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Cultivation of tea, due to the nature of profits, coupled with incentives from State has attracted several of native farmers to adapt it from traditional cultivation of vegetables and fruits. However, with breaking down of the then Soviet Union and collapse of demand for tea, these native farmers, who account more than 50,000 in numbers were put to several hardships. This is a study looking into their socio-economics nature, with focus on southern part of India Nilgiri.

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K. Lenin Babu trained in environmental sciences, has obtained his doctoral degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He served with enforcement agencies, academic institutions in India. Presently he is working as Assistant Professor in Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore, India.

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