Beekeeping in India

Rock paintings of Mesolithic era found in Madhya Pradesh depict honey collection activities.

[2] Various rock paintings dating to Mesolithic and post-Mesolithic era are found in the Madhya Pradesh and Pachmarhi regions.

[3] When British attacked the eastern coast of present-day Odisha state in 1842–49, the Kondha tribe is noted to have used tamed bees against them.

[2] Various tribes in the hilly areas of Manipur and Nagaland used wooden logs or earthen wares for beekeeping.

The first successful attempt was made by Reverend Newton in Kerala when he developed a specifically designed hive and started training rural people during 1911–17 to harvest honey from beekeeping.

[6] After the Independence of India in 1947, the importance of beekeeping was stressed by Mahatma Gandhi by including it in his rural development programmes.

[5] Beekeeping was promoted along with rubber plantations in Kerala and Tamil Nadu regions by YMCA and other Christian missionaries.

The Punjab Agricultural University started research on the topic and promoted it by introducing Apis Mellifera bees.

As major exporter of honey, India falls behind China, Argentina, Germany, Hungary, Mexico and Spain.

[9] As the Nilgiris region of Tamil Nadu in southern India has various tribes of honey collectors, Kotagiri-based Keystone Foundation started a Honey and Bee Museum in 2007 in the town of Ooty in Tamil Nadu to promote beekeeping and techniques involved.