Chapter 32 : The Movement of the Working Class

The Movement of the Working Class

Introduction

The second half of the 19th century marked the entry of modern industry into India, leading to the emergence of the modern Indian working class.

• Origins: Thousands of workers employed in railway construction were the harbingers of the working class. Ancillary industries and the coal industry developed alongside railways.
• Early Factories:
• Textile mills started in Bombay in 1851.
• Jute mills started in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1854.
• Conditions of Exploitation: Similar to the industrialisation of Europe/West, Indian workers faced low wages, long hours, unhygienic/hazardous conditions, child labour, and lack of basic amenities.
• Colonial Context: The Indian working class movement was distinct because it faced two antagonistic forces:

1. An imperialist political rule.
2. Economic exploitation by both foreign and native capitalist classes.

• Workmen's Breach of Contract Act, 1860: Made workers liable to prosecution for leaving jobs without the employer's consent.

📌 Exam Tidbits

• First Textile Mill: Bombay (1851)
• First Jute Mill: Calcutta (1854)
• Workmen's Breach of Contract Act: Passed in 1860; criminalised leaving a job without employer consent.
• Dual Exploitation: Indian workers fought both British imperialism and native/foreign capitalists.

Early Efforts

Early labour welfare efforts were philanthropic—made 'for' the workers by social workers and religious leaders, rather than 'by' the workers themselves. These efforts instilled an elementary feeling of 'collective action'.

• Early Strikes:
• 1862: Railway workers at Howrah station are reported to have launched a strike demanding an eight-hour working day.
• 1877: Workers of the Nagpur Empress Mill struck work demanding a wage increase.
• 1899: First strike by the Great Indian Peninsular Railways; received widespread support. Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s newspapers, Kesari and Mahratta, campaigned for this strike for months.
• Nationalist Attitude: Early nationalists (Moderates) were indifferent to labour issues. They differentiated between British-owned and Indian-owned factories, fearing that labour legislation would hurt the competitive edge of Indian industries, and did not want a division in the movement on the basis of classes. For these reasons, they did not actively support the 1881 and 1891 Factory Acts.
• Pro-Labour Nationalists: Leaders like Bipin Chandra Pal and G. Subramania Aiyar demanded better conditions and…