Labour Monthly, October 1944
Source: Labour Monthly, October 1944, p. 313, document;
Transcribed: by Ted Crawford.
For the last few months delegates from two separate Indian trade union bodies, as guests of the Trades Union Congress, have been touring Britain. These bodies are (1) the Indian Trade Union Congress, founded 1920, and now uniting for many years the overwhelming majority of the organised workers in India; the delegate is S.A. Dange: (2) the Indian Federation of Labour, founded last year. To avoid possible confusion we print the following extracts from official documents. – Ed. LM.
Extract from the Presidential Address of Mr. Jamnadas N. Mehta, at the First Annual Session of the Indian Federation of Labour held at Bombay on December 27, 28 and 29, 1943.
“In keeping our organisation detached from political groups we have had to face tremendous difficulties. We have been assailed from all these quarters with unprecedented ferocity and by tactics whose mendacity has been equalled only by their unscrupulousness. One or two great organs of ‘truth’ in this city went to the length of informing their readers that Mr. Roy and myself were receiving Rs.13,000 per month – an allegation which was the blackest lie and known to the liars as such. But we have refused to falter and we have become all the stronger for their misrepresentations.”
A copy of the question asked by Mr. Laloband Navalrai and the reply, by the honourable Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Labour Member, Government of India, in the Legislative Assembly on April 5, 1944.
776. Mr. Laloband Navalrai: Will the Honourable Member for Labour be pleased to state whether it is a fact that his department makes a monthly contribution of Rs.13,000 to the Indian Labour Federation through Mr. M.N. Roy? If so, for what purpose? If the amount of the contribution is more or less than this figure, will the Honourable Member please state the correct-figure?
(b) Have any accounts been rendered for the money so contributed to the Indian Labour Federation? If not, why not?
(c) If the reply to the first portion of part (b) above be in the affirmative, will the Honourable Member please lay on the table of the House copies of such statements received for the last six months? If not, why not?
The Honourable Dr. B.R. Ambedkar:
(a) A monthly grant of Rs.13000 is made to the Indian Federation of Labour for doing propaganda to keep up the morale of industrial labour.
(b) Yes, Sir.
(c) No. The accounts are subject to the same scrutiny as all public accounts and no useful purpose would be served by placing them on the table.