Which one of the following tribes from India's North-East had the earliest known association with cultivation and production of tea?

The correct answer is Singphos.

Key Points

• The Singpho tribe of northeast India, particularly Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, is one of the earliest known communities associated with tea cultivation and production.
  • Historical records show that the Singphos were involved in tea cultivation long before the British commercialized tea production in Assam.
  • They traditionally prepared a tea called "phalap", which involves boiling the tea leaves.

Additional Information

• The Khasi people are an ethnic group from Meghalaya in north-eastern India, with significant populations in the border state of Assam and parts of Bangladesh.
• The Garo people are a Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group who live mostly in the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya with a relatively small number in neighboring Bangladesh.
• The Jaintia Kingdom was matriarchal in present-day Sylhet division of Bangladesh, Meghalaya state of India and parts of Nagaon, Morigaon district of Assam.
  • It was divided into three parts by King Guhak in 630 AD for his three sons, Jaintia Kingdom, Gaur Kingdom and Laur Kingdom.