Labour Union and Mahatma Gandhi

[Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav]

Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav

Senior Gandhian Scholar, Professor, Editor and Linguist

Gandhi International Study and Research Institute, Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India

Contact No. – 09404955338, 09415777229

E-mail- [e-mail];

[e-mail]                                    

Mailing Address- C- 29, Swaraj Nagar, Panki, Kanpur- 208020, Uttar Pradesh, India

 

 

Labour Union and Mahatma Gandhi

 

Strikes, cessation of work and hartal are wonderful things no doubt, but it is not difficult to abuse them. Workmen ought to organize themselves into strong Labour Unions, and on no account shall they strike work without the consent of these Unions. Strikes should not be risked without previous negotiations with the mill owners. If the mill-owners resort to arbitration the principle of Panchayat should be accepted. And once the panch are appointed, their decision must be accepted by both the parties alike, whether they like it or not. 1 

The Assam-Bengal Railway and the steamer strikes were out of the ordinary, the first attempt, as I have found, to have strikes out of sympathy for those outside labour unions. The strikes were therefore sympathetic, humanitarian or political. I had the pleasure of meeting the strikers all over the railway line, but especially at Gauhati, Chittagong and Barisal. Having talked to them freely, I have come to the conclusion, that the people did not fully realize the cost of their undertaking. But having embarked on the strike, they have endeavoured to suffer the consequences. It is always dangerous and uncharitable for an outsider to say, what he would have done if he had the handling of a situation. But if one may hazard an opinion, I think that the labourers were not ready for a philanthropic strike. In my opinion the labourers and artisans of India have not yet arrived at that degree of national consciousness, which is necessary for successful sympathetic strikes. The fault is ours, we, who have interested ourselves in national service, have not until recently studied the wants and aspirations of these classes, nor taken the trouble of informing them of the political situation.

We have hitherto believed that only those who had passed through high schools and colleges were fit to take part in national work. It is hardly therefore proper to expect the labouring and the artisan class all of a sudden to appreciate, and sacrifice themselves for, interests outside their own. We may not exploit them for political or any other ends. The best service we can render them and take from them at the present stage is to teach them self-help, to give them an idea of their own duties and rights, and put them in a position to secure redress of their own just grievances. Then and not till then are they ready for political, national or humanitarian service. Any premature precipitation of sympathetic strikes must therefore result in infinite harm to our cause. In the programme of non-violence, we must rigidly exclude the idea of gaining anything by embarrassing the Government, if our activity is pure and that of the Government impure, the latter is embarrassed by our purity, if it does not itself become pure. Thus, a movement of purification benefits both parties. Whereas a movement of mere destruction leaves the destroyer unpurified, and brings him down to the level of those whom he seeks to destroy. Even our sympathetic strikes therefore have to be strikes of self purification, i.e., non-co-operation. And so, when we declare a strike to redress a wrong, we really cease to take part in the wrong, and thus leave the wrongdoer to his own resources, in other words enable him to see the folly of continuing the wrong. Such a strike can only succeed when behind it is the fixed determination not to revert to service. Speaking, therefore, as one having handled large successful strikes, I repeat the following maxims, already stated in these pages, for the guidance of all strike leaders:

1. There should be no strike without a real grievance.

2. There should be no strike, if the persons concerned are not able to support themselves out of their own savings or by engaging in some temporary occupation, such as carding, spinning and weaving. Strikers should never depend upon public subscriptions or other charity.

3. Strikers must fix an unalterable minimum demand, and declare it before embarking upon their strike. A strike may fail in spite of a just grievance and the ability of strikers to hold out indefinitely, if there are workers to replace them.

A wise man, therefore, will not strike for increase of wages or other comforts, if he feels that he can be easily replaced. But a philanthropic or patriotic man will strike in spite of supply being greater than the demand, when he feels for and wishes to associate himself with his neighbour’s distress. Needless to say, there is no room in a civil strike of the nature described by me for violence in the shape of intimidation, incendiarism or otherwise. I should therefore be extremely sorry to find, that the recent derailment near Chittagong was due to mischief done by any of the strikers. Judged by the tests suggested by me, it is clear that the friends of the strikers should never have advised them to apply for or receive Congress or any other public funds for their support. The value of the strikers’ sympathy was diminished to the extent, that they received or accepted financial aid. The merit of a sympathetic strike lies in the inconvenience and the loss suffered by the sympathizers. As to what should be done now for or by the strikers, who have in spite of threats and temptations manfully held out and they are more than 50 per cent I have already given my opinion to the Bengal Provincial Congress Committee. And by that I wish to abide. If the strikers struck on the sole issue of sympathy for the outraged coolies at Chandpur and without intimidating their brethren, they had every moral right to do so, and they showed an unexpected measure of patriotism and fellow-feeling. I hope that they will refuse to rejoin service, until the Government has fully and frankly apologized, and refunded to the parties concerned the monies paid for the repatriation of the coolies. 2

Millions of rail-road workers have, in their Union meetings, welcomed prohibition and recounted their experience that drinking turn’s good citizens and workers into bad ones and good husbands into cruel ones. They have also declared that, had the workers continued to drink, the hundreds of workers’ banks which have been formed and in which millions of their dollars are deposited would never have come into existence. The Secretary of their Union has stated that during the last four years Labour Unions in America have been rapidly throwing up honest and able leaders. If the mill-workers in Ahmadabad also realize the sin of drinking and understand that liquor is a poison and give it up, one can easily imagine the improvement in their condition which will follow. 3

I was almost going to address you as comrades. Because the Congress is trying to undertake in India all life and activities, so we have labour unions, postal unions and several other unions taking up the Congress work. I know something of the lives of post men in India. Before I come to that, I must tell you what a pleasure it was to come. It was your enthusiasm that brought me, especially the story of your work for the Leper Asylum. I felt irresistibly drawn to you and was so pleased to find that postmen could take such living interest in the oppressed humanity in India. I felt it was too good to be true. This visit of mine is a compliment to you and I congratulate Mr. Cardinal. This work done in India really touches only the fringe of it. Life in India is constituted quite differently from life in the West and we have not in India anything like State-regulated charity. People know the value of charity themselves so in India philanthropy of people finds its way in a healthy channel. I cannot say that all charity is wisely exercised. You will find in streets lepers staring you in the face and it are difficult to pass through these people to go to a leper asylum. Some have become rich and some are exploiters. In the midst of this position workers have dropped from the West. It is one of the few things that have come as a boon from the West. There is no comparison between your postal employees and ours. Your officers give me joy, but there is nothing that I can offer you by way of comparison. Our men are a wretchedly paid people (10/6 per month), exceedingly hard-worked men. Among a few organizations that are ably conducted, this Postal Department is one Postal union exists merely to ventilate grievances.

I dare not suggest to my postmen to copy you and to subscribe for lepers. Whilst I congratulate you upon the noble work you are doing for lepers, I would like you to take more and more interest in your fellow workers in India. They have not got compact organizations. They are struggling to live and they do not know how to express themselves precisely writing in a foreign tongue. It will be a matter of charity to these younger fellow-workers of yours in India to go to the substance of these matters. You are capable of varying interests. Give of the plenty that God has blessed you with. You know what the post office does for us it does our censoring work. I have come here to take complete independence for my country in the dictionary sense of the word. Some laugh at me look at this man coming from a nation so utterly divided against it. That is because you are being taught false history: that if Britain withdrew there would be chaos, darkness invisible, and there is an instance Kashmir. The Maharaja had to invite the over-worked English soldiers to go and impose order. The whole thing seems to me to be stage-managed. I do not mean that the whole trouble was fomented and soldiers were to be asked for at particular hours. No, but it is the policy of divide and rule. The Maharaja could do nothing. You do not know what it is to be under a foreign yoke and to be a subject race not holding arms. If that is the condition of the man in the street, condition of the Princes is worse.

They cannot do as they choose. They have 21 gun salutes, palaces, but they are prisoners in their own palaces, because while they have power of life and death on their people, they have no real power. They have armies, but are they free to train them in any way they like? These Princes are the blotting -sheet of your armory. You’re thrown-out arms the Princes use. The Nizam is fabulously rich. Could he do anything he liked against Jathas? These princes are utterly helpless; the restrictions may be well deserved or ill deserved, they are not independent but impotent. At the critical moment they cannot take measures they want to take. Residuary powers vest in the overlord. That is the state of things my whole being rebels against. Indian Civil Service is freemasonry, the greatest secret society in the world; therefore, the spell that this Civil Service has cast upon you should be destroyed. I myself showered compliments on them. If I was a loyalist among loyalists, I was delighted, but after 30 years my eyes were opened and I found that underneath it was all brass. Therefore, when an Englishman tells me that you cannot defend yourself, he is paying an ill compliment to the British rule in India. We are one of the most ancient nations, depositories of a matchless civilization. Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek where are they? Ancient India lives in the modern.

A civilization which has persisted throughout all ages, through invasions of Genghis and Ghazni, India has lived. There was nothing so hopelessly wrong about India when the British came and they made it fight. We could have put up a fight. That nation which has survived all tests finds itself paralyzed that is not quite true though. I speak as a humble representative of a vast organization, the greatest the world possesses. This is a unique example in history of a world organization which has no army to back it and has carried on a sustained fight for 30 years. It is a romantic story, although I say it in all truth and humility. It is a nation which has hurled defiance against the whole Empire. Look at the other part of the enchanting story constructive work of an amazing character. Postal Unions, Railway Unions are covering thousands of members. We have men who have dedicated their lifetime: Malaviyaji. It is a libel both on England and India to say that we are incapable of managing our affairs. You can certainly mould public opinion. We may have to go through fiery ordeals of suffering and, when you hear of them, you will recall tonight’s meeting and give your share. It is bound to count if it is knowingly, willingly, intelligently given. 4

It is my experience that if labour unions are politically motivated, there is an unnecessary rivalry between political workers, labourers become pawns in their game and, as a result, labourers have to suffer and the unions get a bad name. Labour may also perhaps eye with suspicion those who come claiming to be their friends. Those who form labour unions in order to improve their conditions should also be adept in the art of doing so. If anyone without ability tries to form a union because he wants to, it cannot be done.  Those who form labour unions in order to improve their conditions should also be adept in the art of doing so. If anyone without ability tries to form a union because he wants to, it cannot be done.  5

If feelings of jealousy and anger oblige us to withdraw it would be proved that we who are experimenting with nonviolence are good for nothing. Some people may as well say that nonviolence itself is meaningless. From their point of view non-violence would prove to be a great adharma instead of a great dharma, for they say that the world functions because of the mixture of violence and non-violence. In their view, it is necessary that these two go hand in hand; otherwise the world would come to a standstill. Labourers have become cowards they say and it is necessary to train them in violent protest to build up their self-confidence. The Hindus are also cowards and for them non-violence is not the supreme dharma. I am still receiving letters to this effect. But we have to prove that we can solve labour disputes and communal problems by adopting non-violent methods. 6

 

References:

 

1. Navajivan, 8-2-1920
2. Young India, 22-9-1921
3. Navajivan, 2-5-1926  
4. Speech at Meeting of Postal workers, November 5, 1931 
5. Harijanbandhu, 8-8-1937
6. Gandhi Seva Sangh ke Chhathe Adhiveshan ka Vivaran, pp. 34