Calcutta General Strike | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

Calcutta General Strike

India 1953

Synopsis

India gained its independence from Great Britain in 1947. In the years that followed, the country faced numerous problems that ranged from extreme poverty to a rapidly growing population. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru attempted to overcome these problems and transform India into a modern, developed country. Among the issues that posed particular problems for India was the situation of the working class. Just as India and Pakistan had split at independence, the Indian labor movement was divided at independence, with four major labor federations competing for the loyalty of the country's workers. Often, these unions and federations resorted to strikes as a means to achieve their goals. In 1953 in particular, there was a wave of strikes in India. Among the most significant was a general strike in the city of Calcutta in July that resulted from increased streetcar fares.

Timeline

• 1932: Charles A. Lindbergh's baby son is kidnapped and killed, a crime for which Bruno Hauptmann will be charged in 1934, convicted in 1935, and executed in 1936.
• 1937: Stalin uses carefully staged show trials in Moscow to eliminate all rivals for leadership. These party purges, however, are only a small part of the death toll now being exacted in a country undergoing forced industrialization, much of it by means of slave labor.
• 1942:

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