Strikes, a weapon of the oppressed

A lecture on the role of masses in a general strike and crisis in Indian politics was organised by the political science department of Osmania University on Tuesday. Chief guest Dr Ranabir Samaddar spoke about how strikes began in India and the way they were picked up by the public.

“Strikes are the only weapons of the oppressed. Strikes were the only way through which a union could vent its anger and craft its job,” said Dr Ranabir. He narrated incidents where railway employees had gone on a strike in the 1960s and also that it was through a number of strikes that the Telangana State was achieved.