Labour Movement in India 1850-1890

Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi, sponsored a project of compiling and editing a 'Source Book of Labour Movement in India' from mid-nineteenth century to the attainment of Independence. The source material is enormous and spread out in various corners of India as well as outside the country, especially in U. K. Professor A. R. Desai, General Editor of the volume and his colleagues present important and illustrative material available in diverse forms covering particular periods. The Source Book attempts to introduce the reader to the story of the origins, struggles and growth of the Labour Movement in India by letting him have access to eye-witness accounts and contemporary records.

This volume covers the period 1918-20 which was marked by certain significant international developments. It marked a new stage in the history of the working class movement shaped by economic circumstances as well as the influx of socialist ideas. It began to sense its own power in the cause of its own-liberation, manifested in struggles of all kinds, including strikes. The working class now began for the first time to appear as an important factor in the national movement. It is a stirring story told by what seemingly are quite often dry documents.