The flags never went up

The MMS has the unique distinction of being formed by Gandhiji and had as its founder-president Ansuya Sarabhai,who hailed from Ahmedabads leading industrialist family. In 1917,Sarabhai,a Gandhian,took up the cause of striking workers who were demanding better wages in Calico Textile Mill owned by her brother Ambalal Sarabhai,who was then president of the Mill Owners Association. Gandhiji mediated and MMS was born,under a neem tree.

In its heydays,the union spread across Gujarat,noticeably in Surat. MMS also had a lead over other unions in Gujarat; one reason,say experts,was because its no-strike policy went well with industrialists of the day. The union also actively ran anganwadis,hostels,vocational courses and typing classes.

About 15 years ago,the union had more than one lakh members in the 68-odd textile mills of Ahmedabad,but when the mills shut down in the eighties,the union too shrunk in space. It now has about 10,000 members in the 11 functional textile mills of Ahmedabad.

Inside the office of the three-storeyed building in the bustling fort area of Ahmedabad,about 30-odd clerks clank on old German typewriters,working on compensation claims for retrenched mill workers.

MMS president Raman Patel says the union has facilitated compensation worth lakhs of rupees to retrenched workers. In Ahmedabad,14 of those cases are pending in the Industrial Court and 70-odd cases in Labour Court.

What is the point in increasing membership? Unions now cannot guarantee jobs or job security to workers in non-textile industrial units and workers are now wary to join unions, says Patel. While textile mills have closed down,industrial units and factories continue to dot Ahmedabad cityscape,but most of them are without a union and MMS could not gain a toehold in any of these industries. Even amongst the unorganised workers,the union counts some five thousand-odd workers as it members.

The unions national presence is through its affiliation with the Indian National Trade Union Congress,the Congress wing of workers union.

In its 92nd year,a major part of the MMSs office building remains unused. Light filters into the main hall from broken window panes,enough to light up oil paintings of Gandhiji and some old photographs of its prime days. The library corner sits dusty,with cobwebs making neat patterns on copies of Principles of Economy,German News and Unprotected Labour.

At the end of hall are two small rooms of the womens wing that are still functional. We now run 14 sewing classes and 7 anganwadis,we also work with 8,000 agricultural workers, says Smita Pandya who heads the womens wing. Pigeon hole cabinets with names of textile mills are lined with dust and forgotten papers.

Old timers like Fusha Parmar,a onetime mill worker and now MMS office bearer,recounts the unions national influence. Gulzarilal Nanda,the former prime minister,former governor Khandu Desai,Shyamprasad Vasavada and Navinchandra Barot8230;they were all MMS men. So much so that we had a say in who would get Congress tickets during elections in the sixties and seventies.

But that political clout has clearly waned. In the 2007 assembly elections,MSS sought tickets from the Congress but with little success.

And once the compensation claims are taken care of,the MMS will have little relevance. We will do something,we are trying hard. Bhagwan ni krupa chhe,Gandhiji na aashirwad chhe with Gods benevolence and Gandhijis blessings, says Patel,the MMS president.