Nationalism and Working Class Movements

2020-04-27 15:20:52

Railways and Telegraph laid the foundation of the emergence of Indian working class.
Early strikes were held in Bombay, Calcutta, Ahmedabad, Surat and in the plantations. They were sporadic and unorganised.
Organised efforts were started by Sorabjee Shapoorji Bengali who tried to limit the working hours of the labours.
Sasipada Bannerji formed the Bharat Sramjeebi.
Narayan Meghajee Lokhanday brought out the Dina Bandhu in 1880.
The early nationalists were concerned with the wider problems and not with the class struggles so they stayed away from the labour classes problems.
This was not the case where the owners were Britishers.
During the Swadeshi movt organised agitation emerged, no. of strikes rose, unions were formed.
Aswinicoomar Bannerji, Prabhat Kumar, Premtosh Bose and Apurba Kumar were certain names associated with them.
==Workers now started to protest for wider political issues instead of narrow economic questions.==
Subramania Siva led such strikes in Tuticorin along with Chidambram Pillai.
This phase also saw the emergence of socialist, marxist ideas.
During the NCM movt the working class got involved significantly.
==All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) was formed in 1920 by Lokamanya Tilak. Lala Lajpat Rai was its first president.==
Second half of the 1920s saw the beginning of leftist/communist trends which became strong in the following years.
Certain leftist association that was formed were Workers and Peasants Party by SA Dange, Gimi Kamgar Union etc.
The communists stopped aligning themselves with the national movement and were soon isolated and participation of workers in their parties decreased.
CDM movt was widely participated by the mill owners and workers.
Communists reorganised themselves circa 1934 and during the tenure of Congress govt in provinces trade union activity increased. It was due to inc civil liberties, pro-labour attitude.
WW II began, communists joined after the invasion of Russia.
During the RIN revolts the dock workers refused to work.
Tea plantation, Iron steel, jute, cotton - working class, informal sector, 2.1 mil in 1911.

Riots were common, untouchables used as strike breakers against caste H + M unionists
Many riots directed against the Raj
Janaki Nair - growing tide of rationalism and atheism won many converts in kolar gold fields Mysore
Strikes in Bombay, Ahmedabad, Sholapur, Calcutta, Jamshedpur, Nagpur, Madras, Coimbatore - of trade union.
Employer state collusion made IN workers not join trade union.
INC ambivalent towards Womenn, hardly any measure to mobilise them.
Strikes in Bengal 1920-21, Khilafat issue, NCN.
Assam Bengal railway strike 1921, Great IN peninsular railway strike 1930, Dock workers strike 1932
Link strikes w/ nationalist goals to seek legitimacy.
Compulsion to remain umbrella org INC prevented large scale labour part.
Jute mill strike 1937.
Communism grew among them Jute Mill strike 1929, Bengal Chatkal Mazdoor Union 1937.
Chandravarkar : support for communists arise from fusion of antagonism towards capitalist class and state
Public Safety Act, Trade disputes Act 1929 virtually banned strikes.
Meerut conspiracy case.
1928 Communists disassociated themselves from INC fiat from Comintern.
Commu revival in 1933-34, Cong began collaboration, an on CP lifted 1942.