Page 66 - Gujar Mal Modi

were placed with a firm in Czechoslovakia in early 1957. Simultaneously, a search

for a suitable site for the factory was made. At long last a site in Okhla was select-
ed, but this land could be acquired only after prolonged efforts.

In April, 1957 a new spinning unit with 28,000 spindles was set up at a cost of Rs.

3.85 million. This mill came to be known as ‘B’ mill. A new acetylene gas factory
also was set up.

The next year was an otherwise ordinary year for the Modi concerns except in
the case of the textile mill where an atmosphere of unrest was brewing. Floods in

the past two years had damaged costly machinery in the factory and this had re-
sulted in a loss in production and the workers of the factory were not getting the

usual amount of bonus. The workers, therefore, went on a strike which continued
for 20 days. The leaders of the striking employees adopted all sorts of tactics to

brow-beat the management. One worker was made to lie down on the road and
the news was spread that he had died as a result of the injuries received during

a police lathi-charge. This led to a further flare-up among the workers. One Dep-
uty Superintendent of Police also reportedly joined hands with the workers and

began to incite them. At this juncture Mr. Gyan Prakash, the District Magistrate of
Meerut, intervened to tackle the situation. He went to the place where the ‘dead’

worker lay on the road and kicked the ‘body’. Immediately the worker, who was
supposed to be dead, got up and started crying. This deft handling of the situa-

tion by the District Magistrate saved it from deteriorating further. However, the
leaders continued to incite the workers by raising all sorts of false bogies.

One important factor which came to light during this strike was that the leaders

of the striking workers would not allow the management to have a direct dia-
logue with the workers. The Government officials, too, advised that the manage-

ment should not bypass the leaders and have a direct dialogue with the workers.
It was feared that the agitated workers might insult the officials of the manage-

ment.

Prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Indian Penal Code had been imposed

in Modinagar town. All meetings of the employees began to be held outside the
town. Mr Modi sent his officials to one of the meetings of the striking employees.

The management tried to convince the workers that they were being misled by

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