r/IndianSocialists

> The new labour codes prioritise profit over safety. The promotion of the contract system undermines the direct oversight of workers’ safety by management. The extension of the working day to 12 hours wears out workers and makes them more susceptible to accidents. The self-certification option undermines due diligence by the competent authorities.

>> These have been important arguments against the new labour reforms. Even as the campaign for occupational safety was gathering momentum, one of the worst recent industrial accidents took place at the Vedanta Power Plant at Singhitarai, Chhattisgarh. This horrific accident, in which 25 workers died, significantly impacted the strike wave of 2026.

> Vedanta Power Plant at Singhitarai

> The Vedanta Singhitarai Thermal Power Plant is a 1,200 MW (2 x 600 MW supercritical units) coal-fired power facility located in Singhitarai village, Sakti district. It was formerly Athena Chhattisgarh Power Ltd. (ACPL), whose construction was stalled in 2016 because of a financial crisis. The plant remained non-operational and was stuck in insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. It was taken over by Vedanta in 2022 for revival.

> Unit 1 (600 MW) was commissioned in 2025, and construction of Unit 2 is currently underway. At the Unit 2 construction site, approximately 1,500–2,000 migrant contract workers are employed. At Unit 1, which is operational, the workforce strength is 450–600 personnel. Most of them are employed by NSGL (NTPC GE Power Services Ltd.), which is the operations and maintenance (O&M) partner.

> The Accident

> It was at this Unit 1 facility that the blast occurred. A high-pressure steam tube (or bottom ring header) ruptured due to excessive fuel (coal) accumulation in the boiler furnace, causing a rapid and uncontrollable pressure surge. This released superheated steam at temperatures of around 600°C. Since the accident occurred at around 2 pm, many workers were having lunch, while some others were engaged in painting work in the nearby area.

>> The blast caused chaos, smoke, and panic; some described it as feeling “like a missile landing.” Victims suffered severe burn injuries.Initial reports mentioned 9–11 deaths; the toll rose as injured workers succumbed to severe burns in the subsequent days, reaching 25 deaths by April 23. More than 36 workers were injured.

> The Trade Union Response

> The trade union movement at the Singhitarai Vedanta Power Plant has historically been minimal to non-existent. Reports consistently note that the plant operated without formal union representation. Efforts by external unions to organise or access the site appear to have been unsuccessful or restricted.

> Nevertheless, workers and local residents staged a massive protest at the plant gates immediately after the blast. Local leaders, including Congress MLAs and the families of the victims, demanded immediate accountability and compensation.

> Protesters refused to allow the removal of some debris or the continuation of regular shifts until management provided written guarantees regarding adequate compensation, job security for the kin of the deceased, and a transparent investigation.

>> A major point of contention raised by trade unions has been Vedanta’s attempt to distance itself from the accident by claiming that the plant’s operations and maintenance were handled by a subcontractor, NSGL. Workers considered this an attempt by management to shift the blame and condemned Vedanta’s “Business Partner” model.

> They contend that the use of contract workers for high-risk operations often leads to diluted safety protocols and a lack of proper training compared with permanent staff. Unions have stated that industrial accidents are often treated as “technical errors” rather than criminal negligence. Trade unions and workers on site have also alleged that technical issues were known prior to the blast.

> The Government Action

> The fury of the unrest forced the government to take the most stringent action against management. To pacify the crowds and prevent the situation from spiraling into a riot, an FIR was registered against Vedanta Group Chairman Anil Agarwal and Plant Head Devendra Patel. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also stepped in. An investigation by a central ministerial team is also underway. A magisterial enquiry was also ordered. All these proved to be safety valves for the mounting tension.

> As the death toll rose through the month of April, from the initial 10–16 deaths to 25, each new death triggered fresh waves of mourning and anger at hospitals in Raipur and Raigarh. The plant remained closed, and trade unions opposed any attempt to restart operations without a “Safety First” certificate from an independent third party rather than an internal audit.

> Solidarity by the Working Class

> The explosion at the Vedanta plant sparked significant solidarity among industrial workers across Chhattisgarh. Central trade unions, notably the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), and Centre of India Trade Unions (CITU), organised protest rallies in neighbouring industrial hubs such as Raigarh, Korba, and Bilaspur. Workers from nearby thermal power plants and steel units held “black badge” protests, demanding that the government conduct immediate safety audits of all high-pressure boiler units in the region.

> In several factories in the Janjgir-Champa and Sakti industrial belts, workers held gate-side condolence meetings and briefly halted work to honour the deceased, many of whom were fellow migrant labourers from West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.

> Local labour groups and factory workers from the Raigarh area organised blood donation drives and volunteer shifts to assist the families of the injured who had travelled from other states. Workers also formed medical watch groups to ensure that the “specialist care” promised by Vedanta was actually being delivered.

>> A key theme of these solidarity actions was the demand for uniform compensation irrespective of the grade of the worker. Workers from other factories supported the demand for ₹1 crore compensation. Finally, Vedanta announced ₹35 lakh and a job at the plant for the close kin of the deceased as compensation. For the injured, ₹15 lakh and full wages during the recovery period were promised.

> Impact on the Strike Wave

> Prior to April, the strike wave revolved largely around higher wages, the eight-hour working day, and overtime wages. After the Singhitarai accident, when “600-degree steam rain” killed 25 workers, the issue of occupational safety and “death-trap conditions” gained prominence. In many plants, workers refused to operate high-pressure units without fresh and independent safety certification.

>> Anti-outsourcing sentiments also became stronger. Workers in other major industrial belts, such as the Panipat and Barauni refineries, cited the Vedanta accident during their own walkouts to demand that principal employers (the parent companies) be held directly liable for the safety of contract workers.

> May Day 2026

> The accident occurred just two weeks before May Day (International Workers’ Day). In many industrial belts, it was transformed from a standard commemoration into a day of mourning and militancy.

> Large-scale rallies in Delhi, Kolkata, and Raipur used the images of the Singhitarai victims, many of whom were migrant workers from those very states. A new narrative of a “systemic crisis” in Indian labour law emerged, specifically targeting the New Labour Codes of 2020 for reducing oversight.

Copied from the LeftViews article which licenses its text under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 copyleft license.

> 9th May 1945 marks an important day in world history. Last year it was widely celebrated as the 80th anniversary of surrender of German Nazi forces to the Allied Command, signing the “Act of Military Surrender”, in Berlin.

> Note the word “Military”.

> Unlike the “Armistice” in 1918 that led to the end of World War I, there was no civilian German government in existence to sign a document. However, the civilian governments of the Allied Powers ( Soviet Union, Great Britain, USA) had reached an agreement in the conferences in Tehran (28th Nov-1st Dec, 1943), Yalta (4th-11th Feb 1945) and reiterated later in Potsdam (July 17-Aug 2, 1945) about the future of post-Nazi Europe. One of the important points of agreement was the right of self-determination for the liberated nationalities.

> This had an important bearing on India’s independence. Great Britain had to consider Indian people’s right to self-determination.

> History has its irony.

> The leader who leads to victory in war may face defeat soon after. This happened in Great Britain. Winston Churchill, who led Great Britain during the World War II lost power in the general elections in July 1945!

> National uprising like the Quit India movement, revolt of the Royal Indian Navy, public outrage against the trial of INA heroes made India ungovernable for the British. Thus, the new government in England, soon announced its plans for Transfer of Power.

> Power was transferred but Indian people exercised their rights to become a Republic.

> India’s role in defeating fascism is often ignored. About 25 lakh (2.5 million, 25,00,000) Indian soldiers fought in the World War II, in North Africa, Europe and South East Asia. Indian peasants fed the soldier in the war front and factories in India sent supplies for the war. These created shortages, including food shortages and 30 lakh (30,00,000) died of hunger in the Great Bengal Famine of 1943!

> One of our icons, who stood steadfast against fascism was Rabindranath Tagore, (not withstanding his initial appreciation of Mussolini, which he soon retracted). Interestingly, 9th May is his 165th birth anniversary (25th day of Boishakh), according to the Bengali calendar, followed in India (in Bangladesh his birthday is observed on 8th May).

> Rabindranath was the President of the Indian Committee of the League against Fascism and War and at the time of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) appealed,

> This devastating role of International Fascism must be checked. In Spain this inhuman recrudescence of obscurantism, racial prejudice of rapine and glorification of war must be given the final rebuff. Civilization must be saved from being swamped by barbarism.

> What shocked him deeply was Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union on 22nd June, 1941. Those were his last days but he came forward to lend support to formation of the organization, “Friends of the Soviet Union”. It happened as follows, as recalled by the Communist Party of India (CPI) leader, former member of parliament and a respected intellectual, Professor Hiren Mukherjee:

> As soon as I heard the news (of the invasion) over the radio, I contacted my two closest comrades and friends at the time, Jyoti Basu and Shehanshu Acharya (later, Advocate General of West Bengal). On the same day, we decided to form a committee for establishing the organization, ‘ Friends of the Soviet Union’ ….. On behalf of our organizing committee, Suren Goswami went to Santiniketan- Rabindranath’s health had completely broken, but it was his support that we needed most. The poet agreed to be a patron of the society but he warned us, the British will use the Soviets for their own interests but ‘ Do not trust them, you communists should not be complacent about fighting them’. That was also the stand of the party- Surenbabu placed the party’s recently adopted resolution [the party was still under ban and operated underground till 1942], the poet was delighted. Rabindranath’s end came soon after.

> Even on his deathbed (died on 7th August, 1941) Tagore kept asking about the Soviet’s response to Nazi military attacks (started on 22nd June, 1941) . The famous statistician, Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis would be on the poet’s bedside. He recalls that whenever Tagore regained consciousness he would at times ask about the Russian front. Rabindranath expressed his hope, in his last days

> They can, they can and only they can...Hitler is so impudent….The Russians are showing unprecedented heroism. In fighting they are doing the impossible...

> Tagore did not live to see the Soviets do the impossible in the great Battle of Stalingrad. Stalingrad, to Hitler was his entry to the oil fields of Baku, to Asia and finally to India!

> In the Battle of Stalingrad (17th July 1942- 2nd Feb 1943) considered to be the “costliest land battle in history”, “ about 1.5 million Russians and Germans died over the months of contesting the city’s rubble” which included deaths of both military and civilian population. Finally, after months of encirclement, 91000 German soldiers, 22 Generals amongst them surrendered to the Red Army.

> That marked the turning point of the war, leading to a series of defeats of the Nazi military and their final surrender. The noted Telugu poet, Sri Sri had hailed the Soviet retaliation with a poem titled, “Russia”.

> An important Indian political figure who played notable role in the Battle of Stalingrad was the former Chief Minister of Orissa (now, Odisha), Biju Patnaik. As a pilot of the Royal Indian Air Force (a part of the Allied forces’ contingent), Patnaik flew several sorties to the besieged city of Stalingrad, dropping supplies to the Red Army. Patnaik was honoured by the Soviet Union with the award, “Order of Lenin” and later, by the Russian government in 1995. During the Golden Jubilee (50h anniversary) of the Victory Day, a plaque acknowledging his services was installed in the Russian Embassy in New Delhi.

> Noor Inayat Khan ( of Indian origin, a descendant of Tipu Sultan’s family) served as a British Air Force Pilot Officer and paratrooper and led an espionage group in France, helping the French antifascist resistance (France had capitulated to the Nazi forces on June 22, 1940). She was captured in 1943, tortured but refused to give any secret. Classified as “highly dangerous”, she was finally executed in the infamous and dreaded Dachau Concentration Camp on 13th September, 1944.

Copied from the The Left Views article which licenses its text under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 copyleft license.