The February 12, 2026 Bharat Bandh in India represents a moment of profound significance in the ongoing class struggle of the colonial and semi-colonial world. Nearly 300 million workers—30 crore people—joined a nationwide general strike organized by ten central trade unions, including the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) and the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU). This massive mobilization, affecting nearly 600 districts across the country, stands as a testament to the awakening revolutionary consciousness of the Indian proletariat.
The immediate trigger for this historic action was the Modi government’s implementation of four labor codes, which replaced 29 existing labor laws. These codes represent a classic maneuver of the ruling class to dismantle worker protections and facilitate the exploitation of labor. By consolidating and weakening regulations, the government has sought to create a more flexible labor market that serves the interests of capital over the needs of the working masses. As Amarjeet Kaur, general secretary of the AITUC, explained to PTI, the strike began across the country on Thursday morning with the participation of workers from Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, Odisha, and Bihar.
The scope of this strike is nothing short of revolutionary. Nearly 30 crore workers, along with farmers and agricultural workers, have taken to the streets to demand the repeal of these labor codes and the withdrawal of other anti-worker policies. The strike has disrupted banking, insurance, postal, and transport services across numerous states, demonstrating the immense power of organized labor when it acts in unity. Opposition parties have extended their support to the movement, recognizing the growing discontent among the masses.
What makes this event particularly significant is its timing and context. The Indian working class has long been subjected to the brutal exploitation of colonial capitalism, followed by the bureaucratic degeneration of the post-independence state. The new labor codes represent the latest attempt by the ruling elite to accelerate the commodification of labor and deepen the penetration of global capital into the Indian economy. In this sense, the strike is not merely a defensive action against specific legislation but a broader struggle against the capitalist system itself.
The involvement of farmers and agricultural workers in this strike is especially noteworthy. The rural masses, often treated as a separate sphere from industrial workers, have joined the urban proletariat in this common struggle. This cross-class alliance demonstrates the growing recognition among the oppressed masses that their interests are fundamentally aligned against the capitalist order. The demand to protect MNREGA—the rural employment guarantee scheme—highlights the interconnectedness of urban and rural struggles against neoliberal policies.
The strike also highlights the importance of internationalism. The demands of the Indian working class are not isolated; they are part of a broader struggle against the global capitalist order. The four Labor Codes are part of a larger trend of labor law deregulation that has been pursued by governments across the world, from the United States to Europe to Latin America. In this sense, the Indian strike is a piece of a larger puzzle—a piece that, when connected to similar struggles elsewhere, can form a global network of resistance that challenges the capitalist system as a whole.
The participation of nearly 300 million people in this strike represents a qualitative leap in the development of the Indian revolutionary movement. It demonstrates that the working class has reached a level of maturity where it can challenge the ruling class on a national scale. The fact that this strike was organized and executed by trade unions, rather than by a vanguard party, suggests that the spontaneous mass movement is outpacing the organized revolutionary forces. This presents both opportunities and challenges for the development of a revolutionary party capable of leading the proletariat to power.
Trotsky would recognize in this event the classic pattern of mass struggle that he analyzed throughout his revolutionary career. The February 12, 2026, strike demonstrates the capacity of the working class to act as a historical subject, capable of challenging the authority of the state and demanding fundamental change. The fact that this action was spontaneous, emerging from the organized trade unions rather than from a vanguard party, reflects the reality that the revolutionary movement often develops through the struggles of the masses themselves.
The February 12, 2026 Bharat Bandh should be understood as a rehearsal for the final struggle. The Indian working class has shown that it possesses the capacity to shut down the country and challenge the authority of the state. The next step must be the transformation of this defensive struggle into an offensive one—moving from demands for the repeal of specific laws to the demand for the overthrow of the capitalist system itself. Only through the establishment of a workers’ and peasants’ government can the Indian masses achieve genuine liberation from exploitation and oppression.
The events of February 12, 2026, demonstrate that the Indian revolution is not a distant possibility but an immediate necessity. The working class has awakened, and the ruling class has been forced to confront the reality of mass power. The question now is whether the revolutionary forces can seize this moment and guide the masses toward the conquest of political power. The history of the twentieth century has shown that when the working class acts in unity and with revolutionary consciousness, it can change the course of history. The February 12, 2026, strike is a powerful reminder of this truth.