Nationalism and Working Class Movements | History Optional for UPSC (Notes) PDF Download

Emergence of Modern Industry and the Working Class in India

• In the mid-19th century, modern industry began to take shape in India, with the construction of railways marking the inception of the modern Indian working class.
• Industrialization progressed alongside the railways, driven by the rapid expansion of supporting industries such as coal, cotton, and jute.
• The Indian working class faced exploitation akin to that experienced in 19th-century Europe, characterized by low wages, long hours, poor working conditions, child labor, and a lack of basic amenities.
• Colonialism added a unique dimension to the Indian working class movement, as workers grappled with imperial rule and economic exploitation by both foreign and native capitalists.
• The struggle of the working class was intertwined with the political fight for national independence, making this interconnection inevitable.
• The concept of an All India working class emerged in tandem with the Indian National Movement, as the identity of the Indian working class was closely linked to the evolving notion of the Indian people.
• The British Government in India was pro-capitalist, implementing only token measures to alleviate the hardships faced by laborers.
• Despite the challenges, the growth of the working class and industrialization laid the foundation for future economic and social transformations in India.

Earlier Efforts

The early nationalists, particularly the Moderates, had a tepid approach towards labor issues. They:

• Showed little concern for labor's interests.
• Made a distinction between labor in Indian-owned factories and those in British-owned ones. They readily supported workers in British-owned enterprises, as they viewed employers and employees in such cases as not being part of the same nation. This perspective was articulated by P. Ananda Charlu, the Congress president in 1891.
• Feared that labor legislations would undermine the competitive advantage of Indian-owned industries.
• Avoided class-based divisions within the broader nationalist movement.
• Opposed the Factory Acts of 1881 and 1891 for these reasons.
• Despite this, there were exceptions like the Mahratta, a nationalist newspaper influenced by G.S. Agarkar, which supported workers' rights and urged mill owners to make concessions. However, such sentiments were in the minority.
• The early nationalists' lukewarm attitude towards labor was partly because they did not want to weaken the nascent anti-imperialist movement by creating divisions among the Indian populace.Dadabhai Naoroji emphasized this point in the Indian National Congress, advocating for a focus on issues of national consensus and leaving social reforms to specific class groups.
• As the national movement strengthened, more pro-labor ideologies emerged within the nationalist ranks. Efforts were made to organize labor and improve its bargaining position against more powerful classes, while still maintaining an anti-imperialist united front.

• Earlier attempts to enhance workers' economic conditions were philanthropic, sporadic, and targeted specific local issues. Notable efforts included:

  • 1870: Sasipada Banerjee, a Brahmo social reformer, established a working men's club and the newspaper Bharat Shramjeevi.
  • 1878: Sorabjee Shapoorji Bengalee unsuccessfully tried to pass a bill in the Bombay Legislative Council aimed at improving labor conditions and limiting working hours.
  • 1880: Narain Meghajee Lokhanday started the Anglo-Marathi weekly Deenbandhu and founded the Bombay Mill and Millhands Association.
  • 1899: The first strike by the Great Indian Peninsular Railways occurred, garnering widespread support. Tilak's Kesari and Maharatta had been advocating for the strike for months. Public meetings and fund collections in support of the strikers were organized in Bombay and Bengal by prominent nationalists such as Pherozeshah Mehta, D.E. Wacha, and Surendranath Tagore. The foreign exploitation made this agitation a national issue and part of the broader national movement.
  • Prominent nationalist leaders like Bipin Chandra Pal and G. Subramanya Aiyar also called for better conditions for workers and other pro-labor reforms.

During Swadeshi Movement of Bengal:

• Workers began participating in broader political issues, moving away from solely economic concerns.
• The number of strikes increased significantly, with the labor movement evolving from unorganized to organized strikes on economic matters, supported by nationalists.
• On October 16, 1905, the day the partition of Bengal was implemented, there was a surge of working-class strikes and hartals in Bengal.
• Workers in various jute mills, railway coolies, and carters went on strike.
• At the Bum Company shipyard in Howrah, workers struck work when denied leave to attend a meeting called by Calcutta Swadeshi leaders.
• Workers also protested by striking when management objected to them singing Bande Mataram or tying rakhis as symbols of unity.
• Swadeshi leaders actively engaged in organizing trade unions, strikes, legal aid, and fundraising.
• National leaders like B.C. Pal, C.R. Das, and Liaqat Hussain addressed public meetings supporting striking workers.
• Strikes were organized by figures such as Ashwini Coomar Banerjee, Prabhat Kumar Roy Chaudhuri, Premtosh Bose, and Apurba Kumar Ghosh.
• These strikes targeted government presses, railways, and the jute industry, often dominated by foreign capital or the colonial state.
• Initial attempts to form all-India unions were made during this period but were largely unsuccessful.
• Frequent processions supporting strikers were held in the streets of Calcutta, with people providing food and contributions of money and goods.
• Subramaniya Siva and Chidambaram Pillai led strikes in Tuticorin and Tirunelvelli, advocating for higher wages in foreign-owned cotton mills, and faced arrest.
• In Rawalpindi, Punjab, arsenal and railway engineering workers went on strike as part of the 1907 upsurge, leading to the deportation of Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh.
• The largest strike and political demonstration by the working class during this period occurred following Tilak’s arrest and trial.
• During the Swadeshi period, there was a nascent socialist influence among some radical nationalist leaders who were exposed to Marxist and social democratic ideas from Europe.
• The success of the Russian working-class movement as a form of political protest was suggested as a model for India.
• After the decline of the nationalist mass movement in 1908, the labor movement also experienced a setback.
• It wasn’t until the next wave of nationalist mobilization after World War I that the working-class movement revived, albeit at a qualitatively higher level.

Resurgence of working class activity (During The First World War and After):

• Post-War Impact: The aftermath of the war led to increased exports, soaring prices, and significant profiteering for industrialists. However, workers faced very low wages, resulting in discontent among the workforce.
• Rise of Gandhi: The emergence of Mahatma Gandhi sparked a broad-based national movement, focusing on mobilizing workers and peasants for the national cause.
• Early Movements: Initiatives like the Home Rule Leagues(1915),Rowlatt Satyagraha(1919), and the Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movement(1920-22) pushed the movement forward.
• Formation of Organizations: The working class established its own national-level organization to defend its class rights and became significantly involved in mainstream nationalist politics.
• Need for Trade Unions: There was a growing recognition of the need to organize workers into trade unions.
• International Influence: Global events like the establishment of a socialist republic in the Soviet Union, the formation of the Comintern, and the setting up of the International Labour Organisation(ILO), along with the economic depression, added a new dimension to the working-class movement in India.
• Resurgence of Activity: Between 1919 and 1922, there was a resurgence of working-class activity, although there was no political movement based on socialism or class struggle at that time.
• Intense Strike Movement: The strike movement, which began in 1918 and spread across the country in 1919 and 1920, was marked by intensity.
• The Ahmedabad textile strike in March 1918, led by Gandhi himself, was a notable event.
• At the end of 1918, a significant strike affected the entire industry in the Bombay cotton mills.
• The workers' participation in major national political events was crucial.
• The response to the hartal against the Rowlatt Act in spring 1919 highlighted the workers' political role in the national struggle.
• In April 1919, following repression in Punjab and Gandhiji’s arrest, the working class in Ahmedabad and other parts of Gujarat resorted to strikes, agitations, and demonstrations.
• Railway workers’ agitations for economic demands and against racial discrimination also aligned with the broader anti-colonial mass struggle.
• Between 1919 and 1921, railway workers struck on several occasions in support of the Rowlatt agitation and the Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movement.
• The call for an All-India general strike by the North Western Railway workers in April 1919 received enthusiastic responses in the northern region.
• Lajpat Jagga's research shows that for many railway workers, Gandhiji symbolized resistance to colonial rule and exploitation, while the Indian Railways represented the British Empire.
• In November 1921, during the visit of the Prince of Wales, workers responded to the Congress call for a boycott with a countrywide general strike.
• In Bombay, textile factories were closed, and around 140,000 workers participated in protests against Europeans and Parsis welcoming the Prince of Wales.
• Western Indian cotton mills and Calcutta jute mills also experienced significant labour unrest around this time.
• In 1920, there were 119 strikes, followed by 152 in 1921.
• These industrial actions are often described as spontaneous movements with no centralized leadership, coordination, program, or organization, akin to “a working class jacquerie.”
• In the 1920s, the colonial state and some employers briefly recognized the value of trade unions as legitimate negotiation channels. This shift was a response to the 1919 Act, which granted labor representation in legislative councils, a principle later extended to municipalities.
• However, this change was more about containment than a genuine change of heart. Subsequently, anti-labor legislations were enacted in 1934, 1938, and 1946 to curb working-class militancy and trade union activities. The police were also frequently used to break strikes and maintain labor discipline.
• Numerous trade unions were established during this period. The initial efforts at trade union organization emerged across India, with the Workers in the Ahmedabad Cotton Mills forming a union in 1917.
• However, the organizational base was weak and lagged behind the level of militancy. By 1920, there were 125 unions with a total membership of 250,000, many of which were formed during 1919-20.
• The Madras Labour Union, established by B.P. Wadia in 1918 and associated with theosophist Mrs. Besant, is often considered the starting point of Indian trade unionism.

Formation of The AITUC:

• Founded on October 31, 1920.
• Lokamanya Tilak played a key role in its formation.
• Lala Lajpat Rai became the first president, with Dewan Chaman Lal as general secretary.
• Lajpat Rai connected capitalism to imperialism.
• Rai urged Indian labor to organize nationally.
• AITUC's manifesto called for workers to engage in nationalist politics.
• In its early years, AITUC was more about representation at the International Labour Conference than connecting with working-class movements.
• C.R. Das supported integrating workers' and peasants' issues into the struggle for Swaraj.
• AITUC was initially influenced by British Labour Party's social democratic ideas.
• Gandhi was critical of AITUC's approach.

Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association (1918)

• Gandhi was instrumental in organizing the Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association, resulting in a 27.5% wage increase for workers (later increased to 35% by an arbitrator).
• This association was one of the largest trade unions of its time.

Government Response:

• The British Government took some steps by establishing the Bengal Committee Department in 1919-20, the Bombay Industrial Dispute Committee in 1922, and the Madras Labour Department in 1921 (passed in 1926).
• The main aim of the government was to steer the labour movement in India towards a safe direction and promote the right type of unionism. This objective was evident in the Trade Union Act of 1926, which imposed special restrictions on political activities.

The Trade Union Act, 1926:

• Recognised trade unions as legal associations.
• Outlined conditions for the registration and regulation of trade union activities.
• Provided civil and criminal immunity for trade unions from prosecution for legitimate activities, while imposing restrictions on their political activities.

Reasons for the restricted growth of trade unionism:

•  Indian workers were divided, competing against each other and not joining trade union movements, largely due to collusion between employers and the state. 
•  At both the industry and factory levels, workers faced victimization, intimidation, coercion, and physical attacks for attempting to organize. 
•  During strikes, employers could easily dismiss striking workers due to an oversupply of labor, with the state supporting the employers. 
•  These factors limited the growth of trade unionism. 
•  Even larger unions like the Bombay Textile Labour Union and the Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association (ATLA) were vulnerable to pressure from employers and the state. 
•  The Madras Labour Union was temporarily crushed in 1921 by British textile magnates, the Binnys, with help from the provincial bureaucracy. 
• TISCO management attempted to suppress the Jamshedpur Labour Association (JLA) whenever possible, despite its active support from Congress leaders and loyalty to employers. 
•  Local colonial administration backed the management while hooligan elements, hired by employers as strike breakers, were protected by local police officials as tools of violence. 
•  In summary, there were significant obstacles preventing and discouraging workers from organizing. 

Late 1920s

After 1922, there was a decline in the working-class movement, shifting back to purely economic struggles, known as corporatism. The next surge of working-class activity emerged in the late 1920s, driven by the rise of a strong and clearly defined Left Bloc within the national movement.

Rise of Communists:

• The Communist Party of India was officially founded in 1925.
• Communists believed in Class Struggle, while socialists focused on organizing peasants and workers for their economic interests without emphasizing class struggle.
• By early 1927, various Communist groups had formed the Workers’ and Peasants’ Parties (WPP), led by figures like S.A. Dange, Muzaffar Ahmed, P.C. Joshi, and Sohan Singh Josh.
• The Workers and Peasants Party in Bengal, established by middle-class communists, aimed to mobilize mill workers in the Calcutta industrial belt.
• The WPPs, acting as a left-wing faction within the Congress, rapidly gained strength and influence.

Strong communist influences on the movement lent a militant and revolutionary character to it.

• In 1928, a six-month-long strike occurred in the Bombay Textile Mills, led by the Girni Kamgar Union.
• Communist influence extended to workers in various sectors, including railways, jute mills, municipalities, paper mills, and the Burma Oil Company in Madras.
• The Bengal Jute Workers’ Union was formed after the jute mill strike in 1929, and the Bengal Chatkal Mazdoor Union emerged from the strike of 1937, both organized by educated communist leaders, some trained in Moscow.

Working-class support for the communists was not solely based on shared antagonisms towards the capitalist class and the state.

• The communists' consistent opposition to the state contributed to their popularity.
• Communist trade unions also leveraged community ties and informal social networks.
• For instance, in Kanpur during the 1930s, the communist leadership of the Kanpur Mazdoor Sabha targeted Muslim workers alienated by the Congress and the Arya Samaj.
• In Ahmedabad, the Mill Mazdoor Sangh, dominated by communists, drew support from Muslim workers dissatisfied with the Gandhite ATLA.
• These communist trade unions often used religious ties to organize strikes, presenting themselves as class-oriented organizations while operating within the hierarchical cultural context of Indian workers.

Between 1927 and 1929, workers influenced by communists and radical nationalists engaged in numerous strikes and demonstrations across the country.

• In November 1927, the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) decided to boycott the Simon Commission, prompting widespread participation in Simon boycott demonstrations.
• Many workers' meetings were organized on occasions like May Day, Lenin Day, and the anniversary of the Russian Revolution.

Government response:

• Alarmed at the increasing strength of the trade union movement under extremist/communist influence, the Government resorted to a two-pronged attack on the labour movement.
• On the one hand, it enacted repressive laws like the Public Safety Act (1929) and Trade Disputes Acts (TDA), 1929, and arrested in one swoop virtually the entire radical leadership of the labour movement.
• It launched the famous Meerut Conspiracy Case against them.
• The Public Safety Bill and the Trades Disputes Act of April 1929—which virtually banned strikes—were passed without any serious Congress opposition.
• On the other hand, it attempted, with some success, to wean away through concessions (for example, the appointment of the Royal Commission on Labour in 1929) a substantial section of the labour movement.

The TDA, 1929:

• Made compulsory the appointment of Courts of Inquiry and Consultation Boards for settling industrial disputes;
• Made illegal the strikes in public utility services like posts, railways, water and electricity, unless each individual worker planning to go on strike gave an advance notice of one month to the administration;
• Forbade trade union activity of coercive or purely political nature and even sympathetic strikes.

Meerut Conspiracy Case (1929):

• In March 1929, the Government arrested 31 labour leaders, and the three-and-a- half-year trial for conspiring against King-Emperor resulted in the conviction of Muzaffar Ahmed, S.A. Dange, Joglekar, Philip Spratt, Ben Bradley, Shaukat Usmani and others.
• The trial got worldwide publicity but weakened the working class movement.

The onset of depression worsened the situation once again:

• Bombay mill owners resorted to rationalisation policies, leading to retrenchment, wage losses, and higher workloads.
• This situation magnified the problems of the mill-hands, resulting in an industry-wide general textile strike in 1928-29.
• Rationalisation policies also led to serious industrial action by twenty-six thousand TISCO workers in Jamshedpur in 1928.
• In the Calcutta jute mills, long working hours imposed by the IJMA resulted in a general strike in 1929 involving 272 thousand workers.
• The working class militancy had reached a level that could no longer be ignored by the established political groups.

The labour movement suffered a major setback:

• Government offensive partially influenced the situation.
• The Communist-led wing reversed their policy of aligning with the national movement around the end of 1928.
• This shift led to the isolation of the Communists from the national movement.
• As a result, their hold over the working class significantly decreased.
• The membership of the GKU dropped from 54,000 in December 1928 to about 800 by the end of 1929.
• The Communists also faced isolation within the AITUC and were expelled during the split of 1931.

The Left leadership, which came into control of the AITUC in 1929 lacked coherence, being composed of very adverse elements.

• This left wing within AITUC grew aggressive which resulted in split in 1929 in which N.M. Joshi broke away from the AITUC to set up the India Trade Union Federation.
• AITUC now came with an extensive and bold programme.

Attitude of INC towards Working Class

• The Indian National Congress (INC) initially had a mixed and ambivalent stance towards the working class.
• During the Swadeshi period, there were sporadic efforts to organize labor strikes in European-owned industries and railways.
• Nationalist leaders rarely took the initiative to mobilize workers.
• They only intervened when the working class acted spontaneously, aiming to align these actions with their own movement.
• By 1918, as strikes became more common, the INC found it increasingly challenging to ignore these developments.
• In 1919, during the Amritsar session, the INC adopted a resolution to promote labor unions across India.
• The INC had established a close relationship with big business.
• On the labor front, the INC was more vocal where European capitalists were involved, such as in the railways, jute mills, and tea gardens.
• When Indian capitalists were affected, the INC exerted a moderating influence.
• Workers were often asked to sacrifice their immediate needs for the nation's future.
• Strikes affecting Indian businesses were portrayed as threats to foreign economic domination.
• The INC promised to address workers' unresolved grievances only after achieving swaraj (self-rule).
• From the 1920s onwards, the INC's dilemmas regarding labor became more apparent, drawing criticism from workers.
• Some Congress leaders participated in strikes, such as Gandhi in the Ahmedabad textile strike in 1918.
• Subhas Bose was involved in the Jamshedpur steel strike in 1928-29.
• Others, like V. V. Giri and Guljarilal Nanda, were involved in the trade union movement.
• Some Congress leaders were part of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), formed in 1920.
• Despite the increase in affiliated trade unions, the AITUC's national presence remained marginal.
• The INC's differential attitude towards workers in European enterprises versus those in Indian ones persisted.
• The Non-Cooperation resolution of 1920 highlighted the oppression of workers by foreign agents.
• It overlooked similar abuses by Indian employers.
• Consequently, management in Indian-owned industries preferred trade unions led by Congress figures.
• Workers often had little trust in organizations like the Congress.
• Strikes in 1921-22 were beyond the control of the union.
• Following the failed strike of 1923, the membership of the Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association (ATLA) sharply declined.
• After the 1928 strike, Jamshedpur Labour Association (JLA) leader Subhas Bose faced hostility from his supporters.
• His supporters turned against him due to a compromise settlement with TISCO management.
• Despite occasional lack of support from the Congress, the working class across the country actively engaged in the nationalist movement.
• Their participation in Gandhian initiatives was selective, but significantly, they integrated nationalist agitation into their struggles and industrial actions.
• Strike waves in Bengal (1920-21): Motivated by the enthusiasm of the Khilafat-Non-cooperation movement.
• Strikes in Assam tea gardens, Assam-Bengal Railways, and Chandpur (May 1921): Directly linked to the Khilafat-Non-cooperation movement.
• In Ahmedabad: During the later part of the Non-cooperation movement, textile industry strikes occurred at least once a month, with some featuring radical demands.
• Madras cotton mills strikes: Workers invited Congress Non-cooperators to lead their strikes.
• North-Western Railways strikes (1919 and 1920): Inspired by the Congress movement.
• Only occasionally were Congress leaders directly involved in organizing these strikes.
• In some instances, workers’ nationalism was more radical and militant than that of Congress leaders.
• In 1928: Thirty thousand workers temporarily took over the Calcutta Congress session, advocating for complete independence and a labor welfare scheme.
• The Congress's ambivalence towards worker movements led to a rise in communist influence in the labor sector.
• Gandhiji’s concept of trusteeship and arbitration aimed at fostering harmonious capital-labour relations since 1918.
• He disapproved of independent labor militancy and criticized the Bengal Congress leadership after the Chandpur incident in May 1921.
• Gandhiji believed in regulating capital-labor relations rather than destroying capital or capitalists.
• Jawaharlal Nehru, in 1929, emphasized that the Congress was not a labor organization but a broad body representing diverse interests.
• While the Congress Socialists were more sympathetic to labor, the need to represent all classes hindered closer integration of the working class into the Congress movement.
• Gandhiji’s idea of trusteeship had radical implications, as the trustee was not the owner but the protector of the worker's interests.
• Gandhiji urged textile workers in Ahmedabad that they were the true masters of the mills and should assert their rights through Satyagraha if the mill owner, as trustee, failed to act in their interest.
• His approach towards labor, emphasizing arbitration and trusteeship, also aligned with the anti-imperialist movement's needs, avoiding an outright class conflict among the emerging nation’s classes.

Workers during Civil Disobedience Movement

CPI's Separation from Civil Disobedience Movement:

• The CPI's decision to distance itself from the Congress due to Comintern directives in 1928 was detrimental to Indian communists, as the Civil Disobedience Movement later shifted mass focus to Gandhi and the Congress.
• Workers' loyalty to communists was not steadfast or unconditional.

Workers' Involvement in Civil Disobedience Movement (1930):

• Textile workers in Sholapur, dock laborers in Karachi, transport and mill owners in Calcutta, and mill workers in Madras clashed with the government during the movement.
• In Bombay, the Congress emphasized that workers and peasants were integral to the movement.
• On April 6, when Gandhi violated the salt law, the GIP Railwaymen’s Union launched a Satyagraha.
• In Chota Nagpur in 1930, workers donned Gandhi caps and attended nationalist gatherings in large numbers.
• By aligning strikes with the nationalist movement, workers aimed to legitimize their struggles.

Diminished Working-Class Movement Post-1931:

• Following 1931, the working-class movement declined due to a split in the AITUC regarding the political role of the working class.
• The communist faction, advocating for an independent political role, established the Red Trade Union Congress.

Communist Shift in 1934:

• By 1934, the Communists moved away from sectarian tactics and re-engaged with mainstream nationalist politics.
• A revival occurred around 1933-34 after the withdrawal of the Civil Disobedience Movement, influenced by the Comintern's united front strategy in 1935.
• Communists rejoined the AITUC in 1935, regaining influence in nationalist politics and trade unions.
• The Communists, Congress Socialists, and Left nationalists(led by Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Bose) formed a robust Left alliance within the Congress and other mass organizations.

Increased Working-Class Militancy (1937-38):

• The Left consolidation led to heightened working-class enthusiasm and militancy, evident in a wave of strikes nationwide.
• This strengthening of the communist position among workers may have prompted the provincial Congress governments to adopt anti-labor stances.

Wave of Working-Class Activity (1937-1939):

• The next surge in working-class activity coincided with provincial autonomy and the establishment of popular ministries during 1937-1939.

Under Congress ministries and afterwards

1937 Elections and AITUC Support:

• During the 1937 elections, the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) supported Congress candidates.

Congress Election Manifesto:

• Faced with the need to secure labor votes in the 1937 provincial elections, the Congress party included labor welfare promises in its election manifesto.
• The manifesto pledged to address labor disputes and safeguard workers' rights to form unions and strike.

Impact on Trade Union Movement:

• The victory of Congress in the elections generated enthusiasm among the working class, leading to the appointment of several trade union leaders as labor ministers.
• Increased civil liberties and a pro-labor stance under Congress ministries bolstered the trade union movement.
• Notably, many strikes during this period concluded successfully, with workers achieving full or partial victories.
• Despite passing worker-friendly legislation, Congress ministries faced capitalist pressure, limiting their actions.

Rise of Trade Union Movement:

• During the Congress Provincial Governments' tenure, the trade union movement experienced significant growth.
• Trade union membership surged by 50%, leading to heightened industrial unrest and strikes in 1937-38, alarming Indian industrialists.
• This surge prompted a shift in Congress policies towards a more anti-labor stance.

Congress Response in Non-Congress Province:

• In non-Congress provinces like Bengal, Congress leaders supported the general jute mill strike in 1937 to undermine the Fazlul Huq ministry and target the Indian Jute Mill Association (IJMA).
• Nehru even framed the strike as part of the broader freedom movement.

Congress Response in Congress Provinces:

• In Congress-ruled provinces like Bombay, Madras, and Uttar Pradesh, Congress governments employed strong measures to manage industrial unrest.
• Nehru, known for his socialist views, during the Kanpur textile strikes of 1937, criticized the victimization of workers but also defended mill managers' rights to dismiss underperforming workers.

Growing Alliance with Capitalists:

• By this time, Congress appeared closely aligned with Indian capitalists, exemplified by the passage of the Bombay Trades Disputes Act in 1938.
• All parties except Congress condemned the Act, which sparked a general strike in Bombay.

Formation of National Federation of Trade Unions:

• In 1938, the National Federation of Trade Unions affiliated with AITUC, ensuring equal representation in the governing body of Congress.
• The Trade Union once again became the unifying body for Indian trade unionism, with the Textile Labour Association of Ahmedabad remaining the only notable exception.

AITUC's Bold Economic Programmes:

• AITUC introduced ambitious economic political programmes aimed at establishing a socialist state in India, advocating for the socialization and nationalization of means of production.

Congress Socialist Party Membership Criteria:

• The Congress Socialist Party required its members to also be part of the Indian National Congress, effectively functioning as a wing within Congress and discouraging mass membership.

Spread of Trade Union Movement Before WWII:

• Before the onset of World War II in India, the trade union movement expanded, leading to the establishment of various unions.

During and After World War II

Workers' Response to the War:

• Initially, the workers in Bombay opposed the War, with the working class being among the first in the world to hold an anti-war strike on October 2, 1939.

Shift in Communist Support:

• After the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the Communists changed their stance, viewing the War as a struggle against fascism and supporting the Allied powers.
• The Communist Party distanced itself from Gandhiji's Quit India Movement in August 1942 and promoted industrial peace to support the war effort.

Decline in Communist Popularity:

• The Communist Party's efforts to rally support for the "People's War" were unsuccessful.
• Despite controlling some trade unions and dominating the AITUC, their actual popularity was low due to limited unionization.

Response to Quit India Movement:

• Following Gandhiji's arrest on August 9, 1942, strikes and hartals erupted across the country, with significant participation in places like the Tata Steel Plant and Ahmedabad.
• In areas of Communist influence, worker participation was low, but many Communist rank-and-file members joined the Quit India Movement despite party opposition.

Worker Participation in National Upheavals (1945-1947):

• Workers actively participated in post-war national upsurges, such as dock workers in Bombay and Calcutta refusing to load supplies for troops in Indonesia in 1945.
• Strikes in support of Naval Ratings and various establishments occurred during the last year of foreign rule.

Increase in Strikes:

• The final years of colonial rule saw a sharp rise in strikes over economic issues, with the all-India strike of Post and Telegraph Department employees being notable.
• Economic grievances from the War, post-war demobilization, high prices, food scarcity, and declining real wages fueled workers' discontent.
• Anticipation of independence also played a role, as it was seen as a means to end widespread misery.
• Workers engaged with nationalist and leftist politics led by middle-class politicians, but their support was conditional.