Skip to main content

Those producing wealth of India rendered 'meaningless' as they have no work

By Sudarshan Iyengar*
The Chicago convention in 1884 of the Federation of Organised Trades and Labour Unions resolved that “eight hours shall constitute a legal day’s labour from and after May 1, 1886.” Exactly 134 years later, a labourer assisting a mason in construction work in Mumbai walked about 1,500 km to his native village Mathkanwain Shravasti district in Uttar Pradesh, where he died in a quarantine facility.
Ironically, his parents had named him Insaaf Ali. Ali is no more, but his case highlight the suffering and trauma of millions of daily wage labourers who have survived in tormenting conditions and seek ‘insaaf’ from society and the government. The question that stares us today, when another May Day has come and gone is this: Where is a labourer in India today? What and where is the dignity of bread labour?
Trade and labour unions flourished all over the world after the 1884 resolution in America. India has its own chequered history of trade and labour unions. We know that barely 20 per cent of our labour force works in the organised sector. As much as 80 per cent is in sectors and areas where often wages are not fair, security is non-existent, safety standards are poor and labour laws are violated routinely.
There is also plethora of material that makes the case for mobilising the unorganised labour and the self-employed to enable them have their voice heard as a collective. There have been many noteworthy attempts in organising them with initiatives like Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA), Gramin Bank and many others. But all said and done, in our country, a body lender is just a mazdoor, with no other identity. And who cares for this mazdoor?
The well-known Hindi poet, the late Dushyant Kumar, wrote in one of his gazals: “Yah jism bhoj se jhukkar duhara hua hoga, main sajade mein nahi tha,aap ko dhoka hua hogaa” (this body was bent over due to weight heaped on it, you must have got deceived, I was not in prayer).
We can reflect that 2020 was a rather unusually cruel time to celebrate the May Day. Millions of hands that were silently engaged in building our cities and towns and producing for the population, and driving our lives and prosperity and, allowing us to take pride in GDP growth, are languishing on some open street or in some ramshackle unused sheds and buildings.
They are found queuing up twice a day, several hours each time from morning seen and in the evening from four, in the scorching heat to wait for food packets that arrive sometime after twelve noon and seven in the evening, and without guarantee that they will finally have food for the day. Their hands that produce the wealth of India are rendered meaningless because they have no work, and no one to rely on and nothing to fall back on. 
Where are the toilets and the baths? Where is water for frequent hand wash? It is some kind of a cruel joke played upon this species called mazdoor. In desperation, many of them made a desperate bid to make it their villages walking with their small baggage and some leftover money with women and small children. 
The pedal rickshaw drivers from Delhi started cycling to their villages hundreds of km away in Bihar. Samaritans were there on the way, but how many could they reach? What could we do for Insaaf?
The Home Ministry’s advisory guided the State governments to make arrangements to take the mazdoors back in buses to their native villages after May 3. What stopped the all mighty Centre with a popular and strong leader to allow this to happen before the lockdown was announced? The image of the quick and firm decision maker has to remain intact. Collateral damages are to borne. But by whom?
Where are toilets and baths? Where is water for frequent hand wash? It is a kind of cruel joke played upon this species called mazdoor 
The leader announced that people should not rush to markets and hoard, that everything would be available. This was to address whom if not the rich and the middle class with ample purchasing power. The mazdoors and kisans were left to fend for themselves. Promises were made that money would be transferred to Jan Dhan accounts, but how much and how long would that meagre amount sustain the poor?
It is now clear that there was no immediate urgency to impose the sudden lockdown with an advance notice of barely four hours – announced at 8 pm; enforced at midnight! The rate of infection was known. 
Early action was desirable but that action, when planned, discussed and announced in advance calms nerves, smoothens the process and allows people not to be caught off guard and stranded, virtually, on the roads. Yet, it is the shock treatment that is required to build the image of a decisive leader.
We know that many of those who wanted to go back to their villages could have made it with the help of extra trains and buses. States would have responded. Money could have been transferred; supply chains and infrastructure could have been put in place. But it would have lacked the drama and the shock.
Given the situation we are in now, economic recovery is the hot topic. Wise babus, economists and intellectuals are talking about the bottom-up approach! Yet there seems to be no learning from the irreversible externalities and the maddening self-ruinous run in favour of GDP growth delivered through extreme industrialisation and urbanisation.
The Prime Minister is credited with having launched a Swachh Bharat abhiyans as part of celebrations to mark the 150 years of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi. But this safai should be as much about cleanliness in our thinking process and not staying prisoner to economic models that we can see have delivered exploitation of nature and of the downtrodden.
We can look for light in Gandhi’s way. Could we not pay a deserving tribute to make a move to Gandhi’s idea of ‘gram swaraj’ with ‘swadeshi’ and ‘svavalamban’ as the pillars? We have science and technology with us to make the right kind of innovation and scale down (rather than scale up) production to a level that a village or clusters can manage such enterprises.
Land, water and forests could be restored and regenerated to improve productivity and support the labour force in the villages. Modern amenities can be provided; indeed, a condition would be that the demand will have to be brought down. Prof Pulin Nayak of the Delhi School of Economics, renowned teacher, argues this case! COVID-19 provides an opportunity to redesign our polity and economy.
This is an opportunity if we can begin to look in a direction that we have shunned so far. Let our gram sabhas have the political power and control over natural and other economic resources. The kisans’ and the mazdoor’s dignity would have to be restored. Wouldn’t this have been a wonderful gift to them on the May Day?
---
*Former vice-chancellor, Gujarat Vidyapeeth, Ahmedabad

Comments

TRENDING

'Very low rung in quality ladder': Critique of ICMR study on 'sudden deaths' post-2021

By Bhaskaran Raman*  Since about mid-2021, a new phenomenon of extreme concern has been observed throughout the world, including India : unexplained sudden deaths of seemingly healthy and active people, especially youngsters. In the recently concluded Navratri garba celebrations, an unprecedented number of young persons succumbed to heart attack deaths. After a long delay, ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) has finally has published a case-control study on sudden deaths among Indians of age 18-45.

SC 'appears to foster' culture of secrecy, does not seek electoral bond details from SBI

By Rosamma Thomas*  In its order of November 2, 2023 on the case of Association for Democratic Reforms vs Union of India contesting constitutional validity of electoral bonds, the Supreme Court directed all political parties to give particulars of the bonds received by them in sealed covers to the Election Commission of India. SC sought that information be updated until September 2023. 

Savarkar in Ahmedabad 'declared' two-nation theory in 1937, Jinnah followed 3 years later

By Our Representative One of the top freedom fighters whom BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi revere the most, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, was also a great supporter of the two nation theory for India, one for Hindus another for Muslims, claims a new expose on the man who is also known to be the original proponent of the concept of Hindutva.

Only 12% of schools RTE compliant: Whither 6% budgetary allocation for education?

By Ambarish Rai* Despite Indian state’s commitment of 6% GDP on education, the Finance Minister completely ignored right to education for children and strengthening implementation of RTE Act which makes education a fundamental right in her budget speech . The Right to Education (RTE) Forum, which is a collective of different stakeholders in education, condemns this neglect of a legal entitlement, which is unconstitutional and demand for overall increase in the budget to ensure improvement in learning outcomes and overall enhancement of quality education.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Reject WHO's 'draconian' amendments on pandemic: Citizens to Union Health Minister

By Our Representative  Several concerned Indian citizens have written to the Union Health Minister to reject amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) of the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted during the 75th World Health Assembly (WHA75) in May 2022, apprehending this will make the signatories surrender their autonomy to the “unelected, unaccountable and the whimsical WHO in case of any future ‘pandemics’.”

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Union Health Ministry, FSSAI 'fail to respond' to NHRC directive on packaged food

By Our Representative  The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has expressed deep concern over the adverse health effects caused by packaged foods high in salt, sugar, and saturated fats. Recognizing it as a violation of the Right to Life and Right to Health of Indian citizens, the quasi-judicial body called for a response from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regarding its selection of front-of-pack labels aimed at providing consumers with information to make healthier choices.

British companies export 'deadly' asbestos to India, other countries from offshore offices

Inside a UK asbestos factory in 1994 before the mineral was banned By Rajiv Shah “The Sunday Times”, which forms part of the powerful British daily, “The Times”, has raised the alarm that though the “deadly” asbestos is banned in Britain, companies registered in United Kingdom, and operating from other countries, “are involved in shipping it to developing nations”, especially India. India, Brazil, Russia and China account for almost 80% of the asbestos consumed globally every year, it adds.