Swadeshi Cotton Mill Massacre (1977)
Tue Dec 06, 1977
On this day in 1977, around 1,000 workers rioted outside the Swadeshi Cotton Mill in Kanpur, India due to deferred wages, battling with police forces; more than 300 workers disappeared in the aftermath.
The Swadeshi Cotton Mills were some of the oldest textile mills in India, and home to particularly brutal labor strife. A few months earlier, 8,000 workers held management hostage and placed gas cylinders on the roof of the building, threatening to blow the factory up if their wages were not paid.
The December 6th riots became violent when fights broke out between private security and the workers; police intervened by shooting into the crowd of workers. Although official numbers listed 11 dead workers, others have claimed more than 100 people died. 300 workers disappeared in the aftermath of the violence. Both sources provided below state that the government's figures are false, and that the police shooting was completely unjustified.
- Date: 1977-12-06
- Learn More: www.indiatoday.in, www.jstor.org.
- Tags: #Riots.
- Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org