WELCOME ADDRESS

Dear Comrades, Distinguished Guests, Fraternal Delegates, Delegates from International Fraternity,

I extend a very warm and hearty welcome to you all, on behalf of the Reception Committee and the City of Bangalore, to this important all India CITU Conference that is being held in Bangalore.

Bangalore, from its days of being an important Cantonment in the colonial days has progressed to the present stage of becoming an important destination for Multinational Corporations, witnessing varying phases in its development. In the feudal days the fortifications that developed in the period of Vijayanagar Empire, has changed hands. In the Sultanate period, it exhibited the prowess of technology in using the rudimentary form of ‘missiles’ against the invading British from where it spread to the West. It developed from the Cantonment to a pensioner’s paradise and laid the foundations of being the Garden City. Later it developed as a the textile manufacturing centre famous for the Binny fabrics it produced, simultaneously developing the Sericulture, Silk, the agarbathis with its aroma. Being an airbase, it started servicing the aircrafts during the Second World War, developing in the process as the most important City of the Central Public Sector Units. It became the most important electronic, aerospace industrial base, and later also earned the name of ‘Silicon Valley‘ of India. Bangalore developed to the present day ‘Greater Bangalooru’ through this process.

In this process many great personalities were associated with this city. Kempe Gowda the Chieftain, who built Bangalore and established the four towers, close to one of which - being the first known - we are meeting here. Shivaji once owned it. Hyder Ali & Tippoo developed it. Later the famous Lal Bag, where the notable event of Flower Show, incidentally which is taking place starting on the last day of this Conference, was developed by them. Among the British soldiers, who worked here, was Winston Churchill. M.Visweswaraiah, C.V.Raman and very many engineers and scientists lived here and helped to develop it. The Tata Institute, presently known as Indian Institute of Science, was the centre of activity of great men like Homi Bhabha, Vikram Sara Bhai, D.D.Kosambi, Satish Dhawan and many others.

Simultaneously with these industrial developments and process of urbanisation it has attracted the working people from almost every corner of the country. From the period of Kalasipalayam, where the Sultans produced the ‘first missiles’, through the workers’ colonies of HAL/ITI/BEL/HMT etc, where the modern proletariat emerged, it simultaneously produced the HR potential of the present day IT/BT professionals. Further it attracted the youth from all over India and even from many parts of the world.

The development of working class in the process, the struggles they have waged, and the ruling class’ response to them shaped the political shape of this Great City. The textile workers were in the forefront of struggles for improving their own terms of employment and simultaneously engaged themselves in the Independence Movement. Many of them became the martyrs during the 1940s. The Central Engineering Public Sector Workers’ Struggles developed to the Historic Four Month-Strike in 1980-81 and it paved way for political changes in the State. The MICO & ITC workers’ struggles of the same period, the later wave of struggles including those of Garment Workers, BPL Workers, the Hejjala Firing and Toyota Workers’ Struggle, which was waged just last year, are notable.

These struggles brought about political polarisations in the early eighties developing an anti-authoritarian and pro-democracy movement in which working class played a very important role. The working class in the State has made steady advance in its organisational strength from the days of internal emergency in 1975-77, through the continued anti-authoritarian movement against the repressive regimes, developing and sustaining the Janata Party regime to the present day opportunistic combination ruling the State. However, the working class is yet to develop as a significant political force capable of strong intervention.

Bangalore remained at the head of these developments and the rest of Karnataka did not lag behind. The series of struggles that were waged in the late seventies all over Karnataka led to the swift change from Karnataka being the safe heaven of collaborators in the trade union movement to being an advancing area of safeguarding the interests of working people. It witnessed very powerful struggles from late seventies to early eighties for recognition of unions through democratic process, which made distinct contributions.

The organisation of working people on a wider scale and sweep became effective in the post liberalisation period. The so called ‘voluntary labour’ in the ICDS projects, local self-governments, mid-day meal schemes etc. have repeatedly marched from various corners of Karnataka to Bangalore and made its streets sparkle with red banners in the recent period.

These developing struggles enabled the CITU to emerge as the most important trade union centre in Bangalore and Karnataka, emboldening us to extend invitation to hold this most important all India Conference for the first time in our State.

We are aware of the serious limitations we have in hosting such a large conference, our comrades, with the active assistance of democratic segments of the people here, have not only formed the State level Reception Committee but also formed such reception committees in various areas. 33 such reception committees in Bangalore alone have functioned and gone to the people seeking their help to host this conference. Despite being one of the modern cities in the country, Bangalore has had no infrastructure to house these many delegates in a single permanent structure and we had to erect this Conference Hall and the whole area in the Palace Grounds. All these would not have been possible without the unstinted support of the people in Bangalore and all over Karnataka.

We are very happy to play host to the veteran leaders of the trade union movement in the country, who have led militant struggles, faced the goonda gangs, the police and all sorts of disruptive elements, while defending steadfast the class interests. You have come to Bangalore in such large numbers and we are proud of you. We would have loved to shower you with the best possible hospitality, but please put up with all the inconveniences caused by our limitations in a comradely spirit.

We are happy to welcome especially the delegates from our international fraternity, who have come in such large numbers, travelling long distances, to inspire us all. We pledges our support to the cause of proletarian Internationalism.

We are happy that many fraternal delegates have accepted CITU’s invitation and come to attend this Conference. This Conference is taking place immediately after the glorious countrywide general strike on December 14, 2006.

We extend a warm and hearty welcome to you all and assure that we will together leave no stone unturned to achieve unity of the class and make our own distinct contribution to social progress in our country and the world.

Long Live Working Class Unity!
Long Live Proletarian Internationalism!
CITU Zindabad!
Inquilab Zindabad!

V. J. K. Nair
Chairman, Reception Committee