History of getting Sunday holiday .
Rai
Bahadur Rao Narayan Meghaji Lokhande (1848–1897)
(
A Dalit Hero who struggled hard to get sanctioned Sunday as public Holiday)
Nothing on this earth has ever been obtained without struggle
particularly when it is for a larger interests of a community. Baba Sahib Dr. Ambedkar
said “ All things have a bill of costs attached to it, you cannot get it without
paying the price”. However very well meaning persons of vision have struggled
for matters of common causes. One among such persons who showed more concern for suffering millions laborers without
caring for his personnel comforts was Narayan Meghaji Lokhande. The Indian employees then had to work all seven
week days without getting any beak or rest time time. For Christians Sunday
is a day of religious observance and
abstinence from work. The Jews observed from Friday evening to Saturday evening
as a prayer and rest day . Christians attend Church services to Pray in
Church on every Sunday. So, Sunday is holiday in Christianity terming it as
God’s day , the sign of a new creation, beyond the week Jesus.
Christ on crucification on a cross. rested in the grave on the Sabbath and rose
the following day, beyond the end of the week. So for Christians the day
following the Sabbath became known as “the Lord’s day” which was Sunday.
Rao Bahadur Narayan
Meghaji Lokhande (1848–1897) struggled hard to get one day weekly off with
full pay perks to Indian workers . He
was Dalit being born in Fulmali or florist,a Hindu untouchable caste. Florists grow flowers besides performing other
agriculture based jobs. He being contemporary and prominent colleague
of another social and education Revolutionary Mahatma Jyotirao Phuley (11th April 1827 to 28th Nov.1890) of
Poona(now Pune). Both belonged to mali caste now classified as Other
Backward Caste. Both worked in unison in Satya Sodak Samaj movement and
organized labour to fight for their
rights.
Meghaji Lokhande was
convinced that labour needs weekly at least a day’s rest .This way they can look
after their family affairs for which
they toil hard.So he approached the
British government of India in 1881 with a written request to give weekly
a day’s off from work to workers.
But the government did not agree with his suggestion and the Indian workers continued
to work seven days a week without any break.
However in UK Sunday
officially had became an off day since 1843. When the British Indian Government refused to
accede to his suggestions for Sunday as
holiday for Indian workers too, he started a campaign for it. His struggle
gained strength with every passing day. This campaign continued long, for eight
years. When Narayan Megaji Lokhanday’s struggle for the cause of toiling Indian
workers gained strong momentum the British Government declared Sunday as
holiday in 1889. The success of the movement launched and guided by Shri Rao
Narayana M. Lokhanday was not only a big relief to the labourers but an
encouragement for Indian to launch more such movements for mass benefits. Ever
since protests, agitations, non cooperative movements became an tool in Indian
public hands to get their human rights enforced from the British rulers.
Meghaji Lokhande
was a pioneer of the labour movement in India and Mahatama Phuley utilizing his
wife’s services opened 18 schools in and around Poona, many for girls.
Education to girls and untouchables was
banned in Hindu shastras, particularly Manusmirity. To organize mill workers Meghaji Lokhande
founded the Bombay Mill Hands Association
(
BMHA).He was its first President too. Mahatama Jyotirao Phuley also
addressed the meetings of the textile workers in Bombay. It is significant that
before Lokhande , Jyotirao and his
another colleagues Bhalekar had
tried to organize the peasants and the workers, hardly anybody else or
any organization had made any such attempt to redress worker’s grievances.
Lokhandaye is remembered not only for ameliorating the
working conditions of textile mill-hands in the 19th century but also for his
courageous initiatives on caste and communal issues. He was founding father of “Mumbai Kamgar Sangh”.
He was appointed associate member of the Bombay Factory Commission in 1890.
Meghaji Lokhande is acclaimed as the Father of the Trade
Union Movement in India so was awarded title of “ Rai Bahadur” by the British Government for his exemplary
work of labour welfare.
Some
of the rights mill workers got because of
Rai Bahadur Rao Narayan Meghaji Lokhande’s labourious efforts were:
Mill workers got a weekly holiday on Sunday.
In
the afternoon, workers should be entitled to half-hour recess.
The mill should have fixed working
hours and should start working from 6:30
in the morning and close by sunset.
He demanded that the salaries of the
workers should be given by the 15th of every month.
The Deenbandhu a Marathi-language newspaper was founded
by Jyotirao Phule and K. R. Bhalekar in 1877. It was the first newspaper in India published from Bombay ( Now
Mumbai) to cater explicitly for the labouring people. It served as an outlet for Phule's Satyashodhak Samaj too. Nara yan Meghaji Lokhande,
took over the management of Deenbandhu
published from Bombay. He
had already been writing for it from 1880 and was selling 1650 copies per
week in 1884, thus making it the second-highest circulation Marathi or
Anglo-Marathi newspaper in Bombay
Presidency, after Kesari another Marathi paper founded in 1881 by Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
While Lokhande published the Deenbandhu from Bombay, Vithhal Marutrao Nawle, an
admirer of Phule, bought the rights to publish an edition in Pune. He imported
a printing press from Ohio that continued to produce the newspaper until it ceased
publication in the 1970s. (Wikipedia)
The
Government of India issued a postage stamp with his photograph in 2005. He was
the force behind forcing the British Crown to order weekly paid Public Holiday on Sunday for workers in India
Let
us all salute the sweet memory of the Dalit Hero Rai Bahadur Rao Narayan Meghaji Lokhande becaue of
whom Indian Labourers and workers
including employees are enjoying weekly Sunday as paid Holiday.
Er.H.R.Phonsa
Jammu
Contact:-hrphonsa@gmail.com Mobile:-+919419134060
(Ref:-By Coursty
of Wikipedia
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