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(Editor's note: Please also look at the appeal at the end of this page, or this page.)
A young ever-smiling man in his thirties, a skilled mason, a rock-steady friend and comrade, the foundation of his family – beloved son, supportive husband, father of five (ages 2-12) – this was Ramkesh. Late evening on August 3, a freak road accident snuffed out a promising life, leaving behind a sense of loss too profound to be expressed in words. And yet, even as we mourn his death, it is also time to celebrate his life, and to carry forward his legacy through these words of tribute, and through our collective pledge to action.
As a master mason whose exceptional skill level put him in high demand, Ramkesh bhai’s professional legacy is the many buildings in and around Kanpur. On our own campus, the award-winning Environmental Engineering building is one such legacy. That building, however, is also a testament to Ramkesh’s commitment to a struggle for workers’ rights and dignity. One of the founding members of Hamara Manch, Ramkesh bhai first joined hands with fellow workers while working as a skilled mason at the Environmental Building site. When under pressure by workers and community members regarding rampant wage abuses by the contractor the Institute created a committee to look into this matter, Ramkesh, along with 24 other workers from this site, filed their official complaints. Upon investigating the complaint, the Institute found the workers’ claims to be justified and ordered the contractor to pay the unpaid back wages. It is also significant to note that during this investigation, the Institute found Ramkesh to be the most skilled of the workers, putting him in a separate category by himself. It goes to the credit of Ramkesh that he never allowed this recorded exceptionality to distinguish himself in any way from his fellow workers; if anything, his strong sense of solidarity and deep commitment to a collective fight for justice made him emerge as the leader in the ensuing struggle despite his being one of the youngest of these 25 workers.
Interestingly, filing this complaint earned Ramkesh and his fellow workers immediate dismissal by the contractor; even after their complaint was found to be valid, they were not reinstated. In fact, their perceived audacity in having raised their voices to demand their legal rights resulted in their being denied work at any of the construction sites within the Institute. And so, even as the defaulting contractor was rewarded with several additional contractors by the Institute, Ramkesh and his fellow workers were literally thrown out of the Institute. Their attempts to bring their just grievance to the notice of Institute officials eventually resulted in their being threatened with security guards, proving effectively that for the Institute, neither skill nor justice had any importance in its dealing with contract workers.
The blatant injustice of these proceedings determined Ramkesh and his fellow workers to take the fight further and they decided to go to court. It is he who took the lead in this enterprise, becoming the acknowledged leader of the group as he took on all the responsibilities of meeting their lawyer, maintaining all records, keeping track of court proceedings and actually attending every hearing. The time and energy he devoted to this collective cause is incalculable, not to mention the actual financial cost. Though supported by his fellow workers in defraying court expenses (both fees and necessary bribes), Ramkesh, in his quiet unassuming fashion, did not even mention the invisible costs of lost wages on days spent in court or the transportation expenses involved in traveling across the city for this purpose. For Ramkesh, this was a fight for principles, for the dignity of all workers, and money was not a consideration. This was articulated clearly and forcefully by him on the day when the contractor offered to settle the case with a token amount for each worker – speaking strongly on behalf of his fellow workers, Ramkesh summarily rejected the offer, determined to continue with the fight.
The court system, however, is no more sympathetic to workers’ fight for justice than our Institute. The case which was filed in 2009 was referred to the labour ministry Delhi after failure of conciliation in the local court. It was found to be valid by the ministry and as per procedure was recommended to be settled by the Industrial Tribunal. And yet a small clerical error resulting in ‘Jan 31’ being typed as ‘June 31’ has stalled the case for over a year now, with the contractor now claiming that the false date is indicative of the falseness of the whole case, and refusing to let it proceed further. Ramkesh had been unsuccessfully engaged in getting this mistake corrected when he was suddenly snatched away from us in such untimely fashion.
Even while devoting so much time and energy to the court case, Ramkesh himself recognised its limitations as a means to securing workers’ rights. An exemplary member of Hamara Manch, Ramkesh deeply believed in worker solidarity being the vital resource and real strength in any workers’ struggle. Even as he handled the responsibilities of the court case, he took time to meet with his fellow workers at Hamara Manch on a relatively regular basis. Cycling more than 20 kilometers to get from his village Dhakanpurwa (close to Baghpur) to Hamara Manch meetings in the IITK campus, Ramkesh not only undertook the responsibility to report regularly on the progress of the Environmental Building worker’s case, but also played an active role in supporting other workers’ struggles. When Jagat Narain died in a tragic accident at the Faculty Apartments construction site, for example, Ramkesh actively supported his widow, Rinki, in the struggle to get the compensation due to her. Over the period of more than a year, as Hamara Manch, with able support from a labour lawyer, fought to ensure full compensation was awarded to Jagat Narain’s family, Ramkesh took the responsibility of regularly liaisoning with Rinki and even accompanying her to the court when needed until the family received the entire compensation amount.
Ramkesh bhai is no longer with us. Death has come to Hamara Manch once again, but this time it is of an inspiring founding member, held in deep esteem and affection by all those who knew him, the very embodiment of the principles on which Hamara Manch stands. The loss is inestimable, and yet, dwelling only on the loss would be a disservice to the memory of Ramkesh. The real tribute to Ramkesh bhai would be to carry his legacy forward, to ensure that the spirit of worker solidarity that he embodied lives on through our own actions and endeavours. Let us pledge today our renewed commitment to the principles he stood and fought for – the collective struggle for workers’ rights and dignity.
Hamara Manch
Sept. 2013
___________________________________________
Appeal
Dear Friends,
We are writing to inform you about the sad demise of one of the founding members of Hamara Manch. Ramkesh bhai, a skilled mason who worked on the Environmental Engineering building on campus, was killed in a road accident on August 3rd, leaving behind a wife and five young children (ages 2-12). Ramkeshbhai’s two year old daughter and wife were critically injured in the accident and were in the hospital for around a month. All of HM’s focus in the interim period has been to ensure that they get adequate treatment and care, and hence this tribute has got delayed.
This email is our tribute to Ramkesh (please see the write-up), and also a request for community solidarity with Ramkesh's family. A young man in his 30s, Ramkesh bhai was the main financial support of his family which, in addition to the wife and children, also includes parents. As a gesture of support and solidarity with Ramkesh's family, Hamara Manch has decided to create a fund that, apart from compensating the family for the immediate medical expenses they have just incurred, may also provide some stable support for the family in the future. Our aim is to collect an amount that would be roughly equivalent to the amount of compensation that would be due to Ramkesh's family had he died at work - around 7 lakhs, if possible. At Hamara Manch, the collective decision has been for every individual to contribute at least a day's earning to this fund. We are writing to request your contributions to this fund as a gesture of solidarity with a worker-friend who was always the first to stand up with fellow workers.
Needless to say, the smallest of monetary contributions are most welcome. And please do read this tribute to appreciate how special a person Ramkesh was and how he contributed in making Hamara Manch.
If you are interested in contributing, please contact either **********, or **********.
Attachment: Ramkesh Bhai tribute.pdf
(Editor's Note: Contact for suggested contributions removed from the web version, if you do want to contribute, mail us at citizensforum.at.iitk@gmail.com,
Please see this page for further details.)
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