De-mythifying Ambedkar

Iconoclast projects Ambedkar as a man of flesh and blood, who reflected the times in which he lived and endeavoured to achieve his goals. In contrast to the hyperbole often associated with his legacy, Teltumbde eradicates any element of myth and eulogy to convey the essence of the man behind the legend. Iconoclast projects Ambedkar as a man of flesh and blood, who was a product of his times and one who endeavoured to achieve his goals.

Quoting Teltumbde . “A biography often becomes a eulogy, an unquestioning celebration,” Teltumbde remarked. “That wasn’t the book I wanted to write, especially today when Ambedkar’s legacy is being co-opted across the political spectrum. “But upon reflection” – he continued, explaining the prefix ‘reflective’ before the biography – “I agreed to look at him not as a god to be worshipped, but a case study. If we are to be inspired by him, we must see him as a real person.”

Surgically, Teltumbde has both de-mythified and demystified Ambedkar who was often confusing and inconsistent figure. For example, Teltumbde recounts Ambedkar, writing a book supporting Partition and the creation of Pakistan, only to retract this position in a second edition.

In this work, Ambedkar is presented not as a deity of devotion but as an important case study for the present generation to learn from. The author traced the methodology with which he evaluated the Buddha, whom he regarded as his master, to present Ambedkar’s life and legacy with a critical analysis rather than mere eulogy.

Distinctive character of Ambedkar

Teltumbde recounts that there were several leaders who worked on different issues that ailed society but these leaders directed movements by the upper castes and did not concern with the caste exploitation of the majority of their own people. This realisation gave birth to the non- Brahmin movement of Jyotiba Phule and later to Dalit movements in various provinces with varying visions and approaches.

The book unravels that after the 1930s, Ambedkar overshadowed other Dalit leaders and ovements that mushroomed across various regions, becoming the most impactful leader for Dalits, who constituted one-sixth of India’s population However, despite his stature, he was casteinto into oblivion by the ruling classes after his death. Dalits had to struggle tooth and nail to erect his statues, and it took a decade even before a marker was established at his cremation site.

Ambedkar as distinguished from other leaders, singularly characterised the caste system as the main obstacle in India’s progress and demanded its annihilation. He characterised castes as not only a social evil but also a religious evil, and spoke of dynamiting the Hindu Dharmashastras that sustained it. After realising the impossibility of this task, he concentrated on the political solution and came in confrontation with stalwarts like Mahatma Gandhi. Even in his intellectual navigation, he challenged giants like Bertrand Russell and John Maynard Keynes. It is this very rebellious attitude towards established icons and ideas that makes him an iconoclast.

The author narrates, Ambedkar’s sheer hatred for Communism in his writings, quoting his stating that Communists had disregard for the Constitution and parliamentary democracy. He is also critical of Ambedkar’s silence against the RSS and Hindu Mahasabha and concludes that his goal was to alienate Communists or Marxist thinkers.

Distorted role in authoring the Constitution

Teltumbde also recounts how Ambekar’s role as architect behind the Constitution is a myth which had to be dispelled. This was evident in Ambedkar’s sentiments in the years after the Republic was formed. “Ambedkar said he was used as a hack to get the support of the Dalits for the book, and he would be the first one to burn the constitution.”

While Ambedkar did indeed make the most significant contribution among the seven members of the Drafting Committee, it is important to understand that he was not solely responsible for writing the Constitution. TT Krishnamachari, a member of the Drafting Committee,

acknowledged in November 1948 that the “burden of drafting this [revised] constitution” fell largely on Ambedkar because other members were unable to make “substantial contributions” due to “death, illness, and other preoccupations.” Additionally, Ambedkar’s role in piloting the draft constitution is evident from the Constituent Assembly debates, where he actively defended and explained its various provisions.

Ambedkar himself expressed anger with being labelled the “architect” of the Constitution. In a debate in the Rajya Sabha on September 2, 1953, he responded to a member’s remark by saying, “I was a hack. What I was asked to do, I did much against my will… My friends tell me that I have made the Constitution. But I am quite prepared to say that I shall be the first person to burn it out. I do not want it. It does not suit anybody.”

Important historical coverage

In detail, the author unravels the pro-caste policies of Mahatma Gandhi like his stand during Poona pact, which deprived Dalits of political power. Extensive coverage given to subject of annihilation of caste. In detail, the book describes how Ambedkar located the evils of caste  system in the Vedas, Shastras and Puranas. The book traces Ambedkar’s antagonism with Hinduism in retrospect to death of Ramabai and what drew him into Buddhism. Important reference to the temple entry Satyagrahas like the one at Mahad and the struggles of untouchables in Nasik and Pune. In immaculate depth, the author navigates how and why Ambedkar resorted to taking refuge in Buddhism.

Important aspects delved into in the book are aspects from the pre-independence era when episodes of class-caste struggle are explored, electoral politics, manifesto of Independent labour party, Annihilation of caste, the Moonje factor, Ramabai, Communal award, anti-Khoti bill, Manmad conference, bills of 1937 and 1938, tryst with parliamentary democracy and backward castes are markers. There is also a detailed look at how the Round Table Conference, Cripps Mission, Gandhi-Irwin pact and second World War shaped Ambedkar’s path.

The author also recounts details around the popular Strike of the Municipal Workers Union, where Ambedkar united with the Communists. Regretfully, the Communists did not acknowledge Ambedkar or his party, the Indian Labour Party. The book narrates Ambedkar’s ’travesty with post-  independence India in ‘Taste of Swaraj.’, dealing with his reaction to the ‘Constitutional state, Tricolour, Socialism, Buddhism embracement, Hindu code bill, Scheduled ‘caste refugees, and the 1951 elections.

Inspiring the modern generation

The book unravels the historical processes crucial for the new generation who risk falling into the trap of a blind-ed devotion to Ambedkar, unable to diagnose their own condition, the factors responsible for their plight, or what hinders their movement. Iconoclast paves the way for them to revisit him with a critical perspective, a process which can shape their politics and develop strategies for the future. Vested interests have promoted Ambedkar in a way that encourages his followers to merely glorify him rather than assess his ideas critically. Ambedkar’s ideals projected without the right guidance, has bred crass opportunism by this generation which can be seen in the significant support that Dalits have extended to the BJP, which glorifies Brahmanism.

Opponent to Brahmanical fascism

Teltumbde concludes that had he lived today, Bhimrao Ambedkar would undoubtedly been a serious threat to this regime and would likely have found himself imprisoned under draconian laws like UAPA, possibly even as the co-accused in the Bhima-Koregaon case.

Teltumbde reveals how Ambedkar was head and shoulders opposed to hegemonic Brahmanism, which the current regime glorifies. No one more acutely slapped the politics of the Sangh Parivar as sharply as he did when he stated, “If Hindu Raj does become a fact, it will, no doubt, be the greatest calamity for this country.… Hindu Raj must be prevented at any cost.” Tragically, in today’s scenario calling for his symbolic reincarnation among his followers, he would find no one morally abiding with him. Even the so-called Ambedkarites would not support him for not dancing in tune with their brand of Ambedkarism.

Flaws in the book

This book does not however adequately unravel Ambedkar’s negation of revolutionary class struggles or collusion with reformism, particularly in the Workers front projecting Ambedkar as a social revolutionary, rather than a social reformer. There are no words or analysis, no criticism of how Ambekar did not give a cutting edge to the class struggles or Communist influenced movements or the glaring contradictions between Ambedkarism and Marxism.

Icon-isation of the Iconoclast

In this concluding chapter Teltumbde concludes that Ambedkar’s conflating with the struggle of an entire people is unparalleled. In history. He also asserts that the icon was plagued with his share of limitations.

Significant parts are Teltumbde’s narration of the 1953 land Satyagraha in Marathwada, which he praised for taking up issue of land to the landless. It went on to unravel the subsequent Satyagrahas in 1964-65 engulfing Punjab. Madras, Mysore, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. They heroically withstood attempts of the state to shatter it, with 3,50,000 people imprisoned., which was unprecedented in India. It was the turning point in Dalits asserting their right to procure a concrete share of the wealth and not be restricted within the periphery of mere socio-cultural aspirations.

He also encompasses the formation of RPI, impact of Dalit Panther movement in 1973, role of Kanshiram, the Hindutva counter revolution, individual and collective empowerment of Dalits, impact of Ambedkar’s Praxis and Cultural state of Society today.

The author reflects on how the movement Ambedkar built is in tatters, with leaders thriving on the Ambedkar cult systematically patronised by the ruling classes. They have made the Marxists and Communists their prime target, instead of the Brahminic zealots. This has origins in the anti- communist slant of Ambedkar, who spoke against Marxism and Communism. The author professes that even after seven decades, Dalits are alienated from non-Dalits, and the Ambedkarite Dalit movement, with factor of untouchability, still intact. In view of the author, Ambedkarism has been the root cause of splits within the Dalit movement, be it Dalit Panthers or RPI. The Congress by projecting Ambekar as chief mentor the Constitution, made the Dalits embrace it as a holy text.

(The author is a freelance journalist)

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On the call of the Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan), thousands of farmers, farm labourers, women, youth and students thronged to Amritsar to protest and hold demonstration against the on-going propaganda for the G-20 summit to be held in Delhi in September this year, demanding that agriculture, industry, education, health, electricity and water etc. should remain free of the tyranny of the imperialist powers.

The meeting also demanded scrapping of “the anti-people” agreements signed with the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Addressing the gathering at the occasion of the protest demonstration, leaders Jogindar Singh Ugrahan and Sukhdev singh Kokri Kalan classified the G-20 platform as one for mortgaging the country in the hands of imperialists, adding, various conferences being organised in India, including the one in Amritsar, were being held to carve a strategy for plundering the country and Punjab.

They said that during G-20 summit, schemes are to be designed for further intensifying of exploitation by the imperialist countries by mercilessly subordinating open education sector fully to the big powers. It would seek further amendments in labour laws so as to strangulate the toiling masses.

They termed the claims of the state government about development of Punjab with the help of foreign investment as false and misleading. They affirmed that chief minister Bhagwant Mann was repeating the history of the colonial era by betraying martyrs Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru and giving sanction to imperialism by literally inviting them to the doorsteps.

According to them, foreign investment paves the path for the plunder of the rich natural resources and exploitation of labour in order suit the needs of the imperialists. It will be an instrument of destruction rather than that of development.

The dwindling industry of Punjab and the crisis-ridden agriculture are in turmoil under the sins of the new economic and industrial policies implemented under the agreements signed through such platforms, they opined, adding, the black agriculture laws were by the Central government were under pressure of imperialist organisations WTO.

The move too get rid of government-controlled agricultural markets, privatisation of state electricity boards, import of foreign wheat, opening of private universities, ruining the state education system by introducing new education policy, privatisation of water distribution – all these, they said, are part of the strategy of imperialist control.

They further said that on one hand the Punjab government is claiming to work out ways to retrieve agriculture from crisis, but on the other hand its policies are pushing the state agriculture into crisis. They demanded that state government should design a new agriculture policy in accordance with the draft given by the BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan).

The design is to plunder the natural resources and labour power of the country through the platforms supported by G-20 countries

Another senior leader Shingara Singh Maan said that the group of 20 countries are currently in a leading role in working out exploitative formulations of WTO, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, in order to impose them on backward countries in name of development.

Agreements are sought to be signed for further strengthening the power of multinational companies in agriculture, industry and trade of countries, said Maan, adding, the design is to plunder the natural resources and labour power of the country through these platforms. In fact, G-20 is the platform to mortgage the country in the hands of the imperialists.

Woman leader Harrinder Kaur Bindu, while summarising the role of valiant women like Gulab Kaur and Rani Jhansi, in the struggle against the British colonial rule, declared the support of women agriculturalists against the new imperialist policies and decisions sought to be supported by the government.

Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union leader Lachhman Singh Sewewala, Hushiar singh Salemgarh, leader of PSU Shaheed Randhawa and Ashwni Ghudha, leader of the Naujvan Bharat Sabha pledged support to the protest. They insisted that issues like unemployment, debt, suicides and pollution being faced by workers, farmers, youth and common people have their roots planted in foreign lands – those who are members of the f the G-20 group.

*Freelance journalist who has covered mass movements across India and has frequently toured Punjab

Courtesy: https://www.counterview.net

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“After the introduction of the New Economic Industrial Policy, public industries were privatized all over the country, the national wealth was looted by the big capital houses and the rights of the workers were attacked. Whichever party was in government, it curtailed the rights of the workers and worked to abolish the laws made in the interests of the workers.”

The above things were said by Dinkar Kapoor, President of UP Workers Front.

In the 20th convention of contract labour union at Renukoot, Sonbhadra, on 26th February, he said that the present government has eradicated all the labour laws and managed to get four anti-labour laws passed by the Parliament. This government is determined to increase the working hours from 8 to 12.

The Yogi government had even attempted to get the laws passed   during the Corona pandemic. However it had to be withdrawn after the Union seeked reprieve in the High Court. In the present times, it is an imperative task for workers to establish their own independent political force to give a striking blow to the pro-corporate and anti-labour policies, of the capitalist political parties.

He aspired that the contract labour union would proceed in this direction.

Taking a proposal in the conference, the speakers said that the condition of contract labourers in Sonbhadra, the main industrial center of the state, was grave.  On the basis of the law, they are forced to work for their whole life at one place, permanently.

Due to non-proviso of revised wages of labourers from 2019, they have been forced to work for very low wages. Women labourers are made to work for just Rs.200.

There are arrears of wages in projects like Anpara and Obra. Due to non-provision of safety equipment in industries, death of workers in accidents are a routine or everyday affair. Benefits like employment card, attendance card, pay slip, ESI, gratuity, bonus are also not being given to laborers in many industries.

In such a situation, instead of shattering their morale, the workers will have to unite to prevent the anti-labour actions. In the conference, Yuva Manch convenor Rajesh Sachan said that unemployment was escalating day by day, giving a mortal blow to the economic state.

After obtaining a degree in engineering, the youth is forced to work as a contract labourer being paid a very low scale of wages. Employment rights campaign is engulfing the whole country on the demand of establishing employment as a fundamental right, filling the vacant posts, giving unemployment allowance and giving a minimum wage of Rs 25000 to every labourer. Contract labourers should also join hands in this.

Expressing anguish over the current attack on democracy, the conference strongly condemned the notice issued by the police to popular Bhojpuri folk singer Neha Singh Rathore and demanded the government to withdraw it.

Kripashankar Panika was elected president and Tejdhari Gupta was elected minister in the conference. Apart from this, Tirath Raj Yadav, Joint Minister Mohan Prasad, Publicity Minister Sheikh Imtiaz, Treasurer Govind Prajapati and Office Secretary Antaral Kharwar and a 15-member executive were elected on the Vice President.

The conference was presided over by the councilors of Pipri, Mallar Devi, Tirath Yadav and Tej Dhari Gupta and coordinated by Kripa Shankar Panika. The conference was attended by Ravi Gupta, President of Electricity Employees Union, Pipri, Com. D’s leader Krishna Yadav, District President of Yuva Manch Ruby Singh Gond, Savita Gond, Dwarika Chandravanshi etc addressed.

Workers representatives from Anpara Obra Lanco, Hindalco, Grasim Chemical Plant, Grasim Cement, Coal Mining etc were present in the conference. Artists of Mandar Kala Manch and folk singer Muneshwar Panika presented their mass songs in the conference.

Positive to witness representatives of workers from a diverse range in the meet.

Harsh Thakor is a freelance journalist who has covered mass movements around the country.

Courtesy: https://countercurrents.org

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With the goal of raising class consciousness and mobilizing the working population of Banaras, especially the weavers, a meeting was organized at the Swayamvar Vatika on behalf of the Fatima-Savitri Janasamiti. The weavers themselves openly discussed the issues related to their status and wages in the programme.

Mohammad Ahmad Ansari, who toils with his family on power looms, said that due to the monopoly of capital and middlemen on the market, morally the wages of people engaged in weaving work are not even Rs 400, as compared to construction workers. In the same context, the aspect of education also arose in consideration   of the social backwardness of the Muslim population and the comparatively worse condition of women.

Ahmed said that when the wage-income is so rock bottom, the major concern is about maintenance or education. The grave economic condition, has forced the children of the weavers to study in madrasas..

Progressive intellectuals assert that breaking the chains binding the feet of the productive forces is the only means of accomplishing the historical mission of the working class.

In order to raise class consciousness and mobilize the working population of Banaras, especially the weavers, a meeting was organized at the Swayamvar Vatika on behalf of the Fatima-Savitri Janasamiti. The weavers themselves openly discussed the issues related to their status and wages in the programme.

Vinay of Bhagat Singh Chhatra Morcha said that along with low wages, the question of education is inter linked to the autocratic political structure of the ruling class.

He said that today the ruling class has made education a commodity to be exchanged in the market.

Harihar Prasad, convenor of Janwadi Vimarsh Manch, said that the new education policy is being implemented to enforce the sustainable development agenda of the United Nations. Under this, path is paved for preparing cheap and skilled labour to provide for domestic and foreign capitalists.

Due to this, higher education cost is soaring. Strongly advocating equal and free education for all, he said that if it is not opposed, the children of poor-disadvantaged sections will be deprived of higher education and it will turn into the privilege of the rich.

While conducting the program, poet-critic Dr. Vandana Choubey said that the imperialist Mahaprabhus created an atmosphere supporting or paving the way of opening up the economy completely by spending vast capital.

Institutional intellectuals were patronised to spread the ideology of fragmentation. He said that with the objective of camouflaging the conspiracy on the basic question of master-labour, identity-discussion was created to relegate the basic question from the peripheral questions.

He said that the question of women and education is also directly related to the problem of stagnation and recession in the economy and unemployment. If we want to solve the problem of marketing of education, then we have to link it with the question of unemployment.

Referring to the era of Fatima Shaikh, he said that she was not running the colonial structure of India during the British era independently. The Brahminical forces that were here, the forces of the affluent people, who had wealth, dominance, caste power, all allied with those forces.

He said that even after achieving independence, to a considerable extent the British system of education continued. Describing the present phase as the second phase of imperialism, he said that after independence people placed great faith in government institutions but gradually this trust began to decline in the 90s.

An atmosphere has been built popularising the private sector with the help of capital. Disbelief was expressed in every government thing and the narrative was made in such a way that all areas of public utility services should be opened to the private sector.

A whole round of publicity and advertisement came and it was told that the name of freedom is to open everything for capitalists and companies. He said that when the government is responsible for education and health, then we have the right to raise our voice against their poor quality because we form the government by voting.

After control was handed over to the private sector, they were unable to speak because the private sector undertook activities only for accumulating profits.. Sharing his experiences related to weaver-Muslim settlements, he said that the question of communalism and the debate on it is very minute tickling the Muslim community.

The labourers expressed their concern on  how to make a living for themselves and to provide for their families on June 2.

He said that this so called democracy is the oligarchy of the capitalists. The government has opened all channels for the capitalists by removing all the tariffs and duties and opening all the avenues of the market. This has broken the back of the working class.

This autocratic social structure os what the government terms as democracy. We have to understand the hypocrisy of this so called democracy..It is imperative to  fight for democracy, but under no means  can one consider the democracy monitored  by the government and capitalists as democracy.

Amit of Disha Students Organization said that the education system of the country is undergoing  a phase of drastic change .. He said that the exploitative system of the past is continuing in the present education system as well.

Without destroying this capitalist system which sucks the blood of labourers and extracts profits from their blood and marrow, it is not possible to construct a system of mass-scientific education. He said that the question of anti-people rule remains as important today as it was during the British era.

Pawan Kumar, a social activist associated with the labour movement, said that in this capitalist marketism, education is not an isolated feature from other needs of life like health, family environment, house, food, clothes etc. but all are connected to each other.

Education is not only formal education available in schools and colleges, but with this formal education, informal education starts from birth as well as parents, family environment, surrounding environment and economic social conditions of the family. And nowadays this informal education is being given continuously through WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media.

Higher education is restricted only to the rich and capitalists who buy labour and is snatched from the reach of those who earn their livelihood by selling their labour. He said that in this system, by those who live by selling labour; there is no bigger lie and illusion than propagating that. good days will also come for the common people.

Launching a scathing attack at today’s capitalist polity, identity-discussion (backwardness, casteism, feminism, regionalism etc.), he said that the ruling class wants evade the issues of the common people and make the working people forget it.. That’s why it has been invested billions of dollars to the NGO-world to divert attention from the basic issue of capital vs labour. He said that education policy needs to be fought in an organised manner, integrating it along with other problems.

Social activist Advocate Shahzade said that the process of knowledge cannot develop without inculcating social consciousness, it takes 18 years for any brain to mature, during this time education based on religious prejudices, and caste discrimination spoils the personality of a human being. Education armed with social consciousness, which is oriented with the mode of production, creates a man who exudes the spirit of collectivism-co-operation.

He said that the capitalist tries to maintain continuity in the long-standing social system by controlling the social consciousness to fulfill its purpose.

Dr. Mohd. Arif of All India Secular Forum while portraying the garve picture of unemployment and scarcity among highly educated youth said that on the issue of weavers, statements are published in newspapers every day, due to the demand related to flat rate of electricity. Addressing  subject of additional social pressures on dress and overall upholding  of personality on those doing mental labour as opposed to manual labour, he said that even the so-called highly-educated people are as much troubled by the aggravation of the crisis-stagnant economy as the common man.

Kusum Verma of AIPWA, Indrajit of Bihar Nirman and Unorganized Labor Union, Swaraj India’s Mohd. Ahmed Ansari, Indrajit of Uttar Pradesh Construction and Unorganized Labor Union, social worker Pratima etc. also addressed.

Harsh Thakor is a freelance journalist who has covered mass movements around India

Courtesy: https://countercurrents.org

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On January 18^th, 1982 the working class movement commemorated the 40^th anniversary of the Textile Workers Strike that lasted for 18 months, till July 1983. It was landmark event that played a major role in shaping the working class movement. With more than 2.5 lakh workers from 65 textile mills joining in this strike for almost two years, this strike became one of the most significant strikes in terms of scale and duration All democrats should applaud the mill workers’ united battle, and their unflinching resilience an death defying courage  continues to serve as a model for contemporary working-class movements. Many middle class persons harboured opinions that the Textile workers were pampered or were a labour aristocracy, ignorant of how they were denied wages to provide for basic necessities.

The Great Bombay Textile Strike is notably one of the most defining movements in the working class struggles in Post-independent India. Bombay’s textile industry flourished in the 20th century, accompanied by a growing number of worker grievances. As a result, the Great Bombay Textile Strike sprung from a set of grievances that Bombay Textile Union and All India Trade Union Congress were unable to resolve. On January 18, 1982, textile mill workers led by Trade Union Leader Datta Samant went on strike for better wages, employment conditions, and repeal of the Bombay Industrial Act of 1946.

The protest underwent several incidents of police brutality against striking workers and a rise of indifferent attitudes on the part of the Bombay Municipal Corporation. Additionally, the introduction of the liberalisation policies (the 1980s) to expose the Indian economy to global finance capital struck a mortal blow to the ongoing strike—the new reforms led to dissipation of labour laws; fragmenting the labour market and patronising of exploitative working conditions.

I can never forget how it tickled or was major thorn in the flesh of the Mill Owners in their very backyard, striking a mortal blow to production or profits. The mill industry was literally paralysed.

The relentless spirit of the mill workers left a permanent mark and won the support of many an intellectuals and other sections of workers.

Democratic forces underwent serious mobilisation in support be it trade Unions, civil liberties organisations or even students and youth groups. They consistently exposed the ruthless exploitation of the workers who were denied adequate wages, and the conspiracies of the mill owners who were backed by the politicians and police machinery. Qualitative roles played by Indian Federation of trade Unions, Naujwan Bharat Sabha-Vidhyarti Praghati Sanghatana and Lok Shahi Hakk Sanghatana. Playwright Ratnakar Matkari wrote a soul searching play

It was classical resistance of an independent trade Union not affiliated to any political party, and an aura built around a single political leader.

The strike resurrected earlier events in Indian working class history.

It taught the working class important political lessons when being at the brunt of police repression.

However it also later broke the backbone of the organised working class movement. It led to massive loss in jobs of workers. The industry was paralysed.

Datta Samant leading Strike

While some workers had been already agitating about wage issues with their respective employers, mill owners and the government were startled by the workers’ spontaneous decision to reject established unions and leaders and accept the leadership of a new trade unionist – Datta Samant.

Until the fiery Datta  Samant came on the scene, the officially recognised union of the textile workers had been the Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh, which was affiliated to the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC). Samant was able to get a substantial wage hike for the workers of Premier Automobiles, and this paved the way for his election as the representative of textile workers. The strike called by Samant lasted a year, and at the end of it nothing was achieved. Before the strike, there were about 2, 50,000 workers in the mills. When the mills reopened a year later, about a hundred thousand lost their jobs. Predictably, the majority of those who had lost their jobs had been active during the strike. Some of the mills had either shut down or moved out of the city, and this also resulted in loss of jobs.

Samant’s aggressive style invited wrath from the government. Although Samant had connections with the Congress, especially with A.R. Antulay, who was Maharashtra’s Chief Minister from 1980 to 1982, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was wary of him. The ruling classes trembled that if Samant was successful with the textile mills strike, resistance would spread to other labour-intensive sectors such as the Railways and the docks. Thus, it was politics and labour policies that prevented the government in conceding to Samant’s demands for textile workers.

The strike led by Dr. Datta Samant involved 247,189 Mumbai mill workers paralysed Mumbai. The 1982-83 strike was the last industrial action by the Mumbai mill workers when the city witnessed an industry-wide strike bringing the workforce to the centre of politics.

The conflict between the mill workers and the owners sprouted over the issue of bonuses. However, as the conflict gained momentum other demands were added, such as providing for an ad hoc increase of wage per month from Rs 120 to Rs 195 per month depending on the years of service.

Secondly, to make the badli workers permanent who had worked for an aggregate period of 240 days.

Thirdly, payment of House Rent Allowance (Rs 52 per month), Leave Travel Allowance (Rs 42 per month), and Educational Allowance (Rs 30 per month). Substantial improvement in leave facilities such as privilege leave, casual leave, sick leave, and paid holidays was also one of the demands.

Finally, the strikers demanded non-recognition of Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh (RMMS) as the representative union, and the sole bargaining agent for workers. These demands shocked the employers. The mill owners were able to suppress  the strike by colluding with the state machinery and the RMMS, the officially recognised trade union, which had complete control in  speaking up for the workers.

Events on October 23, proved to be a determinant for much of what was to follow. On that day striking workers, totally unaware  of all established trade unions in the textile industry, sought  the intervention of an outsider who inspired them greatly  and whose reputation had sparkled over the years in spite of the countless attacks staged on him and on the way he dealt with labour problems.

In fact, what was mostly rebuked as adventurism or irresponsible trade unionism by employers and trade unionists alike was precisely what seemed to attract workers towards him. Hundreds of workers from Standard Mills, one of the mills that would have to pay the highest bonus, walked that day from the gates of the mill to the residence of the both famous and infamous Datta Samant (in Ghatkopar with the demand that he should lead them in the strike.)

If they under the apprehension that they would warmly received they were in for a rude shock. Dr Samant declined the honour and informed them that he didn’t want to lead them as their industry was regulated by the BIR Act. Apart from that he had no desire to increase the burden of the many responsibilities he already shouldered.

However, the workers, relentlessly, staged a dharna* at his home, staying there throughout the night in an effort to force him to accept leadership. When Samant found that the workers were determined to battle the employers at all costs and the fear of severe hardships  in the course of a struggle would not intimidate r them, he decided to give in.

The news spread like wildfire, and when Datta Samant addressed a gate meeting at Standard Mills in the morning of October 26, thousands of workers of the mills on strike assembled near the gate, turning the meeting into a massive rally. Interrupted by thunderous cheers of approval, Samant declared that the fight would not just be for a higher bonus but also for a wage increase and permanency of badlis.

It was the first of a series of meetings and rallies which would attract ever-larger audiences, of sometimes over a lakh. A spark was turned into a Prairie Fire. In the days to follow, Samant’s office poured with  workers from mills where no strike was taking place and who continued the trail of the Standard Mill workers, which was that ‘Doctor’ should lead them in the struggle. Datta Samant grew convinced that the request made by the Standard workers was no accident but a manifestation of intense inner rage possessed by all workers.

There was only one red flag union that wasted no time in waiting for the cat to throw itself to the pigeons and this was the communist-oriented Sarva Shramik Sangh (SSS) led by the independent Lal Nishan Party, which a union in the textile industry had called the Kapad Kamgar Sanghatana. Their support to the workers’ cause was immediate and unconditional, and it was the SSS again that would share the dais with Datta Samant on the eve of the strike.

Hoping to recover ground that they had lost a few years earlier, the Shiv Sena-affiliated Girni Kamgar Sena (GKS) also acted promptly. Sena leader Bal Thackeray at once called for a one-day strike on the first of November, putting up a charter of demands in which a wage increase of not less than Rs 200 per month was claimed.

To this was added the threat that an indefinite strike would follow if this demand was not met by mid-November. Practically all the workers participated in this strike but Thackeray’s threat stood exposed as empty when the militant action ended there. The formidable response to the one-day strike was a sure indication of the workers’ mood and their readiness for battle but in the process, it also showed that the workers at that point had not yet developed a strong commitment to Datta Samant.

Consequences of Strike

After this, about 91,251 mill workers were laid off. The catastrophic outcome of the strike also had national-level implications, as Mumbai’s mill workers held the vanguard position of the country’s labour movement.

The failure of the 1982-83 strike stripped workers of their entitlements which they won through various struggles and transformed   workers’ claims over the city’s social fabric. Following termination oh the strike, the workers fighting spirit was greatly nullified, which they had demonstrated historically.

Throughout the strike, the state deployd its police machinery to undertake repression on the workers. The judiciary took a long time in deciding on the case that challenged the RMMS status as the representative union. The bureaucracy too assisted in delaying the process.

The mill workers who were taken back to work had to return on deeply unfavourable terms.

First, many workers who returned to work did not receive the payments they were entitled to.

Secondly, workers had to face a most unwelcoming environment inside the factory. They were fined for the slightest mistakes and often abused and very easily charge-sheeted.

Thus, the mill management gave warning to the workers that henceforth no resistance against its policy would be brooked. Before accepting the jobs workers had to sign a statement in which they declared that they had participated in an illegal strike, and they would henceforth refrain from agitation and not cause trouble in future. Left with little choice workers were compelled to sign the statement without even having the opportunity to read it.

The attempts by the state to term strike illegal under some conditions traces back or have roots in introduction of the Bombay Industrial Disputes (BID) Act by the provincial government in 1938. In 1938, the then Bombay provincial government led by the Congress party introduced the BID Act which sought to curb workers right to organise industrial actions.  The BID Act was opposed by various labour organisers which culminated in the successful organisation of a one-day strike in 1938 by Ambedkar’s Independent Labour Party.

During the 1982-83 strike, the Datta Samant led union was able to dislodge the representative union but the state agencies, both the bureaucracy and the judiciary, ensured that the RMMS retained its position. As a result, after the strike was put down by the state and mill owners, the RMMS became aggressive towards the strikers and penalised them for participating in the industrial action.

It is probably this reason that a section of mill workers constantly evokes that the 1982-83 strike was never officially called off. For the workers, the strike symbolised their whole struggle for emancipation, and given the fact they were pushed into involuntary servitude, it continues for them even today.

The events illustrated the autocratic nature o the socio-political system, which was partisan with the industrialist class and sanctioned repression of machinery on workers.

By the 1980s, leftist parties in Bombay had become weak and the number of mill workers in the city had gone up to around 2.5 lakhs. However, working class militancy continued. In the absence of a Left leadership capable enough to lead and organise the workers’ movement, the Congress-run state government and the Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh (RMMS) affiliated to it, controlled the labour relations in the city. RMMS was the only “union” recognised by the mill owners and the administration, despite the Industrial Disputes Act of 1938. While the Girni Kamgar Union would organize strikes against the management, the RMMS would be the signing authority on the settlement as the workers’ legitimate representative. Many struggling workers were termed as “Laal Bawtewaale” [One with the Red Flag], and removed from work on grounds of being a Communist. These were workers who were agitating not just for fair wages, but also against increasing mechanization and loss of jobs in the textile industry.

In 1982, large sections of the Bombay textile mill workers went to strike under Dutta Samant’s Maharashtra Girni Kamgar Aghadi, against the Mill Owners’ Association and the Congress-affiliated official trade union RMMS. The communist controlled Girni Kamgar Union had to support Samant’s leadership, though he was throughout seen as “a Congress agent” or “Congress fraction” by some sections.

Under his leadership, around 2.5 lakh mill workers of Bombay went on the historic general strike that was never lifted and technically continues even today. Though the expectation was that the strike would last for a few months, it extended to a year and a half. With the Left already cornered, and with Samant’s Congress affiliation guaranteeing natural limits on his class politics, Bombay’s bourgeois political class decided to give a final knockout punch to the city’s working class politics.

They never reopened the textile mills again. After a year long strike that began in 1982, the workers’ families finally surrendered, though after waging a prolonged battle. A large number of workers’ families had left the city due to the prolonged strike, and in parts because of a call given by Samant himself sending struggling workers back while he manages the strike in the city. The 1982 strike is technically still going on, because it was never officially called off.

By 1984 however, the strike was morally averted with Samant winning no concessions. The mill owners gradually started shifting their mills to the outskirts of the city – at places like Bhiwandi and Malegaon. Many mills shifted to the neighbouring state of Gujarat. Over the years, mechanized big composite mills got replaced by smaller power-looms and separate smaller units for dying, for weaving, etc – converting a once organised advanced industrial workforce into unskilled, unorganised daily wage and contractual labour force.

For many Dalit-Bahujan workers, mass closure of the mills meant getting pushed back into the same old economic and social slump. “My grandmother was working in the Dawn Mill at Lower Parel during the British era. She was earning Rs. 40 per month. There was economic mobility for people from lower castes for the first time, as they were getting mill jobs. The mills should have been saved.” said Madan Khale, a former CPI worker who is now active in the BSP. “While we can talk about the ‘glorious strike’ and all, but it is true that the workers got crushed,” said Com. Prakash Reddy of the CPI.

Principal causes for Defeat of Strike

What defeated the mill workers strike was

1. The lack of penetration of any genuine revolutionary left force within the unions of mill workers.
2. Powerful prevalence of revisionism of the CPI and CPM within the movement.,
3. The absence of any revolutionary democratic workers movement, strong trends of legalism within trade Union Movement,
4. Lack of organisational structure to confront attacks and Weakness in solidarity from other sections of the workers or even the peasantry.
5. Political preparation was inadequate and links with workers from other sections.
6. Inadequate mass political work was undertaken by revolutionary sections which made the workers unable to distinguish between revolutionary politics and opportunism and economism.Glaring absence of fractional work by Communist revolutionary sections.
7. Absence of a coherent revolutionary working class movement and fortified Communist party prevented giving a genuinely revolutionary shape to the   textile strike or a  class cutting edge.
8. Workers were unable to gauge the bourgeois class character of Datta Samant, who indirectly played into the hands of the management. Democratic functioning was absent within the Kamgar Union of Datta Samant.
9. There was lack of proper study circles for the workers.
10. Democratic revolutionary forces were unable to organise struggles to save the jobs of workers in the mid 1980’s.
11. Unable to mobilise temporary or badly workers

Impact of globalisation and liberalisation from 1991

The strike precipitated the ground for the introduction of liberalisation in 1991, which fragmented the working class, breaking up all it’s organisational mechanisms. The rulers in period of globalisation devised a strategy to freeze trade Unions and close many traditional industries, including the mill workers.

With the advent of economic liberalisation in 1991, the militant trade unionism of the 1970s and 1980s took a huge backseat.. The influx of money and investment sharpened competition in the industry, and as a result managements started rebuking unions’ demands. Workers were not being paid. There was reverse migration. Some workers survived on unskilled jobs. The dismantling of trade unions had begun, who were now championing the new business ethos in which labour welfare played a very marginal role. The failure of the trade unions lay in not establishing link the larger brotherhood of textile workers in the power loom and garments sectors. These sectors were already enstrangled by the government’s globalisation policies. The national trade unions showed scant regard in addressing the grievances of Mumbai’s textile workers. As a result of this lack of interest, the larger issue of textile policy reform was not addressed.

The mill sethia gauged the situation to perfection and welcomed their businesses to slide. Capital was used for diversionary purposes, machinery was not repaired, equipment was not modernised. The mills were allowed to turn sick. However the sprawling mill properties, obtained at concessional rates for industrial use, fetched huge amounts of money for the owners. When the mills became unproductive, the sethia s requested the government to allow them to sell the land in order to revive the mills. Unhesitatingly, the government allowed this. Needless to say, the money from the sale of land was not invested in the textile industry. Instead, high-end housing complexes and shopping malls came up on the 600 acres (240 hectares) of mill land.

During the strike, the majority of the private mill owners had sub-contracted cloth production to Bhiwandi, the power loom centre on the outskirts of Mumbai. Therefore, the mill owners were less keen on running the mills after the strike was over. Citing the ‘losses’ their business incurred during the strike, the mill owners sought the state’s permission to sell a ‘surplus’ portion of the mill lands in the real estate market to generate interest-free capital.

Despite workers’ opposition, the Maharashtra state eventually introduced the Development Control Regulations (DCR) 58 in 1991. For the first time, DCR 1991 permitted the mill owners to sell parts of mill lands in the real estate market for the revival of the textile mills and payment of workers’ dues. This provision was misused by several mill owners.

None of the mill owners who utilised the provisions of DCR 1991 invested their land sale profits in modernising the sick textile units and clearing workers’ dues. A few mills violated the norms entirely. For instance, the Phoenix Mills sought permission for ‘workers recreation’ centres but instead constructed an expensive commercial bowling alley and mall. Given the violations of DCR 1991, the Maharashtra government further amended the DCR 58 in 2001. The DCR 2001 permitted the mill owners to use the entire mill land for the non-industrial purpose.

This decision created the ground for the final closure of the textile mills most of which were over a century old. The pressures of the real estate market, an ever-growing service sector economy and the need to cater to the necessities of the city’s elites, the upper-middle classes and the ‘new’ middle class played a prime role in hurrying execution of the closures.

For instance, Lower Parel, an area identified with the working classes, is now renamed Upper Worli to create a new sense of identity for the new middle class. This has gradually pushed a large section of the working classes and the lower middle classes from the central parts of the city to the extreme suburbs or even their own villages..

Over the years, the mills gradually shut down, and with the unions in state of turmoil not much was achieved for the mill workers.

A most comprehensive and balanced report was brought about by Lok Shahi Hakk Sanghatana and ‘Giragaon Bachao Andolan’ on ‘Murder of the Mills’ .which undertook a classical case study of Phoenix Mills. Classically the reports illustrate the connivance or conspiracy of the politicians with the mill owners in facilitating selling of mill land, how every step was undertaken to give a crippling blow to the mill workers and an economic model incorporating culture of globalisation and promoting luxury.  “Behind the golden promise of a globalised Mumbai lie massive financial frauds committed in the name of workers’ livelihood and urban development, devastating job losses and the various tactics used by employers to pressure and dismiss workers, forcing them into insecure employment in the informal sector, destitution, and often crime. We hope to demystify the deindustrialisation of the city, the closures of its industries and the change in its political and cultural economies — a process which is by no means the work of impersonal “market forces”, but the very real coercion of workers by venal employers and vested interests.”

“The denial of wages to the workers, many of whom have been residents of Girangaon for generations and have been working in the mills since early in the century, is a denial of their rights legal and constitutional, but also cultural and human. Demoralised, most of the workers have submitted to this strategy of the management and accepted the misleadingly named Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) packages of Rs 50,000 to 2,00,000 in compensation for their lost jobs, a pittance compared to the security and livelihood offered by constant employment that was once their right. In the meanwhile, the management and their agents have subcontracted production of textiles to the informal powerloom sector in the urban hinterlands in Bhiwandi, Malegaon and Ichalkaranji, while stamping and packaging the cloth produced in powerlooms at the mill godowns before sending them to market. This phenomenon of outsourcing or subcontracting of production, is becoming more commonplace in almost every industry in the country, and is behind the spate of industrial closures throughout the city.”

Since the late 1980s protests by the working classes in Mumbai have substantially nullified. Industrial actions from the late 1980s and 1990s demonstrate  that while workers protest did attract solidarity from the artists, writers and leaders of opposition parties (in some cases ruling party too), it did not crystallise  into the working classes occupying  centre stage in politics.

Struggle resurgence

There was a minor bout of surge of unionisation when workers of 10 closed mills bonded together and formed the Bandh Girni Kamgar Sangharsh Samiti (Shut Mills Workers Action Committee) in 1989. Their objective was to reopen the mills and re-employ the 25,000-odd jobless workers. They succeeded in enabling a large number of workers to get their dues. The majority of them were apparently given cheap houses in lieu of jobs, but the Samiti was unable to achieve its main goal of reviving the textile industry. Formidable powers obstructed the reopening of the mills. Some most praiseworthy struggles were undertaken by the Bandh Girni Sangarsh  Commitee from 1991 formed under the initiative of the Indian Federation of Trade Unions which was later converted into the Girni Kamgar Union.It organised an impactful black flag takeover of a closed mill in February 1992 and drew in thousands of workers on the streets in protest. Also organised a most impressive protest at a Bowling company in August 1999.Although resorting to legalism it built a strong base for workers to wage battles for their basics rights.

Strong currents of legalism of the Bandh Girni Sangarsh Commitee, weakness of penetration of revolutionary currents as fractions, fragmentation of working class and lack of revolutionary political consciousness were obstacles in the mill workers posing a challenge to their adversaries. Still I can never forget the heart rendering service of Meena Menon,convenor of Girgaum Bachao Andolan and Datta Ishwalkar.

Today we have to resurrect spirit of 1982 Mill workers strike in a new form, when globalisation has created a complete metamorphosis  of production , separated workers at work places , multiplied powers of the management  and nullified workers striking power at an unparalleled scale. New methods have to be devised of organising workers, particularly contract labour, with respect to changes in digital age. Imperialist culture has to be confronted at it’s hardest point. Today organised labour is on the brink of extinction, with corporates having complete monopoly.

Harsh Thakor is a freelance journalist who has covered mass movements around India ad extensively studied movement o Mumbai Mill workers. Owes gratitude to research of writer Hub van Werch in ‘The 1982-83 Bombay Textile Strike and the Unmaking of a Labourers’and Sumit Mhaskar

Courtesy: countercurrents.org

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On January 8th the 6^th martyrdom anniversary of Late Mata Gurdev Kaur was observed by Zameen Prapt Sangarsh Commitee  in village Jaloor in Sangrur. Faces of participants were written with relentless spirit to pursue the path of Gurdev Kaur,who was martyred confronting caste oppression.

Even of only around 400 persons participated, the event was qualitatively a hit.

Gurdev Kaur was a living illustration of the vanguard role of women in emancipation of dalit agricultural labour and her martyrdom symbolised the oppressive or Brahmanical nature of the social order.

The Communist revolutionary groups hailed Gurdev Kaur as the “first martyr” of the Dalits’ struggle for village common land. She was one of the pioneering activists of the ZameenPrapt Sangarsh Commitee.

Gurdev Kaur galvanised dalit labourers into the forefront to knit a powerful unit of the ZPSC in Jaloor.

Under her guidance the ZPSC confronted upper caste landlords at their hardest point, and occupied share of panchayat land.

Gurdev Kaur inspired women to confront the police and upper caste jat farmers, who were earlier reluctant to step out of their homes.

On October 5 in 2016, Jat landlords and their armed goons attacked a group of Dalits from the ZPSC when they were returning to Jaloor after staging a dharna in front of the Lehragaga SDM’s office.

Dalit houses were too vandalised. Dalit women were molested and 40 dalits were mortally wounded. They were demanding on lease 6 acres of village common land for Dalit families. The incident left 24 people injured.

Her son Balwinder Singh and husband Lal Singh were booked in connection with the clash.

The landlords patronised by local Akali leaders tried to amputate tp Gurdev Kaur’s leg. She was brought to PGI, where a surgery was performed.

Gurdev Kaur perished as result of injuries from the attack. Thousands thronged to her funeral.

Her martyrdom inspired new rose to bloom with women activists coming to the forefront of movements. Women participate in the same numbers as men.

ZPSC convenor Mukesh Mulaudh and Kirti Kisan Union leader Nirbhay Singh summed up the contribution of Gurdev Kaur and how she symbolised dalit women agricultural labourer’s emancipation.

They  narrated how inspite the land distribution of panchayat land reaching a third phase the administration was literally paralysed in undertaking any reform and n the contrary patronised dummy auctioning of land .

They summarised how land was still at the mercy of upper caste farmers or vacant with hardly any implementation of land laws. The sheer apathy of chief minister Bhagwant Mannn towards addressing the issues was highlighted as well as how day by day apart from labourers, the condition of famers, students, youth and workers was worsening.

They called on the people to tread the path of Mata Gurdev  Kaur to fertilise a revolutionary movement., which would be befitting tribute to her martyrdom. The utter futility of negotiation has come out to the fore in recent times.

A most impactful and artistic play and choreography was performed by Lok Rang Manch ,from Ludhiana. It gave a most lively touch to the event, created optimism in participants and prevented it from becoming a mere ritual.

Prominent participants were Dharampal Singh, Meghraj Chotiya, Sukhdeep Hadhan, Rupinder Singh, Pramjeet Kaur Longowal,  Guvinder Shahdari,  Makhan Jaloor, and Gurdas.

We missed the participation of leaders from other agricultural labour groups of farmers groups, like in past years, like Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union, or Krantikari Pendu Mazdoor Union, or even Bharatiya KIsan Union factions. More appropriate that such an event was commemorated by a joint Committee.

Harsh Thakor is freelance journalist who has frequently toured Punjab

Courtesy: countercurrents.org

The original piece may be read here

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A 10,000 strong contingent of Dalit agricultural workers under the leadership of the common front of rural and farm labour organizations, Sanjha Morcha Sangrur, thronged near the chief minster’s residence in Sangrur-Patiala highway. For over a month the organisations forming part of the front had prepared for the event.

One of the largest Dalit worker gatherings in recent times in Punjab, as soon as the contingent of labourers proceeded towards Kothi to knock at the door of chief minister’s house, the police unleashed lathicharge upon them. Many men and women were injured; many lost their turbans, due to which the anger in the minds of the workers escalated. 

Threatened by the anger of the workers, the chief minister agreed to meet a panel of labour leaders on December 21 in Chandigarh, after which the blockade was lifted.

Agricultural workers converged in the form of caravans from all over Punjab to ring a bell at the chief minister’s house for the implementation of the agreed demands of and for concrete settlement of the demands. Chief minister Bhagwant Mann was away in Gujarat for election campaign.

Those who addressed the landless workers under the Patiala Bridge included President of the Zameen Prapti Sangharsh Committee Mukesh Malaudh, General Secretary of tge Krantikari Pendu Mazdoor Union Punjab Lakhvir Longowal, State General Secretary of the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union Lachhman Singh Savewala, state leader of tge Mazdoor Mukti Morcha Punjab Makhan Singh Ramgarh, state leader of the Kull Hind Khet Mazdoor Union Bhup Chand Channon, leader of the Dehati Mazdoor Union Prakash Nandgarh, leader of the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Sabha Gulzar Gaurian, and state president of the Pendu Mazdoor Union Tarsem Pete.

Condemning the police lathicharge they said that the Bhagwant Singh Mann government is treading the same anti-labour policies as the previous governments. They stated that the government is paying no heed to the accepted demands of rural agricultural labourers due to caste-based discrimination and is not ready to offer any concrete solution to their burning emands.

Other leaders of the joint front of rural and farm labour organizations who addressed the rally included Kashmir Singh Ghugshore, Zora Singh Nasrali, Krishan Chauhan, Paramjit Mudki, Bikkar Singh Hathoa, Pargat Singh Kalajhar, Mithu Singh Ghudda, Paramjit Kaur Longowal, Devi Kumari, Harbhagwan Singh Moonak, Dharamveer Harigarh, Lal Singh Dhanula, and Avtar Singh Rasulpur.

The leaders said that after the chief minister cancelled the meeting scheduled with the Mazdoor Morcha on October 3, they were not given time for the next meeting. There was no agreement at a meeting held by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema. The apathy instilled anger in the rural workers against the AAP government and the chief minister.

They demanded that the employment of the labourers should be guaranteed for the whole year and the daily wages should be stipulated to Rs 700; one third portion of the panchayat lands should be allotted to the labourers at a cheap price; the ownership rights of the Nazul lands should be given to the Dalits; plots should be given to the homeless and the needy; loans should be waived; compensation should be given to suicide victims; old age, widow, disabled pension should be increased to Rs 5,000, age; coercion on Dalits should be eradicated; and cases registered during the struggles should be lifted.

The Indian Federation of Trade Unions issued a statement condemning the lathicharge.

*Freelance journalist who has covered mass movements around India and frequently toured Punjab

Courtesy: https://www.counterview.net

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In Manesar in Haryana.the Besonika Mazdoor Union held a Mazdoor Kisan Panchayat from 10 p.m to 3 p.m at the Gurgaon District Collectors office, protesting the anti-people policies of Modi govt.and pro-capitalist designs of the rulers

Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan ) president Joginder Singh Ugrahan was present with other peasant organisation leaders. Workers organisations from Gurgaon and Uttarakhand also joined. Interarc Workers in preparation stage a mini-maha panchayat a few days ago in Uttarakahand. Inquilabi Mazdoor Kendra also made a considerable contribution, through ideological-political campaigning. Cloth Mazdooor Union workers, Ineterarc workers from Uttarakhand, Hitachi Contract workers, and Aisan workers also participated.

Belsonika Union secretary Ajit Singh explained the objectives of the Mazdoor Kisan Panchayat and narrated the goal of the four labour laws instated by Narendra Modi and why it was essential to get them scrapped.

Ajit elaborated the strategy of the management to break the backbone of the workers organised movement by installing contract labour system, retrenching old workers, bringing in fresh team trainees and dismantling trade Unions. Unemployment has scaled unprecedented levels, with all permanent workers replaced by contract or badly workers.

Ajit went on to narrate how the workers and peasants waged a battle against a common enemy and their struggle could not bee viewed in isolation of each other. He stated it was imperative that it forged unity in struggles in a common front, by linking issues. Both classes were equally victimised by the government policies.

It was time for the workers and peasants to challenge the wrath of capitalism and raise a national level stir against the ruling BJP and imperative to undertake a ground level preparatory campaign to build a collective organisation.

Ironic that last year on November 14^th, the Mazdoor Kisan panchayat staged an identical programme, in which workers participated in huge numbers.

For some days Belsonika Union undertook meticulous preparatory work to stage the panchayat, through leafleting, postering and social media like facebook. It turned out effective. The methods they adopted in mobilising are most complementary.

We must note it is complex and challenging to unite workers and peasants on a common platform, considering differences in culture, outlook, production methods etc.The gap has to be narrowed through consistent, painstaking ideological work. Mere mobilisation can never substitute grassroots work.

Harsh Thakor is a freelance journalist who covers mass movements around India

Courtesy: https://countercurrents.org

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On 22nd October farmers under the banner of Samuyukta Kisan Morcha as a part of the 11 day dharna against land takeover in Azamgarh for airport construction, held a peoples’ parliament in Hariram in Khiriya bag. Over a thousand persons participated.

Organisations participating were Samyukta Kisan Morcha,Kisan Sangrami Parishad, ,Kisan Sangram Samiti,Jai Kisan Andolan,and Bhumia Bachao.

Prominent speakers were Satyadev Pal,Rahul Kumar,Sunil ,Govind, Pravesh Nishad,,Virend ra Yadav,,Balwant Yadav ,Rajkumar Yadav,,Suraj Pal,Nandlal,Omprakash Bharti, Mahendra Rai etc.

The event highlighted the strategy of the ruling BJP party in patronising every endeavour of the corporates to grab land and endorsing the International policy of United States of America in agricultural production. They explained how the American policy would cause grave harm to Indian agriculture..It summarised how the only goal o the farmers was to protect their villages and land and how the rulers banged every nail in the wall to sabotage it. In every sphere, be it railways, airports, factories or hospitals, globalisation has penetrated at the very core, literally placing public interest in the dust. Issues like retrenchment of workers, closure of factories, unemployment, and price rise were touched upon, illustrating how all reached heights unscaled. Speakers reflected on how the 3 bills earlier passed stripped the farming community of any bargaining power and the foundation of any democratic aspirations. They explained how all over India such a strategy was being extended, in robbing farmers of land rights to construct a pro-corporate model. It was asserted how the farmers had no expectations of the ruling party bringing the criminals involved in running over the framers to the book, but would still intensify the struggle at any cost. Leaders condemned how culprit Ajay Mishra Treni,was still not brought to the book. The meeting highlighted how shivers were sent down the spine of the ruling party, for shielding the culprits of Lakhimpur Kheri, making some leaders plead for mercy. The leaders expressed confidence that the people’s strength would overcome the might of the opressors.It was planned to submit a memorandum with a charter of demands, expressing that farmers would not part with even an inch of their land.

Harsh Thakor is a freelance journalist who covers mass movements around India

Courtesy: https://countercurrents.org

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On the 28th of September 2022, Naujawan Bharat Sabha – Maharashtra and Stree Mukti League Maharashtra celebrated the 115th birth anniversary of the great revolutionary martyr Bhagat Singh in Mankhurd, Mumbai with great vigour and pomp… Around 50 persons participated in a demonstration and rally with a cultural programme .With intense attention people observed the proceedings in the basti area.

The program was the culmination of a 5-day campaign in different slum settlements of Govandi-Mankhurd under the name of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Smruti Sankalp Abhiyan. Over the course of 5 days, activists of NBS and SML organized a sustained and concentrated campaigns in the areas of Rafiq Nagar, Khadi, Gautam Nagar, Zakir Hussain Nagar, Sathe Nagar and Lallubhai Compound. Through slogans, revolutionary songs, music and a satirical play (Safdar Hashmi’s Desh Ko Aagey Badhao), the life and thought of Bhagat Singh was projected to the working people of Mankhurd.

Speaking about the relevance of Bhagat Singh today, NBS and SML activists said that it was Bhagat Singh who first propounded what freedom should really mean for the country: Bhagat Singh said that we must demand freedom for the bottom 90% of the people, not just the top 10%; and that we must extinguish exploitation of people by both domestic and foreign exploiters. While by foreign exploiters, Bhagat Singh referred to the British, he also emphasized the need to overthrow of the domestic exploiters, the Tatas, Birlas and the Wadias and the like who built their empires by collaborating with the British, ruthlessly exploiting workers and brutally suppressing any resistance. Bhagat Singh dreamed of an India where workers and peasants would unite in anger to break their chains, would kick out the capitalists, capture state power in their own hands and create the foundation for an egalitarian society, where exploitation of any human being by any other would become impossible. Bhagat Singh and his comrades saw it as the imperative task of the youth, the most energetic and capable section of the masses, to invest every ounce of their energy to knit this radical change. They had formed Naujawan Bharat Sabha in 1925 with the purpose of recruiting sensitive and strong-willed young men and women into a well knit army for this heroic struggle. NBS today is embarking on continuing this historic mission. Speaking at various places in Govandi-Mankhurd, activists of NBS stated that the dismal state of government schools, colleges and hospitals in the country, the intensifying scale of unemployment, hyper inflation, ascendancy of communalism as well as rising instances of violence against women and caste atrocities the general sense of helplessness prevailing among the public remind us that we are not liberated , that our freedom is being continuously hampered by the Ambanis, Adanis, Tatas and Birlas in whose interest the whole country is being turned into an imperialist egg., with their virtual monopoly. They pump massive amounts of money into the electoral process to ensure that only those individuals and parties who champion their interests get elected. They exercise a complete monopoly over the media organizations, which only publishes news which promotes their prospects,. The police and the army act as their instruments to mercilessly supress working people who pose a threat to their profits. The politicians act as agents of the capitalist class, sit in the parliament and draft laws to snatch working people’s rights, ensure unemployment stays high so that wages remain low. There is no path for progress, freedom and human emancipation in such a world. Only the rebellion of the youth can transform a society trapped in such a morass of stagnation and decay and perform the task of transforming this oppressive system into an egalitarian social order. The wise and courageous sons and daughters of the working people will have to come forward and take the message of revolution to every house and to every person from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from Assam to the Gulf of Kutch. They will not only have unite and fight for their rights, but they will have to participate in the struggle for justice of every section of the society. They will not only have to serve the toiling masses but become one with them by becoming a part of their lives and their struggle.

Speaking about the program of the NBS, the activists said that the main slogan of NBS is Equal Education for All and Employment for All. NBS is raising people’s consciousness of their democratic rights like right to healthcare, water, electricity etc. and lead struggles to obtain them. NBS has formulated a programme of continuous campaigns for a new revolutionary enlightenment among the youth through the channels of libraries, study circles, publicity campaigns, pamphlets, magazines, books etc. financed through public contributions .It is arming them with the weapons of a scientific temperament and the correct historical perspective. NBS is running wide publicity campaigns against alcoholism, dowry system, caste system, untouchability and all social evils. But all this is not sufficient. The activists said that the task of NBS is to knit all these struggles and campaigns together to construct a broad platform to overthrow the brutal anti-people capitalist system and establish an egalitarian social order. This was the dream of our martyrs. Speaking to the public, the activists of NBS and SML appealed to the youth to join Naujawan Bharat Sabha pledge their to the struggle to build a free India, the India of Bhagat Singh’s dreams. NBS collected hundreds of voluntary financial contributions during the 5 day program in which many individuals praised the activists for carrying out such a program. Many dozen people also provided their contact details expressing a wish to join the organization.

I was impressed with this programme from a qualitative viewpoint admiring the tenacity of the organisers and activists to confront he Neo-fascism.prevailing today. Majority of the participants were under 25 .It is admirable that the organisation in a very systematic manner organised a preparatory campaign and conducted a programme in accordance or in tune with the ground reality. Also impressive participation of female students. It reflects the resurrection of youth in the revolutionary democratic fold. It is admirable that these groups are at grassroots level creating class consciousness with dedicated mass work., in Mumbai, which is the very egg of imperialism .Such youth constitute the best sons of our country to emancipate our country from the yoke of imperialism and Hindutva fascsim.It is of importance for Bhagat Singh’s ideas to be brought to the forefront by connecting his ideology with the day to day struggle of the masses.

Harsh Thakor is a freelance journalist who has covered mass movements around India

Courtesy: https://countercurrents.org

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