By Amarjeet Kaur
Despite all odds, with heavy rains and a typhoon in some states and oppressive methods of the government, the nationwide strike on November 26, 2020 was a grand success, surpassing the participation in the January 8, 2020 General Strike.
The number of participants in various forms, strikes or mass mobilisation in processions, dharnas picketing etc, was more than 25 crores of working people. Employees from the central and state government departments and public sector enterprises — regular, contract and outsourced —, those in the private industry — regular and contract workers, and the whole lot of informal/ unorganised sector work force in construction, beedi, home-based, other piece rate workers, domestic workers, loaders-unloaders, hawkers-vendors and those in shops and establishments, agricultural workers and other rural masses, Anganwadi, ASHA and Midday Meal workers,etc, were enthusiastic participants.
The strike participation by employees of the central government and state governments and the PSUs was much better than previous times. Several states, including Kerala, Tripura, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Odisha, Assam, reported total bandh-like situation. The general strike was tremendous in most of the states with great impact in the states of West Bengal Jharkhand, Bihar, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Manipur and Rajasthan.
Government used Covid-19 situation to push their economic policies and to suppress the rights of workers, farmers and the common citizens, bringing in changes in several laws to attack democratic rights of Indian masses, to corporatise the land belonging to vast majority of kisans in India as well as to contain and suppress trade unions and to scuttle hard-won labour rights with struggles of more than 150 years in India. We accepted the challenge posed by Modi government and decided to come out for the nationwide General Strike in this corona time.
We have called it a preparatory strike for further intensification of actions and agitations by the trade unions of all sectors in the coming days to halt and for reversal of these anti-worker, anti-farmer, anti-people and anti-national policies of the government.
The joint struggle committee of various kisan organisations had given a call of Delhi Chalo on 26 and 27 November, which was supported by the trade unions in response to the solidarity expressed by them to the workers’ strike and announcing participation in the demonstrations in rural India.
What is being witnessed by the whole nation that the Modi government is hell bent to suppress the spirit of farming community, which is enraged because of the ill intentions of the government having chosen corona time to bring devastating agri-laws.
A quick recap of the events leading to the present situation: Parliament was called for a few days in September and the government chose to convert eleven ordinances into enactments, including agriculture bills, three labour codes and some so-called reforms in the finance sector, etc. All the norms and forms of parliamentary democracy were violated, rather Parliament was mutilated, when the ruling regime used brute majority in Lok Sabha and when sensed that some of their own allies may not support them in Rajya Sabha, the agri-bills were passed with voice vote, ignoring the Opposition’s demand for a division and eight MPs were thrown out for “unruly behaviour”.
This was taken as a big blow by the farmers, who were already agitating since promulgation of the ordinances and the trade unions had extended their support. They decided in their United Front of kisan organizations – AIKSCC — to lodge nationwide protest on September 25 and the president of this joint Morcha came to express solidarity with workers in their protest demonstration on 23rd September at Jantar Mantar, being held as part of nationwide protest call by the platform of Central Trade Union organisations.
The irony of the situation is that when the central trade unions were on streets to protest against pro-employer codification of labour laws on September 23, Modi government shamed Parliament and crushed democratic norms when the Labour codes were passed with total absence of opposition, which was on boycott demanding taking back of eight MPs in Rajya Sabha and only the ruling party MPs were present.
In solidarity with farmers, the trade unions mobilised all over India to support their action on September 25. It was in this background that we, the platform of ten central trade union organisations, along with sectoral federations /associations, decided, in our national convention of workers held online on October 2 – the Gandhi Jayanti Day — to organise Nationwide General Strike on November 26 to demand withdrawal of Farm Acts and Labour Codes, among other demands. Later on, the AIKSCC also decided their nationwide protests to continue and Chalo Parliament rally on November 26-27.
Despite all efforts by the government and its blind supporters to defame the movement, calling them names, trying to discourage them to proceed towards Delhi using concrete barriers, wired barriers, water cannons, teargas, lathi-charge, the farmers have shown their determination and with peaceful protests winning over more support from varied sections of society.
The kisan morcha did not fall prey to the offer of shifting their agitation to Burari grounds in Delhi and decided their own strategy of sit-in at entry points of Delhi.
The government had tried their tricks of dividing the ranks but it failed, now we are getting reports that the RSS cadres are trying to infiltrate in various places wherever the kisans took shelter who are away from the main places of sit-in agitation.
We at AITUC level and also from the platform of trade unions, are making all out efforts to stand with them, mobilise human and material resources in whatever possible manner to add strength to the historic struggle taking place at present juncture.
The vicious propaganda against workers and farmers and their organisations is being carried by the biased media in favour of Modi government as well as by the paid troll army of BJP IT Cell. But this does not change the reality at the ground level. This is getting converted into more determination among the fighting masses to carry forward their fight for justice.
The trade union organisations are soon to meet to plan the next phase of our agitations, sectoral and countrywide, of all working people.
We can’t wait, we have to march forward to fight the tyranny of the present regime in the interest of our people, our nation, our constitutional rights of secular democracy, for equity and justice. (IPA Service)
The writer is the general secretary of AITUC.