The making of a 'narco-state': Opium consumption, trade and regulations on the northeastern frontier of British India.

This article examines the introduction, trade, and regulation of opium in the northeastern frontier of British India, particularly Assam, as a key component of the colonial political economy. It argues that the British East India Company (EIC) strategically introduced opium as a high-value cash crop and state-controlled monopoly to generate revenue, sustain tea plantations, and maintain imperial control over labor and resources. Although opium cultivation was prohibited in Assam in 1860, the colonial government continued to promote its consumption through licensed sales, resulting in widespread addiction that shaped social and economic dynamics in the region. The article also discusses the gradual imposition of laws regulating opium under international pressure and nationalist movements, highlighting the contradictions between colonial policies and classical liberal economic principles. Ultimately, it situates Assam’s opium trade within a broader global imperial framework, showing how opium shaped the region’s political economy and colonial governance for decades.