A Historical understanding of the Bidi Industry and the Political Upheaval it suffers

In conversation with Pranay Lal

Bidi is just a little older than India’s colonial resistance. Since its inception bidi has had a deeply political significance. The most common historico-political facts emerging in the conversations we had with our team partners and community workers in Tirupattur, Vellore and Delhi in the sphere of tobacco control was that it was the ‘poor man’s cigarette’- it was affordable, easily accessible, easily lighted and smoked. The way it was political is that led to a community building which was a mode of resistance against colonial powers. Since it was ‘made in India’, it brought communities together to destabilise the prominence cigarettes and other western products had gained that also led to emboldening caste and class differences. Bidi also became a mode to dilute these differences. Since it was so cheap, people of all castes and classes would smoke it, often together to celebrate a shared patriotism and spirit of freedom, sometimes alone in the confines of their households (which showcased their status in the society) with the permanent awareness that different people, regardless of their caste, class or creed were smoking this product and were intimately connected to this land. 

In a conversation with Pranay Lal, I stumbled upon a new understanding about the kinds of emotional connect people across generations have developed towards bidis and some core, undetachable ideas associated with the bidi industry. Sitting in his office, with Pranay sir mapping out the history of bidi in colonial and post-colonial India on the white expanse of his writing board I learned that bidi as a commercial product gathered a unique history in each different state it entered. This uniqueness was defined by the reasons bidi barons chose a certain state to grow their business, the reasons why they would leave certain states and the way they selected the bidi rollers.

Mr. Pranay Lal is Senior Technical Advisor at the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) in Delhi, an expert in Public Health and environment and a biochemist. He is also renowned for his book Indica: A Deep History of the Indian Subcontinent which explores India’s geological history and ecological past. He has researched intensely in this field and kindly offered to share his thoughts and materials with us.

Till 1907 there was no regular bidi making in India, though there are records of Tendu patta being exported in different parts of the country. The very first cigarette company in India was established in 1910, and one of the first beedi brands came into existence then as well.The father of modern bidi Mohanlal Patel and Harigovindas perpetuated the growth of this job near Jabalpur where Tendu leaves were found in plenty. It was a new discovery to see tendu leaf roll so well with tobacco flakes in it that the brothers achieved immense popularity. Nagpur-Jabalpur was the first hub for bidi making, Bombay-Pune was the second hub and accidental in its existence as one. Bombay and Pune were colossal centres for textile production, the textile trade began blooming there post-independence and handlooms and the operators began to be replaced by powerlooms and industrial looms from Manchester. Displaced by an industrialising nation that cared more for mechanically increased production of textiles, they took up bidi rolling that was spreading as a job opportunity from western India. Ahmedabad, Bombay, the renowned centres for handloom art began dwindling in their status for it. A few machines making huge yards of cloth ousted the old traditions of hand work. Their art had habituated them to a quickness of hand so rolling of the bidis was not something very challenging for them. They gradually adopted bidi rolling.

From 1910-1940 the trade began to proliferate towards the south in Andhra and East in West Bengal. Though the bidi barons weren’t known for providing a sense of constancy, they would shift their trades to neighbouring states from those states that began to get richer. In just a matter of few days they would desert several communities and villages and overnight shift to another state where poverty was severe so they could continue to get beedis produced at very low prices and consume the profits. Aurangabad in Maharashtra used to a massive hub for bidi rolling, it employed a big population of poverty stricken communities, though later this hub was abandoned by the bidi barons- they decided to walk out and migrate to poorer places to earn more profits, thus scattering lots of people and families in a matter of few days. So many depended on the industry for survival- even though the pay per bidi bundle was really low they amassed plenty with their adept hands to earn a living. What would happen to these communities after the bidi barons left? Aurangabad is one of the richest cities of Maharashtra now, there is very little poverty in villages. The people coped without the bidi barons, they evolved in terms of their conditions as workers, found alternatives for themselves because a sudden crisis of job was staring back at them.There was no mass-migration, or mass-suicide. What happened to the rollers? Pranay Lal put forth a cardinal idea at this point: If you want to keep a place poor, you give them bidi rolling. Bidi industry migrates to lowest adult wage and lacks labour standards they desert places and go to places worse off. 

Carving their path into poorer areas, the bidi barons began trudging towards the Southern India, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, even Orissa and towards the East in West Bengal. Pranay Sir painted this thought image: 4 million people killing(people who make tobacco) 1.3 billion people (people who consume tobacco), and the ones who have the potential to make some groundbreaking changes in this structure are policy makes and politicians. If you are a lifelong user of tobacco, then half of the people who consume tobacco will die of tobacco related diseases. Instead of actively working against tobacco which kills health and economy, what some politicians indulge in is setting up bidi factories and expanding this trade to get richer. The political grip on the biggest bidi-rolling states, especially in Maharashtra and West Bengal is dark and unapproachable. The mere act of suggesting alternative livelihoods puts one’s life in danger. It’s a morbid reality: bidi is the poor man’s smoking product, they consume it endlessly since it is affordable for them but at the same time it is eating up their health, and the bidi industries and certain politicians devour their money and their labour. Our project wants to touch upon all these issues and work towards supporting the liberation of those workers who feel trapped in such an industry.