Chilli used by Indian army in weaponry is hot property for poor farmers

Dr Anuj Baruah, who cultivates the bhut jolokia chilli, holds a vial containing oily red capcaisin at his lab in Kherti, Assam.

"Look at this," said Dr Anuj Baruah, holding up a vial containing a few drops of rusty red liquid. "With this I could make you senseless." His nose started twitching; his eyes watered. "Oh dear. I think I may have got some on my fingers," he said, looking remarkably unconcerned that his skin had touched something the Indian government has developed into a biological weapon.
"I know what happens. Your brain starts to not work properly, you become restless … " He scurried off, returning a few minutes later after washing a particularly pungent strain of bhut jolokia chilli concentrate off his hands on his farm-cum-chilli research lab in the north-east Indian state of Assam.
When Assam's bhut jolokia was certified by the Guinness Book of Records as being the world's hottest chilli in 2007, it was a source of intense pride in the deprived state. Five years on, its title may have been challenged, but the subcontinent's celebrated super chilli is offering thousands of farmers a possible route out of poverty – and being supplied for potential use in controlling crowds and quelling riots.
When word got around about its Guinness entry, masochists the world over started offering ridiculous sums to get their hands on the spiciest chilli on the planet – once used by farmers to repel marauding elephants. One woman made it into the record books herself after eating 51 in one sitting under the horrified gaze of Gordon Ramsay.


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