250 million workers strike in India

On strike in India (Picture: CPI M)

Some 250 million workers in India struck on Wednesday in a blow against the far right government of Narendra Modi.

A coalition of ten unions organised the 24-hour stoppage. It was in protest at a swathe of neoliberal policies that are ruining the lives of the unemployed, workers and poor farmers.

They dubbed the day of action “Bharat Bandh” or “Shutdown India”.

Millions of workers in education, banking, mining, power generation and many other fields joined the action, with many going to lunchtime protests and rallies.

Some strikers went further and blocked roads and railway tracks, leading to confrontation with the police.

In India’s Delhi capital, strikers were joined by farmers and students to stop one of the main highways in and out of the city.

In the Mumbai financial capital, hundreds of bank workers struck and joined a city-wide demonstration against privatisation.

In Kochi, in Kerala, the Times of India newspaper reported “empty streets” as people observed the Bharat.

In the southern town of Medak, in Telangana, unions organised a giant motorbike protest. Hundreds of riders, decked out in red and carrying red flags, blocked roads.

In Kolkata, once a stronghold of the left, hundreds of armed cops tried to ensure that buses continued to run. There were scuffles as pickets lit fires on the road and riot police used long bamboo sticks to beat them.

At the city’s Bandar station, strikers faced down police to block railway tracks. As a commuter train approached them with its horn blaring, the strikers stood firm.

They chanted, “Inquilab Zindabad,” the great left wing slogan that translates as, “Long live the revolution.” 

250 million workers strike in India

Read more: https://t.co/ldfjrE8v5u

Vid: CPI (M) pic.twitter.com/01JTLRHJvK

— Socialist Worker (@socialistworker) July 10, 2025

In Naxalbari, members of the local ruling party tried to attack strikers, but faced stiff resistance.

In Khordha, in the north east of India, citywide union president Suresh Routray told reporters, “The Modi government supports only the very rich, but not the labourers.

“We are demanding a minimum pension of 9,000 rupees (£77) per month.”

In Assam, the tea-growing state, The Hindu newspaper reports that “all commercial vehicles remained off the roads”. But plantation workers took the streets for themselves.

The success of the strike shows that workers in India are ready to fight against the right wing government. 

Union leaders have a habit of launching one-day strikes as a propaganda tool, rather than a way of putting Modi and the bosses under sustained pressure.

But all those fighting the regime—from Kashmir to Kolkata—should take heart from today’s walkout.