द इण्डियन स्ट्रगल / भारतीय स्वाधीनता संग्राम (नेताजी सुभाष चन्द्र बोस - ऐतिहासिक विश्लेषण)

SIGNS OF COMING UPHEAVAL 191
created a split among Indian trade-unionists. When the
Congress met at Nagpur in November with Pandit Jawaharlal
Nehru as the President, it was found that the majority were
for the boycott of the Labour Commission (called the Whitley
Commission). Several factors accounted for this. Boycott
was then in the air. Moreover, the Labour Cabinet having
failed to do anything for the Meerut prisoners, it was felt
that a Commission appointed by them would be of no
benefit to India. Thirdly, the sweeping arrests made in
March last all over India had created sympathy in trade
union circles for the Left Wingers. When the boycott
resolution was carried, there were shouts of 'Down with
Chamanlal,' 'Down with Joshi,' etc., and placards were also
displayed to that effect. These demonstrations against Mr.
Joshi who had done so much for the Indian Labour Movement
and may be justly regarded as one of the fathers of that
movement—greatly offended the Right Wingers who walked
out of the Congress. Thereafter, they set up an organisation
of their own under the name of the 'All-India Trade Union
Federation.' The reason generally given for the secession
was that the Trade Union Congress had affiliated itself to the
League against Imperialism and the Pan-Pacific Trade Union
Secretariat—both of which were Communist organisations.
But the real reason was the boycott of the Whitley Commis-
sion, which if given effect to, would have entailed the resigna-
tion of Messrs. Joshi and Chamanlal from that body. As for
the affiliation to the League against Imperialism, it should be
noted that it was done at the Jharia session of the Trade
Union Congress in 1928—but at that time the Right-Wing
Trade-Unionists were able to swallow the resolution because
they were still strong enough to keep the Secretariat in their
hands. As a matter of fact, the Right-Wingers were defeated
over the question of the Whitley Commission, not because
the Communists were in a majority but because the Centre
Party who were not Communists, sided with them on that
question. Consequently, if the Right-Wingers had not
seceded from the Trade Union Congress at Nagpur, they
would still have played an important rôle: But they would
have to suffer one disadvantage—which probably they were