so about that 230M person protest in India…
https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/6365733.html
https://archive.is/yWpxB
India underwent a colossal strike, in which, according to various estimates, between 200 and 250 million people took part.
They protested against neoliberal reforms, restrictions related to the coronavirus, falling living standards and government policies in general.
Trade unions and local socialist and communist organizations were at the forefront of the protest.
Despite police crackdowns and the COVID-19 pandemic, workers and farmers and their allies across India took part in an all-India strike against the recent neoliberal reforms carried out by Narendra Modi's government.
On Thursday 26 November, India witnessed the largest organized strike in human history. More than 250 million workers and farmers, along with their allies among students, feminists and civil society groups, took part in a nationwide strike. The strike coincided with India's Constitution Day, which marks the adoption of the constitution in 1949, and comes amid an unprecedented attack on workers' rights and farmer protection by the right-wing government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Farmers' protests in states around Delhi continued until late Thursday night and early Friday. Thousands of farmers have broken through blockade after blockade and are marching towards the city. The police repeatedly used water cannons on them, but did not break their spirit. They are expected to reach the Delhi borders on Friday.
The strike was organized by a coalition of workers 'and farmers' movements with the participation of 10 national trade confederations and an umbrella group, the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordinating Committee (AIKSCC), which consists of more than 200 farming groups across India. … The strike also involved women's rights groups, student unions and various civil society organizations. The strike also received support from left-wing parties and several opposition groups.
Some of the key demands contained in the organizers' 12-point charter include the repeal of a number of laws recently passed by the Modi government that abolish key labor and agricultural price protections, a rollback of recent policies to cut investment in large state-owned enterprises, and the implementation of existing social welfare programs. provision for rural workers and expanding welfare policies to help the masses affected by the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thousands of farmers, along with members of trade union groups and other movements from across India, also led a rally in the capital, Delhi. The rally was met with harsh repression by the Delhi police, who used blockades, batons and water cannons to stop the march. In the end, the blockade was broken.
In a similar confrontation with the authorities, groups of workers and farmers shut down major metropolitan areas such as Calcutta and Mumbai, staging sit-ins along key transport routes. The industrial and mining belt across East and Central India has also virtually stopped.
The organizers said that the strike is preparation for new clashes in the country. “The workers and peasants will not rest until the destructive policies of the BJP government are reversed. Today's strike is just the beginning. Much more intense fighting will follow, ”said Tapan Sen, general secretary of the Indian Trade Union Center (CITU), one of the trade union confederations involved in the strike. The strike comes at a time when the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic is pushing India into a veritable recession, exacerbating existing inequalities and deprivation. India's gross domestic product (GDP) fell by a record 23.9% and the unemployment rate rose to an unprecedented 27%.
In the midst of such an all-encompassing crisis, the right-wing government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party has revised the labor code and introduced agriculture bills that reverse major historic gains in workers' rights and farm protection.
Despite police attempts to crush the strike on several occasions, mass rallies took place throughout the country. Members of the Health Workers' Union, along with workers at the port of Jawaharlal Nehru, a major port in India's trade capital Mumbai, are on strike.
Union activists blocked National Highway 31, the main road connecting the city of Kolkata in West Bengal.
The blockade of key railway lines was also observed in major cities in India. Refineries in Assam, a northeastern state rich in oil and natural gas, have been shut down in a strike.
Haryana state police detain protesters on their way to the capital, Delhi. Delhi's two neighboring states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have coordinated with Delhi police to prevent protesters from entering the capital.
Meanwhile, protesting farmers in Uttar Pradesh blocked routes to Delhi.
Workers protest in Noida, sputnik
via google translate