Unmaking of the Working Class in Mumbai

Arup Kumar Sen

Making the workers footloose is th.e central strategy of Capital under neoliberalism. The failure of the 1982-83 textile strike in Mumbai and the accompanying displacement of workers is a classic case of the neoliberal journey of Capital in the city. Hub van Wersch’s study based on fieldwork conducted in the mid-1980s provides a rigorous analysis of the strike. The long preface of Wersch’s book– The 1982-83 Bombay Textile Strike and the Unmaking of a Labourers’ City (Speaking Tiger, 2019) –written by Sumeet Mhaskar bears testimony to the forward march of Capital and unmaking of the working class in Mumbai. The following account is a broad summary of insightful observations made by Mhaskar in this context.

To put it in the words of Mhaskar: “The 1982-83 strike was the last attempt by the Mumbai mill workers to display a unified militant resistance against the Indian state and the capital. However, the millowners were able to put down the strike by colluding with the state and the Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh (RMMS), the officially recognised trade union and the sole bargaining agent for the workers.” A significant observation was made in this context: “…there were no immediate riots after the strike was over in 1983. However, anti-Muslim riots did take place in 1984 in Bhiwandi, where the private mill owners had sub-contracted the production of cloth. Parts of Mumbai that had a substantial Muslim population were also affected by the 1984 riots…Muslim workers’ expulsion was nearly complete during and immediately after the 1982-83 strike…Most of the Muslim mill workers I met (in 2008-09) had lost their jobs during or before the 1982-83 strike and diverted to other occupations such as taxi driving, selling perishable commodities and engaging in wide-ranging repair work.”

Mhaskar narrated the outcome of the defeat of workers in the 1982-83 strike: “The gentrification of Girangaon following the closure of textile mills resulted in a gradual expulsion of the residents to city’s far-away suburbs and to the villages where workers have returned after the shutdown…The transformations of Mumbai into a world-class city have whittled down the proletarian Mumbai (read Girangaon) that was dominated by the textile industry, working-class neighbourhoods, popular theatres, smaller restaurants and local tea shops. ‘World-class’ Mumbai is marked by huge shopping malls, multiplexes, upscale bars, restaurants, and nightclubs that cater to the needs of the newly emerging middle and affluent classes.”

The tale of ‘accumulation by dispossession’ and anti-Muslim riots in Mumbai, narrated by Mhaskar, is the general story of the journey of Capital and marginalisation of subaltern Muslims in other Indian cities in recent years. The Indian state is playing a significant role in this journey.

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Vol 57, No. 35, Feb 23 - March 1, 2025