NEW DELHI: It is a cracker of a story from the dusty shelves in the explosives section of the National Archive of India, regarding the British making money during the days of the Raj at the expense of India. Today, the Indian government could prohibit Chinese crackers, but 82 years ago a government official had tried to do the same. China made crackers had found their way into the Indian market much before Independence and at the behest of the British. Then Hong Kong and parts of China, Singapore and India were part of the Empire. To regulate the hazardous trade, a Chief Secretary of Madras prohibited import of Chinese crackers fulminate in April 1932, setting off a barrage of fireworks in the corridors of power.
The documents reveal that the British not only promoted Chinese fire crackers in India by providing free warehousing for storage in Nagapatam (now Nagapattinam) and Madras (Chennai) but also institutionalised a safe sea route via Hong Kong and Singapore for the importers in the 1930s. They were first brought to Hong Kong and then shipped to Singapore to India. But, an order by G T H Bracken, Chief Secretary, Madras government, on November 21, 1932, to regulate the import of Chinese crackers triggered a massive controversy prompting the profiteers to drag the issue to the Central Board of Revenue and Department of Industries and Labour in Delhi. Apart from banning Chinese crackers of the fulminate type, Bracken also decided that a thorough port check of the firecrackers must be conducted before the consignment was released to traders and that the importers must build a magazine (storehouse) using their own money. The order read, “at the time of import, the customs authorities will test samples drawn from every consignment to verify that consignment does not contain any crackers of the fulminate type. If a consignment is found to contain crackers of that type, it will be dealt with in accordance with provisions of sea customs act.”
To enforce the rule, it prohibited the imports of crackers across Pondicherry and Karikal as Customs in these two places had no facilities to examine consignments unlike Madras and Nagapatam. Since there was no facilities at Nagapatam for the safe storage of large consignment of crackers, Bracken also directed that license will be given only to importers with valid certificate of accommodation.
The move triggered protest by Chinese fire cracker importers and a trader Mohamed Sutan Maricar of Karikal, on February 13, 1933, who wrote a strongly worded letter to Bracken saying that the Madras government order will ruin the fire crackers business and exporters sitting in China, Hong Kong and Singapore should be asked to check the prohibited items at their end. It appears from his letter that the Chinese crackers lobby of Tamil Nadu was very strong in the 1930s and could easily influence the government. The letter prompted the British to take up the issue with higher authorities in Delhi and subsequently on March 29, 1933, the matter was referred to Industrial and Labour Department seeking government opinion on importer’s representation expeditiously as season of import was about to begin for Deepavali.
On May 9,1933, a Deputy Secretary, Jayaratnam, from the Department of Industrial and Labour forwarded the case to Central Board of Revenue seeking their opinion on providing government accommodation at Nagapatam to store Chinese crackers. It suggested that there is a considerable demand for these crackers in South India and any import restrictions are bound to generate complaints. The Central Board of Revenue fearing loss of tax money agreed. Subsequently on June 1, 1933, Department of Industries and Labour decided to send L. Nickels, Chief Inspector of Explosives, to Nagapatam who recommended that Nagapatam and Madras ports must provide government accommodation to store imported crackers and the 1932 order for prohibition be modified. On August 12, 1933, the British government decided to overrule Bracken’s order and modify the Madras government order. Since Deepavali was around the corner, the government expedited the file and directed that a telegram must be sent to Madras for appropriate action. On September 4, 1933, Jayaratnam wrote to Bracken to amend the rules. “Accordingly, inform Mr Sultan Maricar and other importers of crackers of the revised orders,” Jayaratnam wrote.
