Early Labour Movement in Colonial India

The early labour movement in colonial India emerged during the second half of the nineteenth century alongside the growth of modern large-scale industries such as cotton textile mills, jute mills, railways, and tea plantations. Initially characterized by sporadic, unorganized strikes and philanthropic efforts to improve working conditions, the movement gradually transitioned into a structured, politically conscious working-class struggle. The rise of industrial centers in Bombay, Calcutta, Ahmedabad, and Madras exposed Indian workers to harsh exploitation, long working hours, low wages, and unsafe environments. Over time, this economic resistance fused with the broader anti-colonial freedom struggle, shaping national labor policies and statutory factory reforms.

Genesis and Structural Drivers

The establishment of the first cotton textile mill in Bombay (1854) by Cowasji Nanabhai Davar and the first jute mill in Rishra, Bengal (1855) marked the beginning of India’s industrial transformation. However, colonial industrialization lacked labor protections, leading to severe worker exploitation across major sectors:

• Inhumane Working Conditions: Factory laborers worked 12 to 18 hours daily without formal break intervals, weekly holidays, or safety gear.
• Exploitation of Women and Children: Textile and jute mills employed cheap female and child labor, subjecting them to equal work hours at lower wages.
• Plantation Indenture System: Tea plantation workers in Assam operated under the oppressive Arkatti (recruitment agency) system and the Workmen’s Breach of Contract Act (1859), which criminalized leaving plantations.
• Racial Wage Disparities: Colonial railway and postal networks maintained explicit wage and promotion discrimination between European and Indian employees.

Early Philanthropic Phase (1875–1890)

The initial phase of the Indian labour movement was driven primarily by social reformers and philanthropists rather than worker-led trade unions. These early leaders aimed to mitigate working-class hardship through petitions, public inquiries, and welfare organizations.

Sorabjee Shapurjee Bengalee

In 1875, Sorabjee Shapurjee Bengalee initiated an agitation in Bombay to highlight the plight of women and child mill workers. He drafted a private bill on factory labor for the Bombay Legislative Council, which influenced the colonial administration to set up the First Factory Commission in 1875.

Narayan Meghaji Lokhande

Considered the “Father of the Labour Movement in India,” Narayan Meghaji Lokhande was a prominent associate of Jyotirao Phule’s Satyashodhak Samaj. In 1880, he started Deenabandhu, a newspaper dedicated to working-class issues. Lokhande organized a massive mill workers’ conference in Bombay in 1884, submitting a memorandum to the Factory Commission demanding a weekly holiday, half-hour noon rest, fixed working hours, and compensation for injuries. In 1890, he established the Bombay Millhands Association, recognized as the first labor organization in India.

Sasipada Banerji

In Bengal, Brahmo Samaj reformer Sasipada Banerji worked to uplift industrial workers in Baranagar near Calcutta. He established the Baranagar Institute in 1870, formed the Working Men’s Club, and launched Bharat Shramjeevi in 1874, the first journal targeting Indian workers.

Emergence of Organized Strikes and Swadeshi Phase (1890–1908)

The turn of the twentieth century witnessed a shift from philanthropic petitioning to direct collective action. Strikes became more frequent, organized, and politically aware, especially during the Swadeshi Movement (1905–1908).

Major Early Industrial Strikes

• Great Peninsular Railway (GIP) Strike (1899): The first organized strike on Indian Railways, where workers demanded wage increases and reduced hours.
• Printers’ Strike in Calcutta (1905): Government press workers struck against long hours, leading to the formation of the Printers’ Union.
• Jute Mill Strikes in Bengal (1905–1908): Led by nationalist leaders like Prabhat Kusumar Roy Chaudhuri, A.K. Ghosh, and Premtosh Bose, who formed the Indian Mill Hands’ Union.
• Tuticorin Coral Mill Strike (1908): Led by Subramaniya Siva and Chidambaram Pillai in Tamil Nadu, combining labor demands with Swadeshi political goals.

Politicalization of Labor

The arrest and six-year transportation of Bal Gangadhar Tilak in July 1908 triggered a historic six-day political strike by Bombay textile workers—one day for each year of his sentence. Lenin hailed this strike as a sign that the Indian working class had matured into a conscious political force.

Colonial Factory Legislation

British industrialists in Lancashire and Dundee pressured the colonial government to regulate Indian factory labor to reduce the competitive advantage of cheap Indian manufacturing. This pressure resulted in early protective factory laws:

Institutionalization of Labor Movement (Post-WWI Era)

The aftermath of World War I, economic inflation, the success of the 1917 Russian Revolution, and the formation of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 1919 accelerated the formal unionization of Indian labor.

Madras Labour Union (1918)

Founded by B.P. Wadia along with V. Kalyanasundaram Mudaliar (Thiru. Vi. Ka.), the Madras Labour Union (MLU) at the Buckingham and Carnatic Mills was the first systematic, organized trade union in India with a paying membership structure.

Formation of AITUC (1920)

On October 31, 1920, the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) was established in Bombay to represent Indian labor at the ILO. Lala Lajpat Rai presided over its inaugural session, while Dewan Chaman Lall served as the first General Secretary. Prominent national leaders including Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, C.R. Das, Vallabhbhai Patel, and Subhash Chandra Bose associated themselves with AITUC over subsequent years.

Trade Unions Act, 1926

Prompted by the legal prosecution of B.P. Wadia during the 1920 Buckingham and Carnatic Mills strike, the British government enacted the Trade Unions Act of 1926. The Act granted formal legal recognition to registered trade unions and provided immunity to union office-bearers from civil liability for organizing legitimate strikes.

Key Facts for Quick Revision

• Modern industrial activity in India began with the Cowasji Davar setting up the first cotton mill in Bombay (1854) and the first jute mill at Rishra (1855).
• Sasipada Banerji published Bharat Shramjeevi in 1874, the first newspaper dedicated to working-class welfare.
• Narayan Meghaji Lokhande founded Deenabandhu in 1880 and established the Bombay Millhands Association in 1890.
• The First Factory Act of 1881 was introduced during the viceroyalty of Lord Ripon.
• The Great Indian Peninsular (GIP) Railway strike of 1899 was the first major railway strike in India.
• The 1908 Bombay textile strike against Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s arrest was the first major political strike by Indian workers.
• The Madras Labour Union, established in 1918 by B.P. Wadia, was India’s first formal, organized trade union.
• The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) was founded on October 31, 1920, in Bombay, with Lala Lajpat Rai as its first President.
• Joseph Baptista chaired the reception committee during the inaugural session of AITUC.
• The Trade Unions Act of 1926 provided civil and criminal immunity to registered trade unions for bona fide union activities.