This early relationship was strengthened during the Godrej incident and the aftermath. Dr. Samant was democratically chosen as leader by the workers of Godrej at Vikhroli. The Godrej family refused to accept him and brought in the Shivsena to overturn the workers mandate. Shivsena who rode on the slogan of justice for the Marathi youth had the backing of the ruling Congress and the capitalist class. The Shivsena was nurtured to break the left dominated unions, and it had proved its unflinching class allegiance in the murder of militant communist leader Krishna Desai. A riot was instigated at Godrej using the Shivsena and a police inspector died in the riot. Datta Samant was arrested in the case. Lal Nishan activists led Sarva Shramik Sangh was a major force in the industrial belt from Kurla to Thane. The activists stood by Datta Samant for his release and honouring the democratic choice of the workers.
By the time I graduated Dr. Samant had entered the textile area, taking it by storm. The image as an uncompromising and militant leader which had a basis in reality was liked by the textile workers. They stood by him in unison. The reasons lay in the objective reality on the textile front. The textile workers union under the leadership of Com. Dange didn’t fight for the real issues of the workers, he had withdrawn the strike prematurely in 1974 and the support he gave to the emergency was not liked by the workers. They were in search of a new leadership and even tried enlisting the Shivsena for some time. Frustrated with SS they urged Datta Samant to be their leader in December 1981.
The historic textile strike commenced on 18th January 1982. The Textile workers union led by the Lal Nishan activists stood resolutely with the strike and the textile workers throughout the struggle. Our activists continue to stand by the workers for their rightful struggle for a house in Mumbai as part of their share in the mill lands.
I was working when the strike began. After office hours I participated in the meetings of the textile workers. I covered the news for ‘Shramik Vichar’, a daily published from Pune. My interaction with Comrade D S Kulakarni intensified during this period culminating in my giving up the job and becoming a full time activist and to begin with I was given responsibility in the Kamani Employee’s union. Over a period of time I became an activist on the textile front. On the 8th of August 1983 I was jailed during the textile worker’s jail bharo.
As the strike prolonged the workers' movement scaled newer heights. Datta Samant took the lead and formed the Kamgar Aghadi Paksh. Datta Samant who once believed that politics has damaged the interests of the working class and championed economism, learnt his lesson in class politics in the workers’ university!
It reminds me of the historic election in Sangli. Vasantdada Patil, freedom fighter turned Sugar baron had to fight an election to continue as the CM. All the other parties including the progressive ones shirked away from contesting the election. The textile workers, Datta Samant and LNP decided to make it a battle of the workers and farmers and Santaram Patil, a freedom fighter and a leader of the sugar factory and sugar cane cutter workers, contested the election. The entire movement and LNP forced Vasantdada to come out and campaign on his home turf against an outsider. I had joined other comrades in actively campaigning in an election lost by us by a few thousand votes.
The new party was thus spreading its wings in the cities and rural hinterland. LNP leadership recognised the need to build a sound footing and made efforts to strengthen bonds with the textile workers who had returned to their villages. The Congress party in power unleashed the oppressive NSA to arrest activists, ban meetings and the media was used to malign the textile strike and Datta Samant. LNP stood behind Datta Samant unflinchingly. The strike forced the nationalisation of 13 sick mills in 1983 and as a result their workers received satisfactory terminal benefits.
Mid term parliament election was called for after the murder of Indira Gandhi as the textile strike was nearing its two years. Datta Samant contested the election from the textile area. As an independent candidate he defeated ex-MP Roza Deshpande (Comrade Dange’s daughter) and BJP candidate Wamanrao Mahadik. The media was flush with anti-Datta Samant propaganda blaming him for the prolonged strike and predicted that he would lose his deposit. But despite the sympathy wave for the Congress nationally, the textile workers gave a major victory to Datta Samant and significant votes in other constituencies. The following Assembly elections saw a victory of three candidates from Kamgar Aghadi from the same area. Comrade Dattu Atyalkar, a textile worker from LNP was one of them. This was the last major struggle of the LNP with Kamgar Aghadi.
The government later came out with substantial changes in the policy framework to allow the textile mill owners to shift their mills outside, sell, and develop the mill lands with high rises, hotels, malls etc. and came with a narrative that with new rules Mumbai would be transformed into a city like Hongkong or Singapore. Then came the policies of liberation and privatisation. The mill and other industry owners used newly framed development control rules to the hilt. Datta Samant opposed these policy changes calling them detrimental not only for the textile workers but the entire working class. Corporate media tried hard calling him obstinate and anti-development, but Datta Samant stood his ground and continued to firmly oppose the new policy. He was the main obstacle in rolling out this policy. The obstacle was removed by his murder on 16th January 1997.
The BJP–SS coalition was in power then. After Datta Samant’s murder, industry including the textiles lost no time in closing down their factories and in collusion with the developers minted money out of the land parcels in their possession. The politicians were hand in glove with them, with some even becoming builders themselves.
Now the new emergent working class in Mumbai is unstable, almost everyone on contract, working hours increased, and having no social security. The wages are extremely low. This is the heavy price paid by the working class. Datta Samant with the active involvement of the LNP activists had noted the changed scenario and taken steps to organise the workers in the new situation. We have continued the legacy and with the merger of LNP with CPI(ML) Liberation, this militant legacy has strengthened further. We in the erstwhile LNP will cherish our legacy and vow to continue on the path well chosen by us.
