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{{Use Indian English|date=December 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
On 26 November 2020, a mass [[general strike]] was held across [[India]]. The strike was organized by 10 [[trade unions]] across the country and was supported by the [[Indian National Congress]], [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]], and other left-wing parties.<ref name="TheStatesman">{{Cite web|last=Sarkar|first=Niladry|date=26 November 2020|title='Historic' All India General Strike majorly successful: claim CPIM, Congress in Kolkata|url=https://www.thestatesman.com/bengal/historic-all-india-general-strike-majorly-successful-claim-cpim-congress-kolkata-1502937461.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128111242/https://www.thestatesman.com/bengal/historic-all-india-general-strike-majorly-successful-claim-cpim-congress-kolkata-1502937461.html|archive-date=28 November 2020|access-date=1 December 2020|website=[[The Statesman (India)|The Statesman]]|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="TelegraphIndia">{{Cite web|date=17 November 2020|title=10 Trade unions to hold strike on November 26|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/10-trade-unions-to-hold-strike-on-november-26/cid/1797740|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117123150/https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/10-trade-unions-to-hold-strike-on-november-26/cid/1797740|archive-date=17 November 2020|access-date=1 December 2020|website=[[The Telegraph (Kolkata)|The Telegraph]]|publisher=[[ABP Group]]}}</ref><ref name="timesnow20201125">{{Cite web|date=25 November 2020|title=26 November 2020 strike: Which unions are participating in Bharat Bandh? Who all are backing it? [DETAILS]|url=https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/26th-november-2020-strike-10-trade-unions-call-for-nationwide-bandh-autos-cabs-in-telangana-to-join-strike/685445|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130170649/https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/26th-november-2020-strike-10-trade-unions-call-for-nationwide-bandh-autos-cabs-in-telangana-to-join-strike/685445|archive-date=30 November 2020|access-date=1 December 2020|website=[[Times Now]]|language=en}}</ref> Trade unions claim 250 million (25 [[crore]]) people took part in the strike,<ref name="DeccanHerald_25crore" /><ref name="TribuneChandigarh_25crore" /> which ''[[Jacobin (magazine)|Jacobin]]'' says would make it arguably the largest in history.<ref name="JacobinMag" /> Some sources say the size of the strike was 200000-300000.<ref name="India Today">{{Cite web|date=1 December 2020|title=What agitating farmers want, and why the Centre may not oblige|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india-today-insight/story/what-agitating-farmers-want-and-why-the-centre-may-not-oblige-1745475-2020-11-30|url-status=live|website=India Today|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="The Quint">{{Cite web|date=15 December 2020|title=Old Images From Jan 2020 & 2018 Viral as Ongoing Farmers’ Protest|url=https://www.thequint.com/news/webqoof/old-images-from-january-2020-and-2018-viral-as-ongoing-farmers-protest|url-status=live|website=[[The Quint (India)|The Quint]]|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Republic ">{{Cite web|date=15 December 2020|title=Fact Check: Did 250 Million People Gather For A Strike In India Over The Farm Laws? | url=https://www.republicworld.com/fact-check/viral/fact-check-did-250-million-people-gather-for-a-strike-in-india-over-the-farm-laws.html |url-status=live|language=en-US}}</ref> The strike was followed by a [[2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest|farmers march to New Delhi]], which arrived there on 30 November with tens of thousands of farmers surrounding Delhi,<ref name="NYT_AngryFarmers" /> increasing to hundreds of thousands by 3 December.<ref name="BBC_ViralImage" />

==Strikers' demands==
The [[trade unions|workers' unions]] presented a list of seven demands:

# [[Direct Benefit Transfer|Direct cash transfer]] of Rs 7,500 (US$101) per month to all families who earn less than the [[income tax]] threshold<ref>https://www.firstpost.com/india/nationwide-general-strike-on-26-november-to-see-participation-of-25-crore-workers-9050491.html</ref>
# 10 kg free [[grain]] [[Rationing|ration]] per person every month to all in need.
# Expansion of the [[MGNREGA|Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act]] to provide employment from the current 100 days to 200 days work in [[rural areas]] with enhanced [[wages]], and extension of this programme to [[urban areas]]
# Withdrawal of all [[Indian labour law#Industrial Relations Code, 2020|anti worker labour]] [[Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020|code]] changes and [[Indian farm reforms 2020|liberalizing agricultural reforms seen by the protesters as anti-farmer laws]]
# Stop [[privatisation]] of [[Public sector undertakings in India|public sector corporations]], including those in the [[financial services|financial sector]]. Stop the [[corporatisation]] of government-run manufacturing and service entities in [[Ministry of Railways (India)|railways]], [[Ordnance Factories Board|ordnance]] manufacturing, [[Port Trust Board (India)|ports]] and similar areas.{{refn|group=note|Some public sector companies the government has been accused of trying to privatise include the [[Indian Railways]], [[BSNL]] and [[Air India]]}}
# Withdraw the circular of forced premature [[retirement]] of government and public sector employees.
# Provide a [[pension]] to all, restore earlier pension scheme and improve EPS 95.<ref name="IndustriALL">{{Cite web|date=2020-11-26|title=Over 250 million workers join national strike in India|url=http://www.industriall-union.org/over-250-million-workers-join-national-strike-in-india|access-date=2020-12-02|website=IndustriALL|language=en}}</ref><ref name="timesnow20201125" />

==Organisers==
The trade unions involved included the [[Indian National Trade Union Congress]] (INTUC), [[All India Trade Union Congress]] (AITUC), [[Hind Mazdoor Sabha]] (HMS), [[Centre of Indian Trade Unions]] (CITU), [[All India United Trade Union Centre]] (AIUTUC), [[Trade Union Coordination Centre]] (TUCC), [[Self-Employed Women's Association]] (SEWA), [[All India Central Council of Trade Unions]] (AICCTU), [[Labour Progressive Federation]] (LPF) and [[United Trade Union Congress]] (UTUC).<ref name="TheStatesman" />

Several other organisations were involved in the strike. The All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) stated that nearly 30 thousand bank employees were to participate in the strike.<ref name="timesnow20201125" /> The Independent Sectoral Federations and Associations (ISFA) released [[strike notice]] to workers of all industries, calling scheme workers, construction workers, [[beedi]] workers, domestic workers, agricultural workers, vendors, hawkers, and self-employed people in rural as well as urban India to come onto the streets for ''chakka jam'',<ref name="timesnow20201125" /> a demonstration meant to block traffic. According to a statement made by the CPIM, there was "massive participation"<ref name="WorkersWorld">{{Cite web|last=Grevatt|first=Martha|date=2020-12-01|title=Working class unites across India/250-million-strong strike!|url=https://www.workers.org/2020/12/52835/|access-date=2020-12-04|website=Workers World|language=en-US}}</ref> by people who did not receive strike notice, such as [[Informal economy|informal sector]] workers, students, women, and peasants.<ref name="TelegraphIndia" /><ref name="FirstPost" /><ref name="WorkersWorld" /> Approximately a quarter of all [[Working age|working-aged]] people in India participated in the general strike.<ref name="WorkersWorld" />

The date of the general strike converged with the [[All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee|All India Kisan Sangharsh Co-ordination Committee]]'s own strike calling for newly enacted anti-farmer agricultural laws to be repealed.<ref name="JacobinMag" /> The worker's unions and the AIKSCC declared their solidarity with each other in the days leading up to the general strike and the AIKSCC's "Chalo Delhi" (Go to Delhi) mobilization.<ref name="TheStatesman" /><ref name="JacobinMag" /><ref name="IndustriALL" />

==Strike and march to New Delhi==
{{see also|2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest|Indian farm reforms 2020}}
The initial, 24-hour [[general strike]] took place all across India. Five states – [[Kerala]], [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]], [[Odisha]], [[Assam]] and [[Telangana]] – were completely shut down.<ref name="NewsClick">{{Cite web|date=2020-11-26|title=Shutdown Across Sectors, as Over 25 Crore Workers Join One of the Biggest Strikes Ever|url=https://www.newsclick.in/Shutdown-Across-Sectors-as-Over-25-Crore-Workers-Join-One-of-theBiggest-Strikes-Ever|access-date=2020-12-04|website=NewsClick|language=en}}</ref> [[Jharkhand]] and [[Chhattisgarh]] reported a 100% strike.<ref name="NewsClick" /> [[Tamil Nadu]] reported shut-down in 13 of 38 districts, with industrial strikes continuing in the remaining districts.<ref name="NewsClick" /> In [[Punjab Roadways|Punjab]] and [[Haryana Roadways|Haryana]], [[Public transport|state transport buses]] did not leave their [[bus depot|depots]].<ref name="NewsClick" /> The strike saw stoppages of work in [[banks]], [[financial services]], various government services, [[transport]], [[steel]] units, [[ports]] and [[dockyards|docks]], [[Telecommunications in India|telecommunication]] services, [[plantations]], power generating units, coal and other mines, oil and natural gas production units, and millions of other places.<ref name="NewsClick" />

The strike was followed by the [[2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest]] march to the Indian capital [[New Delhi]]. On 30 November, "tens of thousands of [[Agriculture in India|farmers]] and their supporters ... [were] demonstrating at several road junctions".<ref name="NYT_AngryFarmers">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/30/world/asia/india-farmers-protest.html|title=Angry Farmers Choke India's Capital in Giant Demonstrations|first1=Jeffrey|last1=Gettleman|first2=Karan Deep|last2=Singh|first3=Hari|last3=Kumar|date=30 November 2020|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|archive-url=https://archive.today/2ixvG |archive-date=2020-11-30 |url-status=live}}</ref> By 3 December, ''[[BBC News]]'' estimated the number of farmers blocking New Delhi in the hundreds of thousands.<ref name="BBC_ViralImage" />

==Role of social media==

A "photograph of a paramilitary policeman swinging his baton at an elderly Sikh man", later identified as Sukhdev Singh, taken by Ravi Choudhury of ''[[Press Trust of India]]'' (PTI) [[viral phenomenon|went viral]] on social media. Politicians opposed to the ruling [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP) used the image to criticise police violence, while BJP members claimed that the Sikh farmer had not been hit. Choudhury said that the man had been hit by the policeman. A [[fact-checking]] website, ''Boomlive'', interviewed Singh, who stated that he had been hit by two policemen, and sustained injuries to his "forearm, back and calf muscle".<ref name="BBC_ViralImage" />

Social media also helped start a Sikh solidarity protest in [[London, United Kingdom]] on 6 December 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sikh protest against farmer exploitation in India ends in 13 arrests|url=https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/sikh-protest-against-farmer-exploitation-india-ends-13-arrests/|access-date=2020-12-09|website=LBC|language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest]]
* [[COVID-19 pandemic in India]]
* [[Strikes during the COVID-19 pandemic]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="FirstPost">{{Cite web|date=26 November 2020|title=Nationwide general strike on 26 November to see participation of 25 crore workers – India News , Firstpost|url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/nationwide-general-strike-on-26-november-to-see-participation-of-25-crore-workers-9050491.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126003028/https://www.firstpost.com/india/nationwide-general-strike-on-26-november-to-see-participation-of-25-crore-workers-9050491.html|archive-date=26 November 2020|access-date=1 December 2020|website=[[Firstpost]]|publisher=[[Network18 Group]]}}</ref>

<ref name="JacobinMag">{{Cite web|last=Crowley|first=Thomas|date=1 December 2020|title=This Is a Revolution, Sir|url=https://jacobinmag.com/2020/12/general-strike-india-modi-bjp-cpm-bihar|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201193630/https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/12/general-strike-india-modi-bjp-cpm-bihar|archive-date=1 December 2020|access-date=1 December 2020|website=[[Jacobin (magazine)|Jacobin]]|language=en-US}}</ref>

<ref name="DeccanHerald_25crore">{{cite news | last1= Joy | first1= Shemin | title= At least 25 crore workers participated in general strike; some states saw complete shutdown: Trade unions | date= 2020-11-26 |newspaper= [[Deccan Herald]] | url= https://www.deccanherald.com/national/at-least-25-crore-workers-participated-in-general-strike-some-states-saw-complete-shutdown-trade-unions-920200.html |accessdate=2020-12-05 |archive-url= https://archive.today/Ztygc |archive-date= 2020-12-04 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="TribuneChandigarh_25crore">{{cite news | title= Nationwide strike affects normal life in Kerala, Odisha, other states; over 25 crore workers join agitation: Trade unions | date= 2020-11-26 |newspaper= [[The Tribune (Chandigarh)]] | url= https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/nationwide-strike-affects-normal-life-in-kerala-odisha-other-states-over-25-crore-workers-join-agitation-trade-unions-176123 |accessdate=2020-12-05 |archive-url= https://archive.today/svPiT |archive-date= 2020-12-05 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="BBC_ViralImage">{{cite news | last1= Pandey | first1= Geeta | title= India farmers: The viral image that defines a protest | date= 2020-12-03 |newspaper= [[BBC News]] | url= https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-55156219 |accessdate=2020-12-05 |archive-url= https://archive.today/d2VZw |archive-date= 2020-12-05 |url-status=live }}</ref>

}}

==External links==
{{external media
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| video1 = {{YouTube|-1xGT611Z_A|Prof. Richard Wolff: India's Historic General Strike}}}}

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[[Category:2020 labor disputes and strikes]]
[[Category:General strikes]]
[[Category:Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in India]]
[[Category:Labour disputes in India]]
[[Category:November 2020 events in India]]
[[Category:Protests in India]]
[[Category:December 2020 events in India]]

2020 Indian general strike - Revision history

CleanupBot II at 17:12, 13 August 2023