In the turbulent maelstrom that was post-independence India, with political independence secured but economic and ideological independence under threat, the emergence of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) in 1955 was the birth of not just another trade union, but the birth of an indigenous ideological alternative to both Western capitalist individualism and Marxist class struggle. BMS, envisioned by Dattopant Thengadi-a visionary in the Indian tradition-became a civilizational response to the crisis of modernity in labour politics. It did not accidentally emerge; it was a deliberate idea nurtured in a background where Indian trade unionism was profoundly fragmented along ideological lines. Thengadi's imperative was to "decolonise the labour mind", suggesting that the soul of the Indian worker could never be reduced to binaries of capital versus labour, as imposed on India by borrowed frameworks. Inspired by Integral Humanism (Ekatma Manav Darshan) and Gandhian ideas of trusteeship, BMS argued that the worker was not merely a wage-worker, but a moral actor who inhabits the community and upholds dharma. Thus, it was an act of imagined swaraj, reclaiming voice and agency in a culturally resonant idiom of economic justice. In the process, BMS wasn't just organising labour-it was reinventing it. The foundational place of BMS is, therefore, not only in the history of labour but also in the intellectual history of postcolonial India.
The Origin of BMS
Established in a period of political turmoil and intense ideological churning in India, the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh was founded. The post-independence decades were also characterised by a battle of ideas, where Leftist ideologies clashed with the nascent notion of civilizational nationalism rooted in India's cultural heritage. Its birth year (1955), with the founding of the BMS, was a year of reaction against the colonial burdens of Western labour theory and imported ideologies such as communism and capitalism. For most of the early years of the Indian Republic, trade unions were politically divided. The Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) was associated with the Congress Party, whereas the Communist Party of India controlled the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC). As such, while these formations were strong, they often relegated labour to the back seat, behind party logics and global ideological affiliations. Therefore, Indian trade unionism was becoming increasingly removed from the experiential world, religious values, and civilizational setting of Indian workers.
The ideological struggle was intertwined with the international Cold War. The West advocated for free-market capitalism, while the USSR and China advocated for Marxism-Leninism. India, under Nehruvian socialism, attempted to be a mixed economy with centralised planning. Still, there was no place for autonomous labour movements rooted in Indian thought and practice within that model. In this regard, the genesis of BMS was a game-changer. It represented a daring affirmation of Swadeshi in labour thought-both intellectually and as a practice-a departure from Eurocentric labour ideologies. Dattopant Thengadi's dream was to form a worker organisation that was neither an extension of state power nor an agency for class warfare, but one based on Dharma, Swa-Dharma, and Rashtra Dharma.
Dattopant Thengadi: The Intellectual Architect
Dattopant Thengadi (1920-2004) was not just a labour organiser; he was a philosopher-not just an intellectual, but an organic intellectual in the Gramscian sense who envisioned the discourse of labour within the paradigm of Bharatiya Darshan. A practising lawyer and freedom fighter, he had a deep association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since his younger days. He shared ideological proximity with leaders like Deendayal Upadhyay and Nanaji Deshmukh. Three basic discontents would fashion his idea of BMS: the Marxist reduction of labour to a category of economics; the theoretical dependency of Eastern trade unions on Western paradigms; and the moral and spiritual bankruptcy he saw in both capitalism and communism. In contrast, Thengadi proposed a Third Way, based on the principles of Sanatan Dharma (eternal dharma), Integral Humanism (Ekatma Manav Darshan), as well as Swadeshi feeling.
The worker was, for Thengadi, not a mere 'economic animal', but a spiritual entity placed within a moral cosmos. It was only the spirit of labour that was not enslavable, and the relationship between employer and employee was not one fraught with antagonism, but a relation of dharmic duty. He was highly influenced by the Karma Yoga of the Bhagavad Gita and the ideas of Sarvodaya (the welfare of all), as propagated by Gandhi in his own life and work. Thengadi's labour philosophy made a harmonious marriage between tradition and modernity, where modern concepts of organisation were complemented by civilizational wisdom. His writings-especially in Sanskritik Rashtravad and The Third Way-introduced a broad framework for ethical labour relations, organic industrial development, and national resurgence. He dismissed the dialectical materialism of Marxism, attacked the atomised individualism of capitalism, and treated labour not as a class but as an organic limb of the nation-an idea borrowed directly from the Vedic concept of society as a body (Purusha Sukta).
Politics of the Mind
The conceptual universe of the BMS is so radically other-it neither celebrates class struggle (whose dirtiest laundry the Marxists aired publicly) nor atomised individual (capitalist) existence. Instead, it presents an "Integral Labourism" model based on the principles of Bharatiya cultural philosophy. The ideological orientation of the BMS is based on the triadic principle of Dharma (righteous duty), Swadeshi (economic nationalism), and Samajik Samrasta (social harmony).
First, BMS doesn't accept the adversarial character of Marxist labour struggles. Instead of propagating a 'proletariat versus bourgeoisie' philosophy, BMS promotes a Gandhian and Gita-based approach of cooperation and partnership between labourers and employers as key partners in national development. This is evident in BMS's repeated support for dialogue, arbitration, and moral persuasion, rather than resorting to strikes and lockouts.
Second, BMS has adopted Swadeshi economics, promoting self-reliance, decentralisation, and the protection of indigenous industries. This implicitly criticises the politics of globalisation, liberalisation, and privatisation, which leave people jobless and alienated from their traditional sources of subsistence. It calls for economic rights, yes, but also for cultural and civilizational continuity for labourers whose lives are entwined with local traditions and ecosystems.
Third, BMS grounds its labour theory in Samajik Samrasta, or the concept of social harmony that transcends caste, class, and religious identities. It focuses on Sangathan (organisation), Sanskar (moral education), and Samarpan (dedication). Compare this with Western trade unions, where workers are often divided along ideological lines. "To me, the worker is a father, son, community member-not just an economic unit."
In practice, the BMS has generally avoided the political arena. And while it derives its ideological lineage from the Sangh Parivar, the organisation has pursued a considered organisational independence from party politics. Due to this non-alignment, it has been able to concentrate solely on labour issues. It has emerged as the single largest organisation in the Indian trade union movement, surpassing even the traditionally excellent unions like the INTUC and the AITUC.
Continuing Relevance
The legacy of Dattopant Thengadi and the BMS model is increasingly relevant in an era of hyper-capitalism, gig economies, and disembodied labour relations. As the post-climate change, inequality and cultural alienation world is rethinking development, the BMS provides a real, possible alternative that combines economic justice with cultural rootedness and spiritual fulfilment.
But one of the most underappreciated dimensions of Thengadi's work is the depth of his prescience. Long before the global financial crisis and the critique of neoliberalism became commonplace, he had been warning of the risks of governance by and for the market. His statement, "Development without dharma is destruction", finds great power in today's idiom of sustainability challenges.
The ongoing significance of BMS also resides in its organisational structure. It is based on democratic decentralism, mass cadre training, and ideological coherence. The BMS has neither foreign funding nor state patronage, but is self-financing, relying on contributions from its members and volunteers-a philosophy of Atma-Nirbharta (self-sufficiency) in organisation. In addition, its focus on Bharatiya languages and local economies, as well as the dignity of craftspersons and traditional skills, corresponds to contemporary demands to decolonise development.
As global labour unions strive to remain relevant in a de-casualised world of digital labour, BMS's concern for the dignity of the human being, moral economy, and decentralised power provides it with the flexibility to respond to changes.
As Bharat shapes its journey in the 21st century, the legacy of BMS and Dattopant Thengadi urges to be revisited by scholars. It is more than just a trade union; it is a civilizational revolution that will reimagine what labour looks like in an ancient but youthful democracy. It's a living expression of the marriage between karma and nation-building, between worker rights and spiritual duties, between modern development and cultural continuity. "The final revolution is neither purely economic thought nor merely moral or cultural thought." What Thengadi ji spoke about almost 60 years ago is as relevant today as it was in 1955.
Retrospectively, it is not only India's largest labour organisation but also a distinctive epistemic intervention into the country's political economy. If most trade unions borrowed their forms of organisation and forms of struggle, that was not the case with the BMS, which took its praxis from the philosophical soil of India. Indeed, Dattopant Thengadi, its chief architect, was no mere trade unionist, but a civilizational thinker who redefined the very category of the "worker" along lines other than class antagonism. In a world increasingly shaped by the volatility of global capital, the contingency of labour, and the alienation of the individual, BMS's commitment to social harmony (Samajik Samrasta), cooperative labour-capital relations, and national self-reliance (Swadeshi) does not feel passé-but rather distinctly contemporary.
Thengadi didn't believe that worker mobilisation was simply about taking over the state, but instead that work itself-honoured work-could help reconstruct the national character in an ethical, spiritual, and socially just manner. His answer to the twin excesses of capitalist commodification and Marxist revolution was a more nuanced middle way that anchored labour within a pluralistic cultural and civilizational framework. Today, as India once again appears at a crossroads-this time facing the challenges of privatisation, technological disruption, and socioeconomic inequality-BMS's legacy compels us to revisit questions of labour politics not as issues of mere policy change but as moral and philosophical matters that confront us when speaking about the future of work and the dignity of persons.
(Rajiv Tuli is an independent columnist, and Dr. Barthwal teaches at the University of Delhi.)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
