Exploitation And Economy: The Coal Industry OfColonial Assam

Abstract

Assam's nineteenth-century industrial development was primarily associated with the British colonial strategies, which were mainly identified by strategies involving resource extraction for British economic interests. The discovery of coal in Assam by Lieutenant Wilcox in 1825 attracted significant interest because of its utility in steam navigation. David Scott tried to use the local coal for steam vessels but large-scale development was not taken up until the Assam Company started extracting coal for the burgeoning tea industry in the 1830s. Transport drawbacks, political strife, and workforce shortages all upset these proceedings. In 1882, the Assam Railways and Trading Company began major coal mining activities with railway links connecting the coalfields. Labor and logistical issues notwithstanding, Assam's coal mining industry started contributing large and significant margins to regional economics. So, this paper primarily explored the discovery of Coal, its development along with the British exploitation policies in Colonial Assam. This paper also looked at the ecological and demographical impact of the Coal industry in Colonial Assam.