Abstract

"Gatekeeping in the Markets of Indian Small Cardamom in South India (1896–1994)"

Kalayath Shemil, Centre for Development Studies (affiliated to Jawaharlal Nehru University), India (shemilkalayath@gmail.com)

Plantation development in the British India began in 19th century. Throughout this period,
European capital dominated these plantations, with tea and coffee emerging as the major crops.
However, the emergence of rubber in Travancore, in South India, after 1904 enabled the indigenous
class in South India to establish a strong presence. However, there was another plantation crop,
Indian small cardamom (henceforth Cardamom), which was endemic to the region and remained
under the control of indigenous capital. Despite these uniqueness, Cardamom has remained at
the margins of historiography. Drawing on a combination of archival research, oral histories and
qualitative interviews, the paper investigates a central question: How has capital in the marketing
system of a high-value cash crop, with a strong global value chain been embedded in the local
social structure? Following the abolition of the state monopoly in cardamom marketing in 1896,
three communities have dominated cardamom trade during distinct periods. These communities
mobilised their trading capital from plantation proceeds. During their periods of dominance, they
exhibited a strong bi-directional flow of capital between plantations and agro-commerce. They also
invested heavily in political capital, which enabled them to institutionalise the cardamom markets
to their advantage. This paper challenges the notion that some communities possess an inherent
business acumen. Like members of any other caste, individuals from these groups have produced
their share of entrepreneurs. These communities, like any other, demonstrate a generational silence
of entrepreneurship. However, what distinguished them was their access to resources and the absence of caste-imposed stigma. The market has witnessed shifts in dominance across historical junctures. Still, these transitions reflect enduring patterns of elite capture. Success in business continues to be structurally gatekept by elite castes. Here, ascriptive markers of identities are not mere pre-capitalist relics but instead critical elements that make Indian capitalism unique.