To Save The Nation, We Need Collective Defiance

Tapan Sen, General Secretary, Centre of Indian Trade Unions

Published in

Tech People

7 min readNov 25, 2020

There is a commonly-held view that the current crisis, which has resulted in a massive output contraction and increase in unemployment, is because of Covid-19; and that once the pandemic gets over things will go back to a ‘new normal’. The ruling party has used this situation to intensify privatisation, surveillance, anti-scientism, communal/caste bigotry and undemocratic processes. This is the ‘new normal’ we see around us and it is time for us the people of this country to collectively defy it.

The Myth of the New Normal

We keep hearing the phrase ‘new normal’, used as an empty buzzword that serves to conceal more than it actually explains anything about the current condition. The truth is, we find ourselves in an ‘abnormal situation’ created by the ruling classes to serve their class interests. The BJP government led by Modi is riding roughshod over all institutions, procedures and norms and attacking the people, utilising the lockdown and the restrictions imposed under the Disaster Management Act.

Practically nothing has been done to address the pandemic and ensure protection and affordable treatment to the people. Instead, private corporate health services are being allowed to encash this crisis for making huge fortunes at the cost of common people. Generally the impression that is being sought to be created among the people is that this abnormal situation is a temporary phenomenon till the pandemic situation remains. This is absolutely wrong. In fact, the pandemic is being utilised by the ruling class to restructure the governance of the economy, political system and the society in a total authoritarian direction with a fascistic intent to serve the interests of the capitalist class.

The Machinations of the Myth

The facts hardly bear out this rosy picture. As per CMIE estimates, more than 14 crore people lost their livelihood due to Covid-19. And this clearly revealed that loss of livelihood in unorganized sectors and self employed could not be fully captured even in part. And those who were on the jobs were subjected to indiscriminate cuts on wages and other benefits.

Migrant workers employed in all sectors including in industry and agriculture were the worst affected. The directions of the government not to retrench workers and deduct wages, not to evacuate them from their rented houses remained on paper.

The developments after the announcement of lockdown clearly indicate a calculated and vicious decision of the BJP government led by Modi to utilise the lockdown, when the workers and the toiling people of the country are in severe distress, to push its anti-worker, anti-people and anti-national neoliberal agenda, particularly in the matter of curbing rather eliminating the rights of the workers and their trade unions. All the draconian labour code bills, designed in that direction were mostly introduced in Parliament by end 2019 itself, before the pandemic.

The anti-worker notifications and ordinances issued or announced in rapid succession during the lockdown, by the BJP governments in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Assam, Karnataka, Tripura, as well as Congress led Rajasthan, Punjab and BJD led Odisha etc, could not have come without a clear direction from or concurrence of the PMO. It was only the LDF government in Kerala which has categorically announced that it was not going to make any anti-worker amendments to the labour laws. And of course, the JMM Govt at Jharkhand also took a similar stand.

And finally, in the last monsoon session of Parliament, the Govt. passed the rest of the three Labour Codes, viz., Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions, Industrial Relations Code and the Code on Social Security by bulldozing the opposition in crude violation of Parliamentary procedures and norms.

The BJP government has bulldozed the opposition in Parliament to pass three Farm Bills. It has passed the three Labour Codes in the absence of the opposition in Parliament. It is using all available institutions — the police, CBI, ED, SIT, NIA, IT, etc to harass, intimidate, threaten and suppress all voices of opposition and resistance.

It is particularly targeting those intellectuals, social activists and progressive people fighting for the democratic and human rights of dalits, minorities, women and other marginalised sections of society and the people in general. Independent constitutional authorities are being subverted. The Judiciary, by delivering verdicts sans justice, is increasingly aligning with the administration. It is abdicating its responsibility of protecting the Constitution and the principles and rights enshrined in it.

In such an anarchic atmosphere of increasing state-patronised criminalization and lumpenisation, the weakest sections and the most downtroddens become the worst victims.

Recent happenings of brutalities on minorities, dalits and women in particular, specially in the BJP- ruled states or its allies, including rape, molestations and murder- all with the patronage of the state administration are the reflections of such perverse degeneration sought to be engineered by the BJP and its bandwagons; and being portrayed as “something that just happened” in this so called “new normal” situation.

How We Defy

This is not the situation in our country alone. The ruling classes across the world and the governments representing them in many countries are resorting to the same policies and tactics to maximise the profits for the capitalist and landlord classes by attacking the hard won rights, wages and benefits of the toiling people. They are looting public assets and grabbing natural resources to amass wealth.

Whether it is in the USA, Latin America or Europe, voices of opposition are sought to be suppressed. Divisions on the pretext of race, colour, religion, region, gender are sought to be perpetuated, to weaken united struggles.

Despite this, workers across the world are resisting and fighting back. Unemployed workers, vendors, mobile app-based food delivery workers, transport workers, care workers, hospital employees, and workers from many other sectors in Latin America, Europe, Africa and USA etc, as in our country, are going on struggles including strikes.

In India, we have seen the unorganised sectors, migrant workers, the IT and ITeS sector, road transport workers, Anganwadi and ASHA workers, coal workers, factory workers, electricity employees, plantation workers, farmers, and many many more rise up in large numbers to fight and defy the various and wide ranging machinations of the ruling dispensation that has led us to this state.

The Specific Path Forward

This leads us to our pointed agenda in the coming times, and how we shape our collective defiance.

Nationwide General Strike on 26th November

The decision of a countrywide general strike by the joint platform of Central Trade Unions could not be achieved automatically. There have been many hesitations, not merely among other constituents of platform but even within various levels of our own organisation. This general strike of 26th November 2020 is conceived to be the launch pad for even heightened united action by the working class in face of the desperate authoritarian attacks by the ruling class on our nation. It will be the curtain raiser for further militant actions of defiance and resistance by the working class and toiling people of the country including the possibility of multiple days of strike action.

Solidarity with Peasants’ Struggle

The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) in continuance of their ongoing struggle against draconian Farm legislations has decided to organise a massive Delhi Gherao through road blockades by farmers on the nearby states on 26–27 November 2020, and hold militant protest demonstrations on the same days throughout the country. We have to extend our active support to the farmers’ struggle programmes; while observing the general strike on 26th November. We will also join and support the farmers’ agitations on 26th and 27th November by all possible means.

International Solidarity

The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) has given a call for fund raising to carry on its activities and intervention in the international working class movement, playing a very important role in the background of surging class struggle worldwide.

Hope Amidst Struggle

Comrades, the situation is new in many ways — the lockdown is unprecedented; the attacks by the ruling classes utilising the lockdown are unprecedented.

The CEO of NITI Aayog has clearly defined the perception of the ruling classes about the situation — Now or Never. Now or never to push the working class and the toiling people into servility and maximise profits; grab natural resources and public assets by bulldozing all opposition and amass wealth.

No to Constitutional rights; no to democratic rights; no to independent institutions; no to equality, social justice; nothing if these come in the way of corporate loot and plunder of the country and its people.

The Battle Lines Are Drawn

If it is ‘Now or Never’ for the ruling classes, can it be otherwise for the working class, for the toiling people? Do we have any other choice than to take the challenge head on, if we do not want to succumb or be pushed back into slavery?

The working class was not born with rights. It won its rights from the ruling classes, who were equally powerful at that time, if not more than, today.

Today, the working class has to send a message, through its struggles, that it is not ready to give up its hard won rights and while fighting for winning our rights, we will win the rights for everyone. It is with this ethos that we begin our preparations for the 26th November general strike and for all the ensuing militant struggles and strikes.