CHAPTER VI

INTERFACE WITH TRADE UNIONISM AND

ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENTS:
A CRITICAL APPRAISAL

Among the large number of contradictions produced by the postindustrial and post-modern system of life, the conflicts between the trade
unions

and

environmental

movements

deserves

special

attention

(Mayer,2010). In the context of Kerala, these conflicts seem to produce farreaching results. The present chapter is an effort to explore the nature of blue
green conflicts in Kerala with a special focus on Chaliyar and Plachimada
movements, two major cases of environmental activism in the State.
6.1 Blue-Green Conflicts in Kerala
The history of blue green conflicts in Kerala, in an explicit manner,
begins with the Silent Valley Movement. As discussed in the second chapter
of this dissertation, the proposal for a hydroelectric project in Silent Valley
aroused one of the most popular anti-dam movements in India with an active
involvement of large sections of people and organizations. It was also unique
for the conflict between the environmental and working class movements, a
discussion of which would provide basic idea about the evolution of bluegreen conflicts in Kerala(Prasad,2011).
Comprising tropical evergreen, shade and grassland vegetation, silent
valley has complex floral and faunal diversity. The intricate water network
created by the streams and tributaries of Kunthipuzha River and the resultant

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riparian ecology make the forest home to a large number of rare endangered
and endemic species, including amphibians, fish, insects, mosses, ferns and at
least 1000 flowering plants. These forests remained practically undisturbed
until the middle of 19th century with no human presence in recorded history,
which is attributed to the topographical isolation of the plateau. The forests in
Silent valley, one of the richest habitats on earth with an evolutionary age of
50 million years have been described as ecological islands (Parameswaran,
1979)
The idea of a dam across the Kunthipuzha belongs to Kerala State
Electricity Board (KSEB), which was proposed firstly in 1958. However, the
Board could not implement the Project due to the usual delay in the decision
making process. Meanwhile, the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI)
started a study on the ecological impact of the silent valley project under the
leadership of V.S. Vijayan. An adamant KSEB, instead of waiting for the
ecological report from the KFRI, started work on the project in 1976 and
spent more than two crore of rupees on it, on the pretext that it had obtained
clearance from the planning Board. In fact, neither the Planning Board nor the
Department of Science and Technology had issued any kind of certificate in
favor of the project. The decision of KSEB to move ahead with the project
resulted in the formation of an environmental movement to save silent valley,
one of the richest, most threatened and least studied habitats on earth
(Sugathan, 2011). Here it may be noted that, the Kerala State Electricity
Workers Association, affiliated to CITU, the central trade union organization
of CPIM turned to be the main supporter of the Silent Valley project.
Whereas, the Save Silent Valley Movement derived its support from KSSP, a

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leftist dominated NGO with a commitment on environment protection. The

Silent Valley debate, which originated as an environmental issue, gradually
transformed into a blue-green conflict, an ideological warfare within the left
movement(Achuthan,1979).
6.1.1. Silent Valley
The trade union movement in Kerala had strong arguments to justify its
stand on

Silent Valley Project, which could be broadly brought under two

categories. The first group of arguments mainly focuses on economic factors.

For example, the shortage of power supply in Malabar was used as the main
argument in favor of Silent Valley Project. The Malabar region remained
economically backward mainly because of power shortage. The new project,
which was located in Malabar area, would bring economic development to the
region. As observed by critics the economism had also influenced the
behavior of trade unions. In sharp contrast, CITU declared support for the
project (Silent Valley). The workers of the State electricity Board owing
allegiance to CITU took out demonstrations to articulate their view. For these
workers, deeply entrenched in economism, the project meant more jobs, better
chances of promotion. Nothing else... (Mohan,1998).
The second category of arguments is purely ideological in nature. The
trade union movement and their supporters, particularly the mainstream left,
found environmental activism as part of that neo colonial agenda to thwart the
development activities in the third world. To quote K.V Vijayachandran, a
Marxist thinker and an expert in industrial development,

environmental

and ecological debates and disputes should be seen as part of broader

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ideological debates and class conflict of our times, Working class movement
in the country should consciously and actively intervene and participate in
theses struggle but with sufficient clarity and sense of principles. He argues
that the Environmental concerns are conveniently and effectively used by
imperialist lobbies for influencing or dictating development priorities in third
world countries. The Aswan High Dam built by Egypt with Soviet help was
made a highly controversial issue in early sixties with the help of numerous
studies taken up by voluntary organizations and research institutions with
imperialist assistance. Even in Kerala, in 1976, the then National committee
for Environment Protection and Conservation (NCEPC) evaluated the silent
valley Hydel Project as an ecological disaster. NCEPC had no hesitation at
that time in certifying the Kundremukh mining project on the very same
Western Ghats as environmentally acceptable. As a matter of fact, this
national level committee under the influence of international organizations
had its own likes and dislikes toward different types of development projects.
An international Campaign was soon launched against the silent valley project
on the basis of its report and using all sorts of fraudulent arguments
(Vijayachandran, 2011)
E. Balanadan, the national President of CITU and Polit Bureau
member of CPIM, was another advocate of the Silent Valley Project. In his
article Silent Valley and environment protection, he made an effort to
simplify the issues as natural and unavoidable impact of development
projects. He wrote, Since the beginning of industrialization and the
development of science and technology, every human endeavor in bettering
life on this planet has had ecological and environmental repercussions, small

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or big all most all arguments put forward are equally applicable to the
thousands of dams that have been built and are being built. How many books
these gentlemen published, how many seminars and symposia have they
conducted on projects that imply graver eco -environmental impact?(
Balandan,1980)
K. O Habeeb, the General Secretary of Kerala State Electricity
Workers Association, has a record of producing a large volume of literature
on Silent Valley issue. As the Chief Editor of Electricity Worker, the
monthly journal of the Union, he was instrumental in publishing as many
numbers of articles in favor of the project. His editorials during the period of
Silent Valley controversy were found very sharp and aggressive. He described
the KSSP and its supporters as the agents of bourgeoisie who were trying to
destruct the popular support of the working class (Habeeb, 1980). He also
addressed the opponents of Silent Valley Project as CIA agents.
The difference of opinion between the trade union movements and the
environmental activist gradually developed into an ideological conflict within
the main stream left, which was also described as a CITU /non-CITU rift. The
trade union movement, particularly in the organized sector had an upper hand
in the party organization for a long period in its history. Mohan has identified
three major reasons for this excessive influence. Firstly, the trade unions
enjoy a formal status of representatives of the working class. Secondly, they
usually excel in the role of mobilizer of human power for party processions
and other shows of strength, and as a galvanizer of workers vote en bloc.
Thirdly, it functions as the exchequer of the party (Mohan, 1998). Therefore,
the state command of the party also supported the CITU and favored the silent

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valley project. Nevertheless, Marxist leaders like C.P Narayan and M.P
Parameswaran turned out to oppose the Project. In spite of the fact that these
two Marxist leaders were against the silent Valley project, their views were
not identical.

C.P Narayan, a postgraduate with science background,

presented his views from a green Marxist perspective. He analyzed the silent
valley debate in the context of two important developments in the post
independent history of Kerala; the expansion of capitalism and statewide
science education programme carried out by KSSP. He described these
deliberations on Silent Valley as the beginning of an ideological debate in the
field of science, which would strengthen the revolutionary forces. It was his
ideas and style of presentation, which played a decisive role in shaping the
post silent valley policies of mainstream left in Kerala. He was able to start a
debate on Marxian views on ecology (Narayanan, 1979).

M.P

Parameswaran, a graduate in electrical engineering from Government

Engineering College, Thiruvanathapuram, and a PhD holder in Nuclear
Engineering from Soviet Union was another CPIM leader who opposed Silent
Valley project. After his short career in Baba Atomic research Research
Centre (BARC), he joined CPIM and found himself identified with theoretical
work. He was a critic of hydro electric projects. In his opposition to Silent
Project, he mainly emphasized on the negative impact of big dams. He wrote
about the disastrous earthquake in Koyna in 1968 due to the weight of water
in the Koyna reservoir. He described the effect of Aswan High Dam on the
Nile delta as disastrous (Parameswaran, 1979). It is interesting to note that
M.P Parameswaran found himself as an advocate of thermal power stations
for Hydro Electrical projects. His environmentalism seems to be selective in
nature. He failed to foresee the environmental impacts of thermal or nuclear

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power stations. In the meantime, the trade union movement described him as
an agent of multinational corporations.

It was indeed a fact that in his

concluding remarks on Silent valley he referred to that extent. To quote his

words, It is a herculean task to reverse the momentum created by such a
movement. Propaganda about the great possibilities of the project , about the
cruelty of putting monkey above man , the tall claims about safeguards, the
insinuation that those who oppose the projects are agents of multinational s,
the accusation of step motherly attitude towards Kerala and in particular to
Malabar-all this make rational analysis difficult. The people of the area
want(a) immediate activity in the area to assure that they are no longer
neglected(b) tangible benefits by way of power , irrigation and most
important, job opportunities. However the irrational insistence of Kerala State
electricity board on the Silent Valley Project in preference to any of the other
hydro electric projects within the state and its categorical rejection of a
thermal power station make the situation worse and if one suspects that they
are big vested interests at work, one cannot be blamed(Ibid)
Even though the blue-green conflict on Silent Valley Project ended,
when the Government of India decided to disapprove the project in 1983, the
aftereffects of this issue began to affect the trade union movement. In spite of
its arguments against the project, a general feeling was created that the
working class movement in Kerala has taken a false step. The decision to
support the silent project gave it an image of a reactionary force. The issue of
labor militancy further intensified the anti worker feelings. The word trade
union bourgeoisie was widely used to denounce the working class culture in
the state. This finally led to marginalization of trade union leadership within

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the party. It was in this background, a green leftist movement was formed
within the mainstream left.
In short, the blue-green conflicts gradually resulted in a consolidation
within the mainstream left, which was in the form of a conflict between two
divergent development paradigms. On one side, it represents development of
productive forces at any cost, privilege centralized planning, big industrial
plants, and mammoth power projects etc. Whereas the other side represents an
environment, friendly decentralized approach to development. Majority of
the mass organizations of the mainstream left except trade unions in the
organized sector seem to be a part of green leftism. Environment protection
has become an important concern of left movement in Kerala. The Blue
green conflict in connection with the Endosulfan issue presents some valuable
indication in this regard.
6.1.2 Endosulfan Issue and Blue-Green Conflict
As discussed earlier, the use of Endosulfan has become a controversial
issue in the state of Kerala, particularly in the context of unusual increase in
the morbidity rate among people who were exposed to this drastic pesticide.
As in the case of Silent Valley Project, there is a strong public opinion against
the use of Endosulfan, which strongly argue for an immediate ban on the
production and use of this pesticide. Contrary to its stand in the silent valley
issue, the mainstream left in Kerala has been in the forefront of anti
Endosulfan agitations and was instrumental in using its organization
framework for mobilizing public support in favor of the victims.

V.S.

Achuthanandan, the veteran leader of the main stream left in Kerala and the

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driving force behind the green leftist movement in Kerala, has made
significant contributions in this regard. Mass organizations of mainstream left,
particularly youth organizations like DYFI played an active role in the
movement. For example, the DYFI organized a sathyagraha in front of HIL to
stop the production of Endosulfan. The mass media network of the main
stream left was also enthusiastic in giving coverage to this issue. The Chintha
Publishers, one of the publishing companies under CPIM has published a
work on Endosulfan issue(John,2011).
Nevertheless, the trade union movement in Kerala seems to hold a
different view on Endosulfan issue. The workers in Estates, particularly in
Cashew Plantations in Kazargode district, under Plantation Corporation of
Kerala (PCK) and those working in Hindustan Insecticides Limited (HIL), a
factory in Ernakulum district producing Endosulfan have come forward with
an argument in favor of the pesticide. The workers in the Cashew Plantation
argue that if Endosulfan is not sprayed on the cashew plants during the
flowering season, it will inversely affect the productivity of cashew nut, and
thus the employment prospects of the working class. They hold the view that
it is more effective and cheap compared to other pesticides. It seems that the
working class is ventilating the arguments of the Plantation Corporation of
Kerala. The protests of the trade unions movement in HIL tend to be more
strong and ideological.
There is a section within the trade union movement in Kerala, who
analyzes the anti Endosulfan struggle as a part of neo colonial agenda of
multinational corporations to control the pesticide market of the world. The
Endosulfan is a generic pesticide, which was originally invented by Bare, a

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famous Pesticide manufacturing Company in Germany. After the expiry of

patent, Indian companies like Coramandal, Excell and HIL began to produce
and export Endosulfan, which badly affected the business prospects of the
MNCs like Bare, Union carbide and Monsanto. Endosulfan thus emerged as a
cost friendly pesticide (its cost for one acre of crops falls in between Rs 50 to
75, whereas a substitute would cost Rs 200 per acre). It could be used against
nearly 44 pests affecting around 25 crops. Moreover, Endosulfan has no side
effect on pollinators like bees. The World Endosulfan market has an annual
business of 40 million liters which worth 300 million US dollars. India is the
largest producer of Endosulfan, which constitute 70% of the total production.
There are three major MNCs in the global pesticide market, which wanted to
monopolize the entire pesticide market. They are mainly producing nongeneric pesticides, which are more costly, compared to Endosulfan.
Therefore, these MNCs wanted to stop the production of cheap pesticides like
Endosulfan in order to monopolize the global market. The European Union is
the main force behind the anti Endosulfan agitations for the reason that the
ban would mainly benefit its economy. The trade union movement has also
pointed out that there are no negative reports from states like Andhra Pradesh,
West Bengal and Maharashtra, which use one third of the national
consumption ( Cherian, 2012).
V.B. Cherian, who leads the trade union movement in HIL, alleges that
the MNCs have succeeded to influence the mass media, NGOs and various
political parties including the main stream left. He criticized the CPIM and its
leader V.S. Achuthanandan for having been yielded to the corporate
propaganda against Endosulfan, one of the cheapest pesticides widely used by

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thousands of small-scale farmers. He is of the opinion that the present turmoil

is a part of electoral politics, which exposes the dominance of populist
policies in mainstream left politics in Kerala. He has also targeted Center for
Science and Environment (CSE), and Thanal for their active role in anti
Endosulfan movement. With the help of Right to Information Act, he
collected information to prove that the CSE has received Rs. 53 crore from
European Union as financial assistance for its various research programmes.
He described Thanal, a Thiruvanathapuram based NGO, as the agent of MNC
in Kerala. He is skeptical about the role of Thanal in Geneva Conference and
questioned the rationality of allowing an NGO to represent a nation in an
international conference.
R.Sreedhar, the director of Thanal retaliated to the allegations against
the Endosulfan movement by presenting the similarities in between the
arguments presented by Excell Industries and the trade union movement in
Kerala. He is of the opinion that the trade union movement in Kerala is still
under the hold of bourgeoisie. It is playing a mediatory role, which would
make the movement irrelevant in the social life. He found anything wrong in
receiving foreign assistance, provided it serves a genuine purpose (Sreedar,
2011).
Here it is to note that the trade unions affiliated to mainstream left have
taken taken a positive step in Endosulfan issue, except some objections raised
by the trade unions in the plantation cooperation. V.B. Cherian and his NTUI
belong to the category of informal trade unions, a new trend in Indian trade
union movement. A Marxist intellectual, V.B. Cherian was formerly with
CITU and held the post of its national Secretary for a long period. Even if he

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is not a part of mainstream left, his views still enjoy good acceptance among
the working class(Cherian,2011).
6.2 Blue-Green Conflicts in Mavoor
As discussed in the third chapter, the establishment of Grasim
Industries at Mavoor in Calicut district was a landmark in the history of
industrial development in Kerala. Providing 5000 employment opportunities
directly and another 10,000 indirectly it developed into one of the largest
industrial units in Kerala in terms of employment generation. It is to be
admitted that the permission to this factory was sanctioned in a context, when
people had little idea about the environmental impact of industrialization. As
the production started in 1963, it began to cause heavy damages on the natural
environment. The operations of the factory unleashed a series of
environmental problems in the area. There was absolutely no control over the
emission of industrial waste. The factory used to discharge untreated toxic
effluents into river Chaliyar.

There was no system for controlling gas

emissions, which led to drastic air pollution.

Moreover, the irrational

extraction of raw materials from Kerala forest caused serious damages on bio
diversity. Nearly 30000 traditional workers like basket makers, fish workers
and sand miners lost their employment(Rajan,1984). A review of the 40 years
long operations of this industry seems to expose the hollowness of industrial
development carried out at the cost of natural environment. It was in this
context the people living in the nearby villages started a movement against the
factory. Interestingly, the trade union movement in Mavoor could not
understand the rationale of environmental activism, which in turn reacted

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rather differently(Anas,1999). The following discussion would explore the

uniqueness of the relationship between the two social movements in Mavoor.
The wide perceptional gap between the workers and the environmental
activist was firstly manifested in the issue of mass fish death due to the water
contamination caused by the discharge of untreated toxic effluents. However,
the workers in the factory turned up with a propaganda that the fish death was
due to some other reasons. Interestingly, some of them took the pain to
collect the dead fish and destroyed it secretly. Dr Vijayamadavan has
recollected that some of the KSSP members who were also workers in the
factory had given him wrong information about fish death. They had also
advised him not to visit the area. This incident indicates that the trade union
movement in Mavoor had developed a tradition of resisting the environmental
activism blatantly. The management had also tried to accommodate maximum
number of local people either as workers or as contractors. In short, exploiting
the acute unemployment prevailed in the area; the factory management was
able to abort the early attempts of environmentalism. A stake in the factory
was returned with a perceptional change in favor of the management. Thus,
People who were in the forefront of agitations turned to be a part of workforce
with a conviction to protect the industry(Vijajamadavan,2009).
As rightly mentioned earlier, the Grasim industries had caused
irrecoverable damages on Kerala Forest. This include the depletion of forest
resources, problems related to the transformation of natural forest areas into
mono culture plantation and negative cultural

impacts on tribes and

traditional workers. R. Sreedhar, after a detailed research on the topic

described the factory as a burden on our (people) heads. The Government of

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Kerala, with a very liberal attitude towards the new company, fixed the
royalty rate of bamboo at a nominal rate of Rs 1 per tonne. This attracted
serious criticism followed by a strong demand for a periodic revision of the
royalty rate(Rajan,1984).
It was in this context, the Achutha Menon Government passed the
Forest Produce Act 1978, which mainly authorized the government to affect a
periodic hike in the royalty rate. It also introduced a system for regulating the
process of collecting and transporting the raw materials from the Forest areas.
Above all, the government took a strategic decision to nationalize the 30,000
acres of Forest Land in Nilambur Valley, which was used by the company for
eucalyptus plantations. When the public welcomed the Act, the management
and trade union leadership in Mavoor strongly objected to it. C.Chathunny
Master, the leader of CITU union in Mavoor was the main critic of the new
Act. He strongly argued that the decisions of the government would inversely
affect the prospects of Grasim Industries. He even described the closure of the
factory for period of 39 months as an after effect of this act. In effect, it was
considerd as the common opinion of the trade union movement in Mavoor
(Chathunny Master,1987).
There was a feeling that most of the labor disputes in Mavoor were the
result of a collaborationist kind of trade union leadership; a collective effort
to pressurize the government to continue its liberal policies towards the
factory. For Jayakumar, an environmental activist associated with Center for
Nature Studies (CNS), the threat of closure was used as a smoke screen tactic
to divert attention from the environmental impact of the factory.

By

threatening to close the factory, the management hopes to pitch the workers

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against the government and thus browbeat the government into offering raw
materials at grossly subsidized rates. He further added that in the past the,
management has been charged with indulging in declaring many lockouts, to
split the environment movement between affected villagers and plant workers
for whom the factory was a source of survival(Raman,2005).
The labor agitation in 1985 and consequent closure of the factory, it is
alleged that, was a pre-planned movement against the environmental activism
in Kerala which induced the government to pass the Forest Produce Act 1978.
When the prolonged closure of the factory led to the suicide of 13 workers,
the environmental issues related to the factory became completely irrelevant.
The period also witnessed a cross pollination of environmental and trade
unions movements in Mavoor. The regular members of the Chaliyar
movement identified themselves with the GROW led Social movement trade
unionism and in the process, the environmental issues submerged with human
rights. Finally, it culminated in a situation, where ecology became a non-issue
in Mavoor. The social movement unionism led by GROW union finally
succeeded to amend the environment friendly provisions of Forest Produces
Act 1978. The new Ordinance promulgated by the Governor of Kerala
exempted the Grasim industries from the purview of periodic revision of the
royalty rate of Bamboo and eucalyptus. Assigning the status of Public Sector
Undertaking, the new Ordinance also allowed Grasim industries to avail
concessions given to the government sector companies. Thus, the 39-month
long labor struggle failed to achieve anything substantial for the working class
except their right to work(Vasu,2010).

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The period after the reopening of the factory in 1989 witnessed a series
of conflicts between the two movements. As mentioned earlier the labor
dispute in 1985 and consequent closure of the factory ultimately resulted in
the collapse of Chaliyar movement. Nevertheless, the reopened factory,
rejuvenated by the public support, began to discharge industrial waste in an
unprecedented manner. This led to serious health hazards in the neighboring
villages. As a response to the new developments, Vazhakkad Panchayath
organized a health survey to get a clear picture of situation prevailing in
affected areas. The result of the survey exposed the alarming situation in the
area. It found that 199 people died of cancer within the Panchayath area
during

1989-94 periods (Ullath, 2009). It also revealed high rate of

morbidity in the Panchayath area. Interestingly, the trade union movement in

Mavoor responded to the findings of the survey in a reactionary manner. They
described the survey as a preplanned drama to defame the factory
management. For them, it was the excessive use of pesticides, which caused
cancer in the surrounding area. In the press conference, they explained various
precautionary measures taken by the management to deal with the issue of
industrial pollution. They were also proud of the functioning of the
Monitoring Committee working under Revenue Divisional Officer. The press
conference organized by the trade union leaders, in fact, became a public
relation work for the factory management. The leaders of the mainstream
trade unions were in the forefront of this campaign.
According to K. K Abu, former President of Swathandra Trade Union
(STU), this response of the trade union movement would cause heavy
damages on working class politics in Kerala. He criticized the trade unions for

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openly supporting anti people policies of the factory management. The

veteran trade union leader described the new development as unheard in the
history of Kerala trade unionism. The Cancer detection camp conducted by
the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC), Thiruvanathapuram became another
setback to the trade union movement in Mavoor because it reinforced the
findings of the health survey(Chandrika Daily, 1996).
It is paradoxical to note that the death of three fellow workers due to
exposure to toxic gases did not cause a change in the attitude of the trade
unions towards the issue of pollution. They were preoccupied with the
perception that the Chaliyar movement, which was gathering momentum, is a
part of conspiracy against the working class. Thus, they started mobilizing
support from outside, particularly from likeminded associations. Here it is to
be mentioned that the attempt by the traditional trade union leadership to
build up a social movement unionism in Mavoor did not produce expected
result.
Among the organizations that extended support to the trade union
movement, the role of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the
youth organization affiliated to CPIM draws special reference. A pro-worker
demonstration by DYFI turned violent. On 27 February 1999, the people of
Mavoor witnessed another unique form of resistance. A human chain was
created in Mavoor to register protest against the efforts to close down Grasim
Industries. This was organized by the trade union sponsoring committee with
the support of mainstream political parties in Kerala. Several hundred people
participated in this campaign. Leaders like Aryadan Muhammad (INC), C. P.
Balan Vaidyer, Elamaram Kareem, M. Dasan (CPIM), E.T. Muhammad

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Bhasheer,

A.V

Andurahman

Hajee(

Muslim

League)

and

Gangatharan(BJP) were the main organizers of the campaign. Apart from poet
P.K Gopi two Film actors from Calicut (Kuthiravattam Pappu and Santhadevi
) found to be a part in the programme. Here it is to be noted that, the main
chunk of the civil society in Kerala did not join this struggle(Malayala
Manorama,1999).
6.3 Blue-Green Conflicts in Plachimada
The history of Plachimada agitation presents a different story about the
interface between environmental and trade union movements in Kerala, which
was mainly manifested in the form of cross-pollination of environmental,
human rights and working class movements in the context of globalization.
As discussed in the previous chapters the establishment of HCBPL had
resulted in occupational changes in the region. In the past, the people in the
region were mainly doing agricultural and related works. When the new
factory provided employment to around 400 people, several hundred working
in the agricultural sector were thrown out of their work, because of the
negative environmental impact of the new industry. Out of these 400 workers,
around were permanent, of which a majority was from distant places. Only
30-50 people from the surrounding area benefitted from the new factory, that
even as contract laborers(Jayakumar,2010).
When the anti coca Cola agitation started in Plachimada, the workers
in the factory collectively stood against the agitators. They staged many
protest programmes including collectorate march etc to protect the interest of
the working class. Their concern was that the agitations against the company

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would lead to its closure and retrenchment of workers. They organized several
protest programmes against the anti coca cola agitators. These signs of protest
by the working class were able to discourage the environmental movement in
Plachimada in its early stage. Among the various demonstrations organized
by the trade union movement, the march held at Thiruvanathapuram in
August 2002 became a controversy. The organizers claimed that, it was a
protest march by the workers and their relatives against those anti worker
forces, which tried to close down the HCBPL plant at Plachimada. It is
alleged that this protest march was a company-sponsored drama to mobilize
public opinion in its favor. Most of the agitators were paid workers from
places like Pollachi, Aattayampathi, Muthalamada, Vndithavalam and
Meenakshipuram. When a group of action Council members under the
leadership of Ajayan questioned the genuineness of the march, the organizers
converted the protest march into a tour progrmmae (Mylamma, 2006).
Plachimada agitation presents a unique case of cross-pollination of
three major social movements; environmental movement, working class
movement and finally human rights movement making Plachimada a hybrid
movement. The unorganized workers in the traditional sector seem to be the
most affected sections of people in the process of industrialization. The
environmental impact of extraction industries mainly leads to denial of basic
human right of the working class in the traditional sector. Thus the fullfledged Plachimada movement, instead of a single caused agitation, presents
the composite nature of contemporary new social movements in Kerala.
The experience from Plachimada also indicates the change in the
attitude of trade union movement towards environmental issues(Mayer,2010).

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Initially it had some reluctance to accept the agitations against the factory.
However, gradually it realized that the irrational exploitation of ground water
and careless management of industrial waste have created serious
environmental issues in the region. This change in their perception was a shift
in the history of working class movement in Kerala. This is the specific
context of cross-pollination of the trade union and environmental movements
in Plachimada, the amalgamation of the divergent interest of the two
movements. This resulted in the generation of a new type of leadership with
multiple identities. Thus, the leaders of the mainstream left turned to be the
leaders of the environmental movement in Plachimada. V.S. Achuthanandan
belongs to this category of new type of leadership.
6.4 Blue-Green Conflict in Eloor-Edayar Region
The developments in Eloor Edayar industrial belt present one of the
most deplorable cases of blue green conflicts in Kerala. The organizations of
industrial workers in the area have formed a Standing Council of Trade
Unions (SCTU) for a collective movement against the environmental
activism. As rightly taught by E. Balanadan, the veteran trade union from this
area, working class generally holds the contention that pollution is a part of
development. Because of factories pollute air and water are we to close
down the factories? I dont think any sensible man would want us to be
Erewhorians, in all these we have to try to minimize the evil- asks
Balanadan(Balanadan, 1980). Whereas the Periyar Malinnekarana Virudha
Samithi (PMVS), an environment group functioning in Eloor-Edayar
industrial belt, demand for a pollution free environment. These divergent
views have resulted in a kind of warfare between the environmentalists and

170

trade union movement in the area. The SCTU seems to enjoy an edge in this
struggle for its strong support base, which includes the members of the
mainstream trade unions, their family members, the members and followers of
mainstream political parties, mass organizations affiliated to mainstream
political parties, factory management, a section of the government machinery
and a major part of the mainstream media. Nevertheless, the PMVS has
succeeded to raise the level environmental awareness in the area leading to a
mounting pressure on industrial units do with pollution control, which seems
to cause additional financial burden on management. Moreover, the campaign
against indiscriminate pollution by the factories in the region has also resulted
in a situation where some of the most polluting units are being asked to stop
its operations. The counter movements against the environmental activsm in
the area have explored the fact that there are fake environmental NGOs like
Periyar Thannerthada Samrakshana Samithi that are working for selfish
interest. They used to blackmail factories in the region. The propaganda
against the environmental activism tends to be a success in creating a feeling
that there is an element of selfishness within the environmental movement.
Some of literature available in the area seems to endorse it. The
environmental activists are found humiliated and discouraged (Purushan,
2011).
PMVS seems to be a genuine association working for the cause of
natural environment. Purushan Eloor, one of the famous environmental
activists in the state is instrumental in organizing the victims against the
ongoing pollution in the area.

The information collected from the field

suggests that there is a prearranged effort to defame Purushan Eloor and his

171

organization. More than one dozen police cases have been registered against
him with an intention to de-motivate him. Purushan and his organizations are
facing the allegations that they are associated with disintegrationist forces
with an intention to destabilize the state. In another attempt, a fake blog
turned up with a list of NGOs receiving foreign fund in which one Periyar
Samrakshana Samithi was placed second to Gospel Asia. The police enquiry
finally disclosed that the user name belongs to one of the industrial units in
Eloor-Edayar area. It is important to note that this propaganda was launched
in a context where the Prime Minister of India made an important
announcement that the government is aware of the fact that there is an
unnatural flow of foreign funds to the accounts of NGOs. This incident
indicates that there is a very systematic and scientific effort to defame the
environmental activists in the area.(Ibid)
6.5 Eco-Fundamentalism
The term eco fundamentalism has become a common usage in the
development- ecology discourse in the state of Kerala. An idea conceived
during the period of silent valley controversy reflects the attitude of working
class and its allies towards the environmental activism in the state of Kerala.
Following discussions present, a brief summary of the main arguments
inherent in the idea of eco fundamentalism.
Firstly, it rejects the idea of what they call putting monkey above
man. Eco fundamentalism, thus, stands as a restatement of anthropocentrism,
a belief that humans are important than anything else, the inherent philosophy
of Semitic religions, renaissance humanism and dialectical materialism. It

172

upholds the fundamental right of man to intervene in nature and pollution

never stops this. In other words, it is opposed to the idea of leave nature to
herself or return to primitivism. Responding to Silent Valley controversy,
Prof Edappally K. Sreedharan Nair has attempted to describe eco
fundamentalism as a case of overreaction and prejudice masquerading
science. It is also set against the tradition of literary ecology in Kerala. The
exponents of eco fundamentalism denounced the nature poets in Kerala as
Marakkavikal, which means tree headed or pig headed poets (M.K. Prasad,
2011).
Secondly, it has been attributed to the so-called negative attitude of
environmentalists towards development projects (Aryadan,2011). It explains
the uncompromising attitude in placing ecology as a major concern in
development discourse. This view presents eco fundamentalism as one of the
major causes for industrial backwardness. To quote, Elamaram Kareem,
former minster for industries, the state has lost almost 3 lakhs employment
opportunities

due

to

disputes

over

development

projects(Malayala

Manorama 27 May 2010). Aryadan Muhammad, the Minister for power and a
well-known trade union leader is of the opinion that there is eco
fundamentalism in Kerala, which overturned many power generation projects
of Kerala.

To quote his words, Silent Valley project has been a long

cherished dream of the people of Malabar. However, we could not implement

it due to protest from the so-called eco fundamentalist. They are responsible
for the crisis in the energy sector. We remain backward mainly because of our
outdated attitude towards development projects( Ibid)

173

Thirdly, the nomenclature eco fundamentalism is used to describe the

neo colonial agenda to obstruct the economic development of third world
countries. This view looks at environmental activism from a north-south
perspective. Mahathir Muhammad, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia
while addressing the Rio Conference held in 1992, has made a historical
reference to the North South dimensions of the world environment movement.
To quote him, When the rich chopped down their own forests, built their
poison belching factories and scoured the world for cheap resources, the poor
said nothing. Indeed, they paid for the development of the rich. Now the rich
claim a right to regulate the development of the poor countries... As colonies
we were exploited .now as independent nations we are to be equally
exploited (Bello, 2009). Here the environmentalists are described as agents
of the rich countries in the global north. For example, those who opposed the
Silent Valley Hydro Electric Project in Kerala were called the agents of
Multinational Corporations.(Habeeb,2011)
The interface between the two movements also presents signs of bluegreen coalition. The discussions in the next chapter explore the emerging
trends in the trade union movement of Kerala with a focus new trade union
initiative.
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