November 4, 2023
On November 4, 1946, six young workers were shot dead by the police in Kolar Gold Fields (KGF), Karnataka, during a protest against the hazardous working conditions and meager pay in the mines. This day is commemorated as KGF Martyrs' Day, a reminder of the sacrifice made by workers in the struggle for a better future.
Mining started in KGF in 1880, and the workers were forced to work in hazardous conditions for more than 12 hours a day without any safety. They were also paid very little and had no other benefits. In 1930, the workers organized themselves and went on a 24-day strike to demand better working conditions and pay. They also demanded that the practice of taking their fingerprints to identify and bring back those who escaped be stopped.
In 1938, the workers went on strike again to demand the removal of handcuffs-like identity and the right to form a union. Comrade P. Ramamurthy and Comrade K.S. Vasan, who had already been involved in the workers' movement, were brought to KGF to help build the union.
In 1941, the first trade union in Mysore state was registered. In the first trade union elections in 1943, the Red Flag Union won. In 1946, the Red Flag Union led a historic 78-day strike of the mining workers. Eighteen of the 26 workers' demands were accepted.
The British, the Diwan, the management, and the opposition union, who were unable to tolerate the success of the strike, planned to assassinate Comrade Vasan. He was stabbed several times but survived. Thousands of workers gathered at Malayalee grounds, Marikuppam, to protest on November 4, 1946, upon hearing the news. The police opened fire, killing and martyring six young comrades: Comrade Ramayyan, Kannan, Chinnappan, Kaliyappan, Subramani, and Ramaswamy.
On this day, we pay tribute to the six martyrs, as well as Comrades K.S. Vasan, V.M. Govindan, Savaridoss, T.S. Mani, Comrade Harry (who was murdered in 1982), and the thousands of workers who have sacrificed their lives in BEML.
Their sacrifice has not been in vain. Today, workers in KGF and across the country enjoy better working conditions and pay, as well as the right to form unions and bargain collectively. But the struggle for a better future continues. We must continue to fight for the rights of workers and for a more just and equitable society.
