BEEDI

The poor-man’s way

(Photo: taken by me at MICA)

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 Introduction

Before tracing back, a thing or person’s history, or before finding
the common parlance, it’s important for us to recollect our first
encounter with the subject. The rustic smell of beedi has always
enticed me and ever so beedi brings me back stories of a man who
smoked a lot around my neighbourhood when I was a child. I would
wake up every day and count the number of buds around the space
between his and our house which always kept on increasing. Being
raised in a state where Beedi is produced and exported in large
quantities, and with all the experiences around it, this project gives me
a chance to put forward its impact socially, culturally, and
economically.

The Common Perception

Before writing this I went to a paan-shop to buy a packet of beedi.
I asked the shop-keeper if he had beedi. He chuckled and glanced at
me as if I do not belong to the category of people who are the
expected buyers of beedi. Some common perceptions around beedi
would sound like these: Beedi and the poor live cheek by jowl. Beedi
smokers are more prone to cancer. Beedi is natural because it is hand-
rolled and contains less chemicals. Beedi is smoked for a change in
taste. Beedi is smoked to cut cost. Beedi is smoked because there is
no money for a cigarette. Beedi makes you look low-class.
The shouting case of Mukesh in cinema halls is an all-time
precautionary ad made in the interest of cancer awareness. Various

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awareness programs are run by WHO, NGOs and the government.
Then, who smokes this form of un-refined tobacco? People who are
less aware or people who cannot afford a cigarette? Research says it’s
both and more. [7] Smoking or smoking beedi can start from the age
of 14-15. Students/youngsters who have at least one of their parents
smoking, or by the influence of friends, or by the exposure to second-
hand smoke inside or outside their homes, or sometimes the
appreciating attitude towards people who smoke makes them start
coming.



Origins and the process:

The word Beedi is derived from the word Beeda which means a
betel leaf-wrapped offering of betel buts, herbs, and condiments. The
smoking of Beedi can also be related to Ayurveda, where it is
prescribed to smoke herbs rolled in leaves. However, the cultivation
of tobacco can be traced back in 17th Century Gujarat where Hookah
was used by some, which got economised into chillums and then to
beedis.[9] During Swadeshi Andolan, which was started by Gandhi in
1920, as an anti-British movement, helped to give a new face to the
Indian cottage industry. Educated class quit smoking cigarettes and
started smoking beedi.
Beedi is a mixture of blended or un-refined tobacco, which is
wrapped in Tendu or Kachnar leaves, they cut to the scaled size, tied

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up with a thread, roasted in oven to remove moisture and then gets
packed to reach the consumer. Tobacco is fetched from states like
Karnataka, Gujarat and the beedi leaves from Maharashtra, Odisha,
and Madhya Pradesh. So, overall the stages of making beedi are
quality control (choosing usable leaves and tobacco), roasting,
labelling, packing, and transport. 


Who produces it?

According to a report in 2006, The beedi industry rests on
informal employment operating mainly in the interface between the
unorganised and organised sector (GoI 2015).
A registered beedi company directly communicates with its
workers in the factory or home. The company provides the raw
materials to the workers and the rolled beedis are returned to the
company without the involvement of any intermediaries. However, in
case of the involvement of mediators or sattedaars, the plight of the
labourers is unimaginable. In Madhya Pradesh, the workers get
around 25 rupees for rolling 1000 beedis.[2] This issue has been
documented by a lot of journalists and scholars. Due to unclear
regulations, workers especially women workers go through different
kind of exploitations. The contractors reject the beedis arbitrarily, cut
their wage, sexually assault them too. [3]
The beedis that they rejected after being called as of inferior
quality are sold under the category of un-named beedis. The naming
convention of beedis is interesting too; they have traditionally been

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vernacular, such as Char Bhai, Ganesh 501, Shikari and Kismat.
During Swadeshi movement Beedi brands like “Hindmata” was
essential in making people quit foreign brand cigarettes.
However, re-branding initiative by bidi makers will help the
industry survive; some say that. [4] For an instance, 67-year-old
Rampur Uttar Pradesh-based company Tobacco House has renamed
itself to Bigarettes & Co. And the increase cess on cigarettes has
come as a huge opportunity for the beedi industry and re-branding is
indispensable.

The major collaborators in Beedi making

This industry predominantly employs women who work at their
homes. And the unorganised sector makes the women workers
vulnerable in various situations. The involvement of children
especially girl children is a towering issue. Because of the tedious
work of beedi making at home, the piece rate policy for payment,
poverty, obligations to make beedis, landlessness and the lack of
alternative skills make it a need for the women stay in this profession.

Years forward
Application of 28% GST on beedi and 18% GST on tendu leaves
has given a push to this industry. And demonetisation had already left
this industry under a havoc.
Some predictions even say that this will give rise to naxalism since,

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most of the workers are tribals.[8] BMS general secretary says, "Bidi
is a cottage industry and is in states affected by left wing extremism
(LWE). Crores of people depend on it for their livelihood, mostly
tribals. If this industry is impacted or shut down, this will lead to rise
in naxalism".
Beedi and Cigar Workers Act(1966) was a special legislation which is
still being violated. Although it’s not clear what is putting the industry
at risk, tax, exploitation, skilling, or simply the unfair wage, but Beedi
industry will thrive amid all these, because the demand is always
inelastic.

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Bibliography

1. The Beedi Industry in India

http://tnlabour.in/women-workers/5017

2. Special Report - Beedi Workers- Rajya Sabha TV

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJSOqCQzaLs&t=294s

3. Ground Realities of Beedi Workers in Madhya Pradesh, Centre for

Health and Social
http://bit.ly/2i1qEZk

4.
http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31818&articlex
ml=AS-CIGGIES-FEEL-THE-HEAT-Bidi-Cos-Get-
10062015001054

5. GST Council raises cess on cigarettes to fix anomaly under GST

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/gst-
council-decides-to-hike-cess-on-cigarettes/articleshow/59635800.cms

6. ILO’s Pilot Action Project for Beedi Women Workers in

India
http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@asia/@ro-
bangkok/@sro-
new_delhi/documents/projectdocumentation/wcms_125467.pdf

7. Beedi Smoking and Public Health

http://www.who.int/tobacco/publications/prod_regulation/bidi_smoki
ng_public_health.pdf?ua=1

8. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-
products/tobacco/closing-down-bidi-industry-will-feed-naxalism-
bms/articleshow/55245157.cms

9. Bidi- A short history

http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/Bidi.pdf