A saga of heroism describes the strike of Indian Railways workers in 1974 when they bravely stood up to the Indian state. It was the largest strike in the history of Indian Railways and the largest revolt by the working class in independent India.
On May 8, 1974, the strike had begun; there was a railway strike of 20 days, involving 1.7 million employees. This strike was led by the union leader & the president of the All-India Railwaymen’s Federation George Fernandes. The strike to demand a need-based minimum wage, food insurance, the formalization of jobs and a limit to the number of hours railway workers can work per day. It also called for a safety net against rising prices and workers’ rights to protest and negotiate.
Since British times, locomotive staff have been referred to as ‘continuous workers,’ meaning they would be required to remain at work for the duration of the trip, often for several days at a time. This has not changed since India’s independence. Indian railways, an independent nation since 1947, did not implement the eight-hour workday due to the Railroad Board, a quasi
government bureaucracy. Labor, especially locomotive pilots, were dissatisfied as a result.
The role of women/children
The Indian Railways divisional headquarters in Madras was attended by 1,000 women and children on April 20, 1974. In a rally with slogans, they presented the chief station officer with a brief document describing their grievances. The Trichy railway colony had a similar morcha (procession) which was taken out by 1,800 women and children that made up 20% of the residents.
The divisional superintendent at Madurai was gherao (encircled) by a thousand women who demanded he accept their grievance memorandum. A rally attended by 400 women in purdah (veils) in Guntakal called for support and education among the general public.
Women played a key role in making the strike happen, and to ignore their role would be irresponsible.
Result of the strike
Thousands of workers were jailed and forced to lose their jobs as the government crushed the strike. On 28 May 1974, the strike was called off. Politicians from across the political spectrum were forced to take a stand during the 1974 strike. Despite its reputation as a failure, the strike eventually achieved what it sought to accomplish at the time.
But the rail workers were neither chivalrous combatants nor passive victims because they were either viewed by the media as chivalrous or oppressed.
The struggle of workers after being arrested
Likely, thousands of rail workers did not return to their jobs after being arrested. Many others were tortured in jails for years. Ram Singh’s family must have been thrown out of the railway colony in Jhansi after his arrest. The only thing we know about Singh’s ordeal is that he was without money and did not know where any of his family members were. He is only known for the incomplete search for his wife, children, and parents.
It is impossible to ignore the sickening continuation of the same precariousness and atrocities as we examine the struggles of rail workers.
Strike effort on Government
Although the rail workers fought against the then prime minister, Indira Gandhi, even before the Janata party government took office after the emergency ended, 24,000 casual workers of the 40,000 had been impacted, plus 95% of the 16,898 regular employees who had been dismissed had to return to work.
As a result, Indira Gandhi lost her seat in the general election in 1977, while George Fernandes, the strike leader, won. A bonus offered to railroad employees, one of the demands of the 1974 strike, was conceded by the Charan Singh government in 1979.
Strike cause emergency 1975
This strike is one of the reasons for Emergency 1975, a wave of unrest against the government led by Indira Gandhi centered in 1973-75. There were several times during this period when many party leaders within congress called for a more presidential system in which party executives would be directly elected.
Students, peasants, workers’ organizations, unions, employees, and opposition parties were among those involved in revolts against the government during that time.
In light of many reasons, the Indian government took advice from its ally, the West Bengal Chief Minister Sidhartha Shankar Roy, who suggested that the country declare an ‘internal emergency’.
Due to the prevailing anti-government atmosphere, Indira Gandhi decided to suppress the voice of people and local journalism to keep her track record clear and stainless.
Conclusion
In Indian Railways history, trade unions have always “rewarded” their leaders for their “job” of discipline by playing the government’s tune. Slowly and steadily, the distance between unions and their ranks widened as ordinary railwaymen realized that they were not being represented by the unions before the government. A combination of working-class discontent, disillusionment and a union strike led to the 1974 rail workers’ strike. AIRF has accepted this fact in some respects.
As independent India was experiencing its peak of labor militancy at the time, the strike and how it was put down marks a turning point in Indian history.