STEAMBOAT E23: Indigo and its blue revolutions!
Channel: HBCSE-TIFR
Date: 2023-09-10

Speaker: Indrani Das Sen (HBCSE)


The immensely popular blue jeans owe a major portion of its popularity to the versatile blue color, indigo. Indigo dye, originally sourced from plants belonging to Indigofera and Isatis genera, has been in use as early as 6000 years ago, as revealed by excavations from an archaeological site at Peru. Closer to home, excavations from the Indus Valley civilisation unearthed seeds of four different species of Indigofera plant and a blue dyed cloth material. Large scale production of indigo started in India in the late 16th century by the East India Company. The oppressive practices around the cultivation and production of indigo led to several people’s movements including the famous Indigo Revolt of 1859 in Bengal. This STEAMboat session will dwell upon the history of this blazing dye, its industrial synthesis and dyeing procedure.