India's workers push back

[TexasTowelie]

More than 150 million workers in India participated in a general strike across the country on September 2, in a nationwide day of protest called by 10 major unions to protest the anti-worker labor "reforms" of the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Kavita Krishnan, a leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), reports on the background to the strike and interviews workers in one of the centers of strike activity in Delhi.

ON SEPTEMBER 2, India witnessed a powerful general strike cutting across most sectors of the economy and civil administration. The strike was called jointly by central trade unions and supported actively by various sections of the Indian left.

Initially, the Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS)--a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-affiliated trade union led by the Hindu-nationalist non-governmental organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)--was also a signatory to the strike call. But at the behest of the RSS, the BMS eventually withdrew from the strike. The RSS is the Hindu majoritarian organization modeled on European fascist organizations, to which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling BJP are affiliated.

Undeterred by the BMS backing out and the empty announcements made by the prime minister in the recent session of the Indian Labour Conference, millions of workers joined the strike--and made it clear that the Indian working class would resist the Modi government's proposed anti-worker labor reforms tooth and nail.

The impact of the strike was huge in sectors like road transportation, banking and insurance, and various mining and manufacturing units. Offices and educational institutions, too, remained virtually closed in many areas.

Read more: http://socialistworker.org/2015/09/10/indias-workers-push-back