The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its Parivar on Sunday denounced the International Workers' Day saying the tradition is alien to Indian culture and the ideology of cultural nationalism. The RSS also claimed that the day smacks of Marxist-Leftist inclination towards creating societal discord.
The Narendra Modi-led BJP dispensation and organisations under the Right-wing umbrella are on a drive to change the public discourse of India not just in the political realm, but also otherwise. While Modi spoke on the occasion on Sunday at a rally in Ballia, he talked about a new mantra. Against the leftist slogan of "Workers of the World Unite", Modi posited "Labourers, Unite the World". "The situation has changed. The biggest cementing factor is the sweat of the workers who can unite the world," Modi said. Modi chided the Left as he went on to note that those who used to raise slogans of uniting the workers have been losing ground the world over.
In an exclusive interview with Mail Today, general secretary of RSS-affiliated workers' body Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) Vrijesh Upadhyay said the concept of May Day was alien to the India ethos and dubbed the Left-dominated trade unionism as the biggest enemy of labourers and workers.
This "maverick Spartanstyle of mobilization" of workers needed to be rooted out of India, he added.
"The BMS does not recognise May Day and thus we don't celebrate it. It does not send a good message among workers. On the contrary, we celebrate Indian workers' day on Vishwakarma Jayanti on September 17. Otherwise May Day is celebrated across the world and we hope well for it," said Upadhyay.
Meanwhile, Congress-supported trade union, the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) declined to comment on the issue. "It is their personal belief and they are welcome to believe in what they do," said Amit Yadav of INTUC.
The BMS leader pointed that while a certain section across the world celebrated the day under the ideological influence of Marxism, the country in which it originated does not commemorate it. "The day is celebrated to commemorate the Haymarket Affair which happened in Chicago in May 1886, US itself does not celebrate it," Upadhyay added.
The organisation believes that one of the reasons for not celebrating the day was the "bloodbath and violence" that occurred on the occasion in 1886. "We do not remember such painful occurrences. Such things are valourised by such ideologies as Maoism, Marxism and Anarchism that want to realise revolution through violent means and Lal Salaam. This is not a constructive approach; it incites hatred among workers," he added.
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