University of Calcutta. Minutes of the Syndicate for the year 1926

Darjeeling comprises the whole of Siliguri subdivision of the Darjeeling district and a small slice of the Kurseong subdivision exclusive of the Forest Blocks It slopes down from the foot of the Himalayas in the north to the northern boundary of the district of Purnea in the south. [...] It is bounded on the east by the district of Jalpaiguri and on the west by the river Mechi which forms the border line with Nepal."* The tea estates in this tract are located mostly at the upper end of the area and have stretched towards the south at the border of Purnea. [...] The object of the enquiry was concerned mainly with preparation of Cost of Living Indices in the plantation areas like Dooars Terai and Darjeeling in relation to the pattern of living of the workers employed in the tea gardens in those areas. [...] The total number of samples that had been collected from Terai was determined by calculating the proportion of the total number of workers in Terai out of the total number of plantation workers in the State as a whole and then taking the same proportion of budgets from the total of 5 000. [...] It is obvious that the cash income of the family is contributed by the earners above of different sex and age while the subsidiary income of the family is derived by the joint efforts of all the members of the family.