The moment I heard the news of George Fernandes passing away, two incidents immediately came in front of eyes as a flashback. Though none of family members are into politics but somehow it is an inseparable part of my life. And history being my favorite subject, which unfortunately I realised very late in life, so reading through the lives of people who left a mark on this subject books' pages always gives me a feeling to read as much as I can, till I am able to shape my own opinion about that chapter.
First incident was somewhere in the 90s, when there was a political rally organised near our building. I was just walking with few of my friends towards home after school. Seeing the political parties flags flying around near the grounds, I too joined in to check who was the guest. After hearing the roar and excitement I came to know it was the then Defence Minister of our country, George Fernandes, himself in Bhandup, Mumbai. From far away where I was standing, I could see a lean man with big spectacles wearing a khadi type formal shirt and trouser walking towards the stage with some people around him (who were his security). Being a school kid, reaching home on time was fixed and any fluctuation in the same might result in wrath of the parents. So I left the ground even before his speech had started. And those weren't the days when you had the luxury of YouTube wherein you can reach home and check in to the Live Streaming or watch an uploaded speech later.
Second incident must be a decade or more back from today, when the Railway Unions had given an ultimatum to the then establishment about their intention to go on a nationwide strike. Being a normal college going student, commuting by train was daily affair. At the end of each day of college when we use to bid each other the traditional good byes, the final line used to be, "Kal Miltey Hai, 7:12 Main". That was the local trains time which each of us would board at their home destination ensuring we reach college in the same train. So watching all the banners of the Labour Unions at all stations was a regular affair. Though we weren't that concerned about the strike as that would lead us to more holidays. But I remember over hearing conversation among the working class as to how this strike will impact the day-to-day lives of the entire population. If the Railways come to a halt then it means, technically, the country will come to a halt. Also people had started drawing parallels to the famous 1974 Railway strike which had halted the Indian Railways for a total of 20 Days. This is where the Man of this Blogpost comes into picture.
Born in a Mangalorean family during the time of the great depression, George Fernandes as his parents wanted him to be, was on his path to become a priest. However the basics that any political leader should have in his/her blood is not allowing injustice prevail, was there in the case of George. Due to some unfair food habits in the seminary where he was being trained to become a priest, he had tried to raise his voice against such practices. But when his voices fell in deaf ears, he finally carved his own path by leaving the seminary and also giving up on his priesthood. I couldn't help but draw parallels with another person, few decades before George gave up on becoming a priest, who also had given up on this path of becoming a priest and later on turned into one of the most powerful person of the 20th Century and who also altered the geographical history of the world forever. He was none other than, Adolf Hitler. Thankfully, George didn't turn up as the Fuhrer.
Georges first hand into social activism was when he tried to unite the workers in the local restaurants in his home town before turning his eyes towards Bombay. The country had just become independent and power centres were now being shifted from Mountbatten to Nehru. Apparently, the entire political career of George was such that he never adopted or supported any 'isms. But the only 'ism to which he was always opposed to since the start till the sunset of his political life was Nehruism-Gandhism. From Jawaharlal Nehru till Rahul Gandhi, all the four generations. As the new country was taking shape so were its new problems. George initially started with his stints as Union Leader for labours in restaurants, small scale industries etc. Back then Mumbai was the Land of mills. With over 60 Mills in Central and South Mumbai, huge chunk of labour force was employed in these industries. Spending his first decade in these mill lands, George tried to unite all the unions under one banner to ensure the labours got their rights and there will be no divided opinion amongst them which will, indirectly, serve their masters.
After this came the era of 60s. There was huge shift in geopolitics within the country as the Bombay Presidency was split into two and resulted in the formation of two states Gujarat and Maharashtra. With this new opportunity, George finally took the plunge in to active politics. He was offered a party ticket by Samyukta Socialist Party from the South Bombay Constituency against the mighty S.K. Patil from the Congress. George, nevertheless, won this election thus getting the name tag of Giantkiller. The aftermath of the election result was a new sun had risen in the labour movement in Mumbai, Whereas for S.K. Patil, this election ended his political career. The Mangalorean boy had noe become the essence of labour activism in Bombay textile mills in the area of Lalbaugh and Parel. However with the rise of private companies in the 70s, George failed to make in roads.
Then came the big year, 1974. By now Indira Gandhi had tightened her hold on party as well as country. And that when the Railway strike happened which went on shake the entire establishment. The 1974 strike forced political parties across the spectrum to spell out their stand clearly. Labour unions are mainly the intermediaries between the labours and employers.In this case the Indian Government turned out to be the employer whereas All India Railway mens Federation was the union who under the leadership of George Fernandes was leading the strike. Now many people then didn't knew the fact that though the Railway Board was supposed to work under the Government, but they had more autonomy in carrying out the day to day affairs. Hence most of the labour reforms in Railways even if genuine remained in the back burner on account of the bureaucracy. After all the unsuccessful meetings with the establishment the labour unions under the leadership of George Fernandes announced a nationwide strike on 8th May, 1974.
Over 17 lakhs employees participated in the strike pan India, thus bringing the entire nation to a standstill. The strike which went on for 20 days finally culminated on 27th May 1974 and is one of the largest recorded industrial action in the world. Many current employees in the Railways who today enjoy good working conditions, more than decent pay scale and a comfortable life. Much of the credit goes to the 1974 Railway Strike. I am not not going to write any details of the strike as there is already lot of facts and readable content on the internet. The intention to write here is just to share my perspective.
It takes more than something for one person to achieve the peak which George Fernandes achieved in his life time. When we look at the things happening around today, such strikes for demanding the rights of labour can never happen. Because each politically affiliated union is formed with vested interest. There main intention, today, is to cater the needs of the employer and make the employees slog for them. In today's corporate world where labour unions are banned, the people appointed to do this task for the employer are branded as Human Resource Department. Leaving apart the BEST buses strike which happened in Mumbai in February 2019, rarely will you find the labours also united for a cause. The fighting spirit in each of us has turned into a surviving spirit. It is difficult to survive in the cut throat competitive world. Who is going to waste the energy in fighting for the rights against the employer and end up being a collateral damage in such wars.
Those times will never return back now. There cannot be another George Fernandes in the 21st Century who can rally the labour class against the establishment. He had earned the tag of "Bandh Samrat" for this stint. Later on he had also become the Railway Minister for a year during the V.P. Singh Government where he played a crucial role in providing finance for the most crucial project of Kokan Railways. He also was the Defence Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayees government during the Kargil War.
There is one incident that deserves a mention as an endnote which gives a complete opposite view of this mans life. Maragaret Alwa from the Indian National Congress had mentioned this incident when she had visited George when he was diagnosed to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. What she had seen had shook her completely and inspite of being a political opponent she couldn't hold back her tears. As she went inside the ashram where he was undergoing the treatment she saw the firebrand politician playing with toy building blocks which was meant to improve his eye-hand coordination.
-SR.
PS: Late post due to some unavoidable circumstances
PPS: May The Force Be With You !!!
