Till some extend I feel that this mill workers who are fighting for the apartments from government deserves to get free homes here as we all know this people were the one who actually are here from last 100s of years the relationship of mills and Bombay city which was later replaced as Mumbai is as older as this city itself in the olden era while arrival of David Sassoon, jasheadji jajaboy, The godrej family and later the other famous people who made their lives and were richest people from this mills. Sassoons were the largest mill owners of India they had more than 23 mills all over India majority all in India those days in each mill they used to have more than 15,000 to 20,000 workers in each mills those days profit was also earned a lot and to be frank this people have themselves contributed a lot building various important buildings, monuments, hospitals, Donations and making various charitable trust which as we all can see which still exist in Mumbai.
Those days the workers in the mills were the most happiest people they had the working as per what they require their salary was decided according to the number of members in the family with them with this they were also given monthly Rations for them which was given on behalf of the mill with this they had a facility like free passes of trams to travel, workers were having homes and many of the mill workers buildings still exist and with this it helped a lot to the huge number of people who migtated settled in Bombay and getting jobs and apartment to live was something very easy and in most of the families of Mumbai we all have some or another who worked in mills or in government jobs of those days my late grandfather he worked in the East India company Taxal department and our family is personally aware how those golden days used to be and is told to be my them of that era .
In the change of time mostly after the independence of our country the real tragedy of mills and the mills workers started this mills for many were in big loss due to the change in the countrys economy and working standuard the businessmens of the country suffered a lot and in this the mills workers with their workers unions started making strikes and this strikes used to continue for many months none of them used to think what will happen of our mill of our owners who are in big loss even if mill is shut down for few hours in working day in this the union of workers kept on fighting by strikes and the time came when most of the mills were in big loss atlast all the mills shut down closed their mills for ever and till today after more than 30 years still many of the mills are in same condition they are closed many big mills still their cases are pending the high court a fight between the owners and the workers and in many others mills today in that land there are private companies, mills are replaced as malls or private apartments are build here. The most important thing in this past 30 years even if this mill workers are not getting their salary after they officially closed and also gave everything what the workers usually get like graduaity amount and all but this workers are still having the mill apartments with them from the time when they are living here and till today even after the mills are shutdown they are living in this apartment without paying anything or any tax of this building and even after getting such a wonderful kind of gifts from mills to them still they don’t have their own apartments and are fighting for free apartments.
Actually saying I am not against this people as they were the one who participated in this development of Mumbai from the independence era, struggle for the Bombay in Maharastra and other important programmes of here and they have right and are officially the first citizens of Mumbai but its not that they are the only whom the rights should be but it does not mean that they are the only one here today Mumbai itself has 20 millions and all in their own way struggled and contributed and as being the citizen of here they all have rights so now whom should and for how many will government actually give justice in this our Mumbai is a very small city and if you see there are people who arrived in this 10 or 20 years which is less than the time of mill workers existence in Mumbai now they have their own homes and are happy.
