The song that tells the brutal history of tea workers

Coke Studio Bangla has released ‘Mulluk’, a new song by the band Meghdol, featuring performances by Ranju Tanti and Ranjit Tanti. The song draws attention to the long history of exploitation and struggle among tea workers.

The song is rooted in the ‘Muluke Cholo’ movement of 1920-21. During British rule, thousands of workers were brought to tea gardens in Assam and the Sylhet region from areas including Chotanagpur, Santal Pargana, Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, often with false promises.

Although they were reportedly brought under three-year contracts, many workers could not return home for years. Low wages, harsh working conditions and poor living standards gradually fuelled discontent. The workers eventually launched the ‘Muluke Cholo’ movement, demanding fair wages and the right to return home.

In 1921, around 750 workers from Anipur Tea Garden began their journey home with their wives and children. Workers from other tea gardens soon joined them, swelling the movement to several thousand.

The workers walked to Karimganj railway station, but railway authorities stopped issuing tickets reportedly under pressure from tea garden owners. Many then continued their journey on foot towards Chandpur, which was an important port for travel from the Sylhet region to Bihar and Odisha at the time.

Thousands of workers reached Chandpur in May 1921, where they faced further obstruction. Armed forces attacked the workers, leaving many men, women and children dead or injured. The following day, workers who remained at Chandpur railway station were attacked again.

The violent crackdown became a dark chapter in the history of tea workers, though it received little attention for decades. ‘Mulluk’ revisits that history and connects it with the continuing struggles of tea workers for dignity and fair wages.

The song was written and composed by Meghdol vocalist Shibu Kumar Shil, with musical arrangement by the band. Rashid Sharif Shoeb and Amzad Hossain handled the mixing and mastering.

The song also incorporates the traditional tea-worker folk song ‘Pinjrar Pusul Moyna’, collected from a tea garden in Sreemangal by singer Moushumi Bhowmik.

Shil said ‘Mulluk’ is a tribute to tea workers who have carried the legacy of exploitation from the colonial era to the present, linking the 1921 ‘Muluke Cholo’ movement with today’s wage struggles.

The music video was directed by Krishnendu Chattopadhyay and features members of Meghdol alongside Ranju Tanti and Ranjit Tanti.

SKS