CALCUTTA LABOR UNIONS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R002000310004-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 1, 2001
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: November 2, 1948
• Content Type: REPORT

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Approved FcVIWIRAhelkU(FIJ1! ICCIA 2-00457R Za1;9Q0
O FO 'CON F ENTRA, L), BT
COUNTRY India
SUBJECT Calcutta Labor Unions
25X1A
PLACE
ACQUIRED
DATE OF I1;
C
au UBRARN
DATE DISTR. 2 i'!ovember 1948
NO. OF PAGES 2
NO. OF ENCLS.
(LISTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
1o The All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) in Calcutta has its offices at
t9 Bowbazar street. Its president is .'.`rival Kanti Bose., and Br. Profulla
Chandra Ghose, ex-premier of '.test Jen al, was fore rl;r closely associated
with this organization and is still a patron.
2. The Tramway `olorker?s Union is a Cormmist-dominated union and is affiliated
with the AITUC o Its president is ':ohammad Ismail, who was an ordinary
mechanic in the i onapuku Trarrivay :Vorkshop, but who has given up this former
occupation since assurling the presidency. by police
He is now wanted b the
but has ;one underground. .I ma3.1 is poorly educated, but a man of co.rior. 'sense
who possesses a large followings The secretary of the uw ion is Dhiren L ozumdar,
who is also wanted by the police. :.iozumdar is only slightly educated, was
formerly a ticket collector on a tram, and, like Isrla.il, has gone underground.
The union is now run by the assistant secretary., Kalipada Banerjee, a conductor.
3. Another trarTmay union is the Train ;iozdur Panchayat, w'rtic;~ works in close
conj-lncticn with the Tram-way ::orker?s Union, is sponsored '.rj the socialists,,
and was originally foI nded by the Trarraay Aut'iorities in an attempt to
undermine the power of the Tra iwray ?;orker a s Union. The ;oresidant o,-' the
Tram "ozdur .t'anchayat is Bhudaneswar Terraria the secretary, Daliraj; the
principal adviser is Aswrini Gupta.. Gupta illegally i :rsortated a student
whom he was coaching for an examination at University flail, and as a result
had his 1!aster of ArtE; degree rrscindedo Gupta is a favorite of Dr.. Profulla
Ghose, the ex-pre-nier of '.;est Bernal, is an intell.i;gent unan of abo it forty
years of age, but is reputed to possess many bad habits.
4. The Imperial Bank of India Staff Association is headed by soi.rrrendra i-ath
Ta;,ore. The vice president is Fsirendra Lath D3anerjee who also acts as the
representative of the bank clerks. The secretary is Jyoti Ghose, a bank clerk.
!o The Dipti 11arrican '-ar..uffacture Coq )any 'orkerls Union was originally formed
by the C.K. Sen far ly-, proprietors of the Jabakusum Hair Oil Company.. The
union has since becor a violent organization which has driven its original
employers out of business, committed crimes of violence, and hired the
services of two local thugs who often work for the Co*nrrm..i_i; t Party. These
CLASSIFICATION
WAVY WSRB
STAB TE
ARMS Y AIR DISTRIBUTION
This docurren#-+s 4ie-eby-regraded
CONFIDE Nrl.?.L in ac: o dance with the
letter of 13 Oc`o':hcr from the
Director of Cen,ai to the
Archivist of the lJni:od
Next Review Dale.. 2003
Approved
 Approved For elease 001/11/23:CIA-RDP -00400310004-5
6.
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two use the assumed names ?'Vanu.T' and "Jaga".
Though the Amrita Bazar Patrika Press Worker's Union is affiliated with the
Indian National Trade Union Congress (IPiTUC), it is reported to be strongly
influenced by Communist elements. The president of the union is Mrs. Bain'
Bhowmi.k, member of the Legislative Assembly, nest Bengal. Congress, who
acquired her fame as a political worker during her student days as the first
women student to agitate against British rule. At a meting at Calcutta Univer-
sity_, she brought a revolver and fired several shots at the then governor of
Bengal,, Sir Stanley Jackson; because of this, she w.s deported for fourteen
years. She is presently playing a major part in the strikes and other
difficulties the Amrita Bazar Patrika has encountered for the past few months.
Though she has followed closely the Communist Party line, it is not known
whether or not she is a party member?
Comment. The Morning News on 4 September reported the arrest of
111S.1hoWEY and thirteen others under the West Bengal Security Act for
acts of violence in connection with Amrita Bazar Patrika employees. The
Amrita Bazar Patrika carried an article on the same subject in which
Pandit I rti-Spanker Shukla, Premier of the Central Provinces and Berar,
in commenting on the violence indulged in by the dismissed workers of the
Patrika, branded the leaders of these workers as Communists.)
Thou;;h most of the workers of the Bata Company in Calcutta are Uoanmunist5,
their unions, the Bata Worker's Union, is affiliated With the INTTTC.
In addition to Communist influence, there is also a Socialist group active
in this union. The president is Dr. Suresh Chandra Dannerjee who was
recently elected president of the Bengal Provincial Congress Committee.
Bannerjee was formerly a member of Aphoy Ashram. The vice president is
Moor Mohamad, and the secretaries are Te jen .Bosu and Nikhil Bosu. The Bata
Company, though originally entirely Czech-awned, is now two-thirds
Indian-owned. Among the Indian shareholders are the notable figures Khaitan
and Snehansu Acharya. The latter comes from the illustrious family of the
Maharaja of 'mensing. Snehansu has a brilliant academic career, but his
politics are far to the left, a far cry from, the conservative leanings of
his family. He was the leader of the last strike at the Bata Company.
Snehansu is very popular with the Communist workers at the Bata Company.
CONFIDENTIAL
Approved For Release 2001/11/23 : CIA-RDP82-00457R002000310004-5