OBITUARY

Thakor Shah
AMAR JESANI, VIBHUTI PATEL ment and the ideological commitments of
the youth to society. His attraction to the

A
t a time when the nation needs CSD was related to Gandhi’s teaching of
people who could keep alive the Sarvodaya and his call for devoting to the
secular conscience of Gujarat, the constructive work after the independence.
passing away of Thakor Shah on April 10, He also participated in Bhoodan movement
2004 in Vadodara due to massive heart He left the CSD and joined as resident
attack has come as a big jolt. He died while correspondent of Sandesh in Delhi. But in
participating in the meeting of the network no time at all he had to leave this news-
of social movements in Gujarat. Of the 76 paper as his writings were censured on
years he lived, he spent over 60 years in political grounds. On his return to
public life, making personal sacrifices, Vadodara, he accepted the editorship of
fearlessly withstanding all attacks – the daily newspaper, Navbharat (published
physical and political – in his incessant from Baroda) and began a new life as a
struggle for organising working masses for full-time journalist. By 1964, he had started
their rights and justice. His life was a feeling very uneasy about the way
political journey in search of liberation and Congress was moving and the decline in
a commitment to ethics and integrity. the moral values of the organisation and
Born on December 20, 1928 in Vadodara, its leadership and so he quit Navbharat,
he came under the influence of Gandhi and started his own Gujarati weekly,
when he was 15 years and plunged into Prajasattak. Two events in the late 1960s
political activism in the 1942 Quit India shook him and the third one took him on
movement. From that point on, he dedi- a new path to realise the vision of libera-
cated his life to public work, adopted khadi tion and justice. The first was the split in
and followed the Gandhian principle of Congress Party. He sided with the old
non-violence and satyagraha. He was a Congress – not because of its ideology; but
foot soldier of the Quit India movement, because he was not impressed by the
and like many other progressive people rhetoric of Indira Gandhi and her style of
such as Indulal Yagnik, Dinkar Mehta, politics. But he was not happy with the
Jagannath Vohra from Gujarat, began his either faction. And soon the second event,
political life as disciple of Gandhi and/or the first large-scale brutal communal riots
member of the Congress Party. He joined after independence in Gujarat in 1969 that
Congress and was attracted to the Con- took lives of a few thousand people, mainly
gress Seva Dal (CSD). In the CSD his Muslims, devastated him. Ahmedabad and
emphasis was on the intellectual develop- Vadodara were the main centres of this

2096 Economic and Political Weekly May 22, 2004

violence, and he witnessed the ineptitude that the criticism by the Communists of the established trade unions, including in
and collusion of his party then in power, Gandhi and his politics, was unfair and at the MM. They were mostly defeated, but
the factional fights fanning the violence times, scandalous. So his steps towards the political campaign for trade union
and direct participation of the present-day acceptance of Communist ideology were democracy used to have an electrifying
Hindutva brigade. It was in this state of slow. But what pushed him more was not effect on the workers. Prajasattak was the
disillusionment with his old party and the the ideology, but the work. He saw the mouthpiece of such campaigns. Interest-
process of ideological rethinking that he reflection of what he stood for in the day- ingly, workers also contested general – the
came in touch with the movement of to-day political struggles being waged by state and parliament – elections in order
Workers’ Committee in Vadodara. the committed workers and students in the to use those platforms to take their political
The Workers’ Committee movement had Workers’ Committee movement. He also voice to the working masses. Thakorbhai
emerged due to two reasons. Firstly, it was saw a reflection of his ‘Nai Taleem’ when also contested a Lok Sabha election on
an expression of rebellion against the he observed the campaign by the youth of such a workers’ manifesto. In the wake of
Majoor Mahajan (MM), the recognised the Study and Struggle Alliance, an Nav Nirman, Vadodara also witnessed mas-
union in the textile industry in Gujarat organisation of students and youths affili- sive movement of women, particularly
under the infamous Bombay Industrial ated to the same politics as the Workers’ against the price rise. Mrinal Gore and
Relations (BIR) Act. MM had Gandhian Committee movement, on “principles, Ahilya Rangnekar of Mumbai were fre-
origins, and Thakorbhai knew about it very programme and policies” in the student quent visitors to Vadodara for providing
well. The role of MM in Gujarat was and community and also its work in slums and support to the movement. Surykantaben
still remains worse than its counterpart in villages. He often said that it was not the (his wife), and their 10-year old daughter,
Mumbai under the BIR Act, the Rashtriya theory but the sincere and militant work Trupti, were active participants. Many of
Mill Majdoor Sangh (RMMS). While in of these groups that made him to accept his close associates in the working class
Mumbai, the working class movement had Marxism. And so far as Marxism was movement later on significantly contrib-
unsuccessfully but regularly waged mili- concerned, for long he continued to be- uted in the women’s movement in Gujarat
tant struggles against the RMMS and the lieve that, for him, the genuine goals and and outside. He always supported women’s
BIR Act under the leadership of the Left objectives of Gandhism were realisable causes in his personal capacity, at policy
and other trade unions, in Gujarat, barring only through the practice of Marxism. and programmatic levels and through public
one attempt under Indulal Yagnik, there Two more movements guided him to- action. In his personal life and in the
was no history of serious organised wards full acceptance of radical position. movement, he shared all types of work –
challenge against the MM. The Gandhian The first was Nav Nirman movement and cooking, cleaning and caring. He actively
and Congress-affiliated MM had not only second, the movement by Jaya Prakash supported women’s cause through the
helped managements in trampling the rights Narayan that followed it. It was not the union activities and as a sympathiser of the
of workers, but many of its local leaders movements per se, but the way the move- women’s rights group, Sahiyar.
had got thoroughly corrupted, some of ments were politically viewed and the The Workers’ Committee movement un-
them becoming moneylenders and direct interventions made by the political der the kamdar samitis in Vadodara faced
oppressor of workers. The dissident mili- organisation he was close to,that convinced lots of attacks and harassments, but the
tant workers from many textile mills (and him to formally shift his affiliation. Being imposition of emergency succeeded in
other factories) in Vadodara had therefore a seasoned politician from the mainstream, wounding it and forcing it to change course.
organised themselves under the workers’ he was quick to see through the political While Janata front government in Gujarat
committees. manipulation of the student leadership of had generally lessened the impact of
The second reason for the committee the Nav Nirman by the established parties. emergency for the opposition leaders many
movement was the source of its political He could also see that there would be of whom were allowed to hide there, it was
aspiration. The key textile and other workers attempts to contain the movement within not so for the working class militancy.
and middle class activists of the committee a limited sphere of rebellion. He contri- Many Workers’ Committee leaders were
movement were affiliated to the small but buted immensely to the efforts of the summarily dismissed. The established
locally active far-left Trotskist group in students of activists to bring working unions were refusing even to fight cases
Baroda, the Socialist Workers Party (later masses into the Nav Nirman movement of these workers in the labour court be-
renamed as Communist League and then which was essentially against price rise cause these committees were their political
as Inquilabi Communist Sangathan). They and corruption. In the JP movement that opponents; and the committees had no
believed in trade union democracy and followed, he was also impressed by the money to hire lawyers to fight cases.
unity of working class movement; and radical interpretation to the ‘total revolu- Thakorbahi’s training in constructive work
translated them into a strategy for tion’ given by these groups at the ground and institution building instinctively pro-
democratisation of existing trade unions level. Between 1970 and 1974, his weekly, pelled him to become trade union builder.
and transcending their economism by Prajasattak, underwent a transformation. The worker leaders of the committees such
political actions spearheaded by the No longer was it carrying the articles and as Dhayabhai Parmar, Shanabhai Vaghela,
workers’ committees. Their critique of reports to fuel dissident movements and Shirazbhai Saikh, Shankarbhai Pandya,
trade union economism had provided im- factional fights in the Congress. It was Salimbhai and others from different fac-
petus to the workers’ committee militancy becoming a mouthpiece of the Workers’ tories and mills took leadership positions
in several industrial units and also in est- Committee movement. Another distinct and Thakorbhai was asked to be general
ablishing works in the slums and nearby aspect of movement in Vadodara was the secretary. Thus was born the Vadodara
villages. Nurtured in Gandhian politics attempt by the politically conscious Kamdar Union (VKU). In the first two
and value system, Thakorbhai had believed workers to contest plant level elections in years, he combined militancy with

Economic and Political Weekly May 22, 2004 2097

Gandhian method of satyagrha, including Thakorbhai was also working closely strike was lost, but the bond formed with
long-drawn peaceful hunger strike, to with Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA). all supporting organisations endured. The
survive the emergency. Thakorbhai taught The NBA was undertaking its activities in NBA used the VKU office for several years
workers that in order to be revolutionary, Gujarat from the office of the VKU. So for its work and despite threats of attack
they needed to be more disciplined. He along with many other organisations, the on the office and attempts to burn it down,
also demanded integrity and commitment NBA and environmental organisations the VKU and Thakorbhai refused to budge
to work. In the labour court, he used his were also motivated to look into the con- from this solidarity with the NBA.
methods of satyagraha whenever he felt ditions of workers at the dam site. After In the early 1980s, the anti-reservation
that judges or lawyers were being dis- two years of efforts in organisation, nego- agitation and attacks on dalits and from
honest. He insisted that anybody repre- tiation and continued brutal attacks on mid-1980s to the massacre of Muslims in
senting workers from the union always their leaders, the workers decided to resort 2001 carnage, Vadodara has been one of
went fully prepared for taking the case to strike after serving a strike notice. Thus, the main centres of sectarian hatred and
forward. He intensely disliked repeated started the 77-day long strike of dam violence in Gujarat. Castes and religions
adjournment of cases under flimsiest of workers from January 30, 1989, the day have acted as powerful forces dividing
pretext thus wasting workers’ resources of Gandhi’s martyrdom. The government workers unity and they have also prevented
and delaying justice. His dislike was so reacted swiftly – the entire area was taken the politicisation of workers in the trade
strong that he made announcement in over by the police, workers arrested, union movement. As a consequence, the
the courts that on his death the labour meetings disallowed and disrupted and trade union leaderships have often taken
court should not stop work. And this did individual leaders physically assaulted. In very ambiguous position on these issues.
happen after his death – on April 12, 2004 order to ensure that condition at the con- In the last 20 years, therefore, the role
when the labour court in Vadodara con- struction site and labour colony were not played by VKU has been exemplary.
vened, workers and others saluted him and investigated and reported, the government Thakorbhai was not only personally in-
the courts continued functioning. This was clamped the Official Secrets Act on the volved in the struggle against communal-
the first time in the history of Vadodara entire area, prevented fact finding teams ism in orgnisations like the PUCL and
labour court that it did not close down due of human rights, teachers, women’s and Vadodara Shanti Abhiyan, but he also
to death of a lawyer or trade union leader. other organisations from entering the area motivated the union to take a public stand
and from talking to the striking workers. on the subject. He mobilised the union in
Bridging the Divide Sustaining the struggle of thousands of protest against Narendra Modi and at
poor workers in a remote area was not easy great personal risk, intervened during the
In the last half of 1980s, the struggle – in addition to the attacks of police and violence. His daughter and son-in-law (an
against Narmada dam was emerging as goondas, they were struggling against inter-caste marriage) lived in a Muslim
strong movement, and so was the brutal hunger. And here the network between the majority area during the carnage, and
determination of the Gujarat government trade union and the NBA, the environ- ensured the strong bond between both the
to build the dam. At this time, the workers mental organisations, human rights communities despite organised attempts
constructing the Narmada dam approached groups, women’s groups and so on pro- to inflame violence there. He fully sup-
VKU. The dam workers hailing from vided massive support by supplying food. ported such commitment.
Orissa, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Unlike the traditional divide between the He, however, was deeply disturbed by
Pradesh were exploited by the construction opponents of the dam and the workers (and the carnage. A life lived to prevent such
contractors and absolutely oppressed, so its union) constructing the dam, this struggle happenings was made to witness the worst
much so that they were treated like pri- brought about their unity due to the kind of violence. He believed that all energy
soners within the labour colony. They were political maturity of leadership. must be spent to combat communalisation
housed in prohibited areas, preventing free On March 29, 1989, on the evening as and to get justice for the victims. He was one
movement and interaction with their col- he was coming out of the union office, the of the many involved in supporting efforts
leagues. Any outsider wanting to meet them hired goons of the management stabbed for justice in Best Bakery as well as scores
had to take prior permission from the con- Thakorbhai. Fortunately, the assailant on of other cases. But the emotional and intel-
tractors. For the first meeting in February the bicycle missed the target and lectual disturbance caused by the carnage,
1987, the few workers called Thakorbhai Thakorbhai was injured only on his but- his need to do the most in the shortest
and his VKU comrade Narpatbhai 20 km tocks. But this attack and his hospitalisation possible time to fight the reactionary forces
away from the dam site in a small town for began the demoralisation of workers. After and the history of two previous heart attacks
discussion. The management spies soon 65 days of strike, as a last resort the leader- proved to be difficult to manage and he
discovered that a meeting had taken place ship of workers went on a mass hunger succumbed to the third one. He lived as
and five workers who had participated were strike in front of Narmada Bhavan in an activist, and passed away while in action
sent packing. But the efforts continued; as Vadodara. Thakorbhai, though injured in the meeting of the social movements.
also the repression. Thakorbhai and VKU from the attack, sat with workers. The In conservative Gujarat, he ignited a red
had taken the story of slavery in the Kevadia hunger strike lasted 12 days before the spark and it is only to be hoped that his
colony of the dam site to the larger society. strike was withdrawn. Thousands of young, enthusiastic and militant comrades
Several human rights groups, the individu- workers were picked up in the buses, will keep it burning and make it a counter
als from the universities and other organis- given railway tickets to go back to their to the communal fascist forces. EPW
ations made concerted efforts to bring homes and ensured that they boarded the [We are grateful to Trupti Shah and Ghanshyam
out facts on the brutal repression and train by the police and the security person- Shah for providing information and for comments
exploitation of workers. nel of the construction companies. The on the first draft.]

2098 Economic and Political Weekly May 22, 2004