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Unit 8: Peasant Movements

the former wanting AITUC to be affiliated to the International Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU) Notes
with headquarters at Amsterdam and the latter desiring affiliation with the Red Labour Union
(R.I.T.U.) organised from Moscow. The Communist thinking seemed to carry greater influence.
During 1928 the country witnessed unprecedented industrial unrest. The total number of strikes
was 203 involving no less then 506,851 people and the total number of working days lost was
31,647,404. These strikes were inspired more by political ideas than immediate economic demands.
The Communist journal Kranti thundered, “There is no peace until capitalism is overthrown”. On
the question of affiliation to an international labour body too the Communist viewpoint prevailed
and the AITUC was affiliated to the Pan-Pacific Secrertariat and to the Third International at
Moscow. In protest the moderate group under Joshi’s leadership withdrew from the AITUC and
formed the All India Trade Union Federation in 1929.
Alarmed at the increasing strength of the Trade Union movement and its control under extremist
hands, the Government of India sought to contain its activities by legislative restrictions. A Public
Safety Bill was introduced in the Legislative Assembly in 1928 but could not get majority support
and had to be issued in the form of an ordinance in 1929. The Trade Disputes Act (1929) provided,
among other provisions, for compulsory appointment of Courts of Enquiry and Conciliation Boards
for settling industrial disputes, made strikes illegal in public utility services (like Postal Service,
Railways, Water and Electricity Departments) unless each individual worker planning to go on
strike gave an advance notice of one month to the Administration and, above all, forbade trade
union activities of coercieve or purely political nature and even sympathetic strikes.
The Meerut Conspiracy Trial: In March 1929 the Government of Lord Irwin arrested the principal
leaders of the working class movement and brought them to Meerut for trial. The principal charge
against the 31 trade union leaders was of “conspiring to deprive the King of his Sovereignty of
India”. The trial lasted 3½ years and resulted in the conviction of Muzaffar Ahmed, Dange,
Joglekar, Spratt, Bradley, Usmani and others to various terms of transportation or rigorous
imprisonment. However, the Meerut trial (1929-33) attracted world-wide publicity and drew
symphathetic comments from Prof, instein, H.G. Wells, Harold Laski and even President Roosevelt.
In 1933, the Joint Council of the British Trade Union Congress and Labour Party described it as “a
judicial scandal”. In Indian it brought the Leftists and the Rightists together and a broad-based
Central Defence Committee defended the case.
The Meerut trial dealt a ‘heavy immediate blow’ to the working class movement and weakened
the political role of the working class in the national struggle that followed—as had been the
intention of imperialism.
During the Non-cooperation Movement (1930-34) the Government struck hard at the workers and
resorted to large-scale arrests, victimization through repression, legislation and appointment of
commissions. These developments drove home to the union leaders the lesson of unity. The
Congress Socialist Party founded in 1934 also worked for unity between the moderate and radical
trade unions. During 1935-36 the three trade union organisations viz., AITUC, the Red Trade
Union Congress and the National Federation of Trade Unions worked towards unity though the
merger was not formalised before April 1938.
Popular Governments in Provinces and Trade Unionism: The formation of Congress ministries in
six provinces in 1937 gave a fillip to trade union activities and the number of trade unions increased
to 296 by 1938. The Congress ministries showed a sympathetic attitude towards the workers’
demands. The most successful strike during this period was of Kanpur workers strike which
continued for 55 days and involved 10,000 workers. The Government appointed the Kanpur
Labour Enquiry Committee under the chairmanship of Babu Rajendra Prasad. The Congress
governments in Bihar, Bombay, the U.P. and the C.P. also appointed Labour Enquiry Committees
which made liberal recommendations for improvement of the lot of workers. Some beneficial
legislations like the Bombay Industrial Disputes Act (1938), the Bombay Shop Assistants Act
(1939), the C.P. Maternity Act (1939), and the Bengal Maternity Act (1939) were enacted.

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