Bharat Bandh, July 9 2025: 5 Key Events in 25 Crore Workers Strike
A forum of central trade unions and their associates had earlier announced that over 25 crore workers from various industries, including banking, insurance, postal, mining, and construction, would participate in a nationwide general strike known as the "Bharat Bandh" on Wednesday in protest of the government's "anti-worker, anti-farmer, and anti-national pro-corporate policies."
In a statement, the forum of 10 unions called for making "the nationwide general strike a grand success" and stated that unions in all official and informal/unorganized economic sectors had begun making serious preparations.
Bharat Bandh, July 9th, 2025: What Exactly Happened?
The Bharat Bandh impacted parts of West Bengal, particularly Kolkata, where workers from left-party trade unions ignited protests. To demonstrate, left-wingers went into the Jadavpur train station and blocked the tracks.
On Wednesday, July 9, over 1,000 members of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), Trade Union Centre of India (TUCI), All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC), and others staged a protest rally against the central government's purported anti-labor policies, sending a sea of red flags through Hyderabad's central streets. Ten central trade unions called for a 24-hour nationwide general strike, which included the protest. As part of the Bharat Bandh, CITU leaders and others organize a bike rally in Medak, Telangana's Sangareddy District.
Public transit was affected in several regions of the country on Wednesday, following the intensification of the "Bharat Bandh" protests called by 10 central labor unions.
To support the "Bharat Bandh," members of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) Khordha District unit in Odisha stopped the national highway in Bhubaneswar.
At Bihar's Jehanabad railway station, members of the student branch of the Biju Janata Dal (RJD) blocked the train tracks. Protesters have stopped lines at many railway stations, including Jadavpur, in West Bengal, affecting train operation. As protest marches were held in several Keralan cities, stores stayed closed.
