the Darjeeling Terai Dooars Plantation Labor Union (DTDPL) formed under the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) political party. The union demanded that daily wages for tea workers be raised from 67 rupees (about $1.20) per day to 120 rupees (about $2.15). Unlike the more radi- cal GJM, the union was committed to using Gandhiwadi—peace- ful non-cooperation tactics inspired by Mahatma Gandhi. The efforts included petitions and a refusal to pay taxes. The union enacted a tea embargo that ran through much of March 2011, blocking the transport of first-flush tea samples to prospective buyers and halting the sale of Darjeeling's most expensive, most awaited and quickest-to-spoil tea. Some international buyers sourced replacement teas from Nepal, while others reduced or canceled orders. According to Darjeeling tea consultant Nalin Modha, union leaders "knew this was the golden time, when owners could not hold out." After eight rounds of negotiations, the Darjeeling Tea Association (a league of Darjeeling tea estate owners) and DTDPL agreed to raise daily wages to 90 rupees (about $1.60)—the highest-ever wage jump in Darjeeling. (9$/8$7,1* :25.(5 75($70(17 But workers in Darjeeling have developed demands that go beyond mere wage numbers—"kindnesses" such as medical care and housing are now a major issue as well. Traditionally, it has been up to plantations to provide a basic level of services, and according to Modha, "With kindness measures, fighting will go on. Workers will say kindness is not up to the mark, and managers will say it is." Some people in Darjeeling estimate the value of housing and other services at a mere 40 rupees (about $0.70) per day, while others say it's worth 180 rupees (about $3.25) per day. To understand this aspect of Darjeeling's plantation system continued on page 44 freshcup.com July 2012 43