The working class of India has once again demonstrated its revolutionary potential. On February 12, 2026, millions of workers, farmers, students, and citizens took to the streets in a nationwide strike against the four new labour codes and the India-US trade deal. This is not merely a protest against specific legislation—it is a struggle against the very nature of capitalist exploitation in the subcontinent.
The four new labour codes—consolidating 29 existing laws into the Code on Wages, Industrial Relations Code, Code on Social Security, and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code—represent a frontal assault on the rights of the working class. These codes dilute trade union power, restrict the right to strike, expand the definition of “worker” to include precarious gig workers while stripping them of protections, and make union registration and recognition increasingly difficult. The Industrial Relations Code, in particular, allows employers to bypass collective bargaining through arbitration, effectively silencing the organized voice of the proletariat.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), the united front of farmers, has joined this struggle, recognizing that the interests of the working class and the peasantry are inseparable. The SKM correctly identifies the India-US trade deal as a threat to domestic agriculture, opening Indian markets to imperialist competition while undermining food security. This is a classic example of how the bourgeoisie uses “free trade” agreements to plunder the resources and labor of the working class and peasantry.
The scale of this strike is staggering. The Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions (CTUs) and sectoral federations reported participation from over 30 crore workers—nearly one-third of India’s population. Banks, transportation, coal fields, refineries, and government offices were shut down across 600 districts. This is not a spontaneous uprising; it is a conscious, organized expression of class consciousness. The SKM declared it “one of the largest in independent India,” cementing worker-peasant unity—a vital lesson for the international proletariat.
The Indian ruling class, led by the ultra-right-wing Modi government, has responded with repression. The government has framed the strike as an attack on “national development” and “economic stability,” using the state’s coercive apparatus to intimidate workers. This is precisely what Trotsky predicted: the capitalist state functions as the executive committee of the ruling class, using violence and legal mechanisms to suppress the revolutionary potential of the working class.
The struggle against the four labour codes is not an isolated event. It is part of a global wave of resistance against neoliberal policies, privatization, and the erosion of workers’ rights. From the United States to Europe to Latin America, the working class is fighting back against the dictates of capital. The Indian strike demonstrates that even in the most oppressive conditions, the proletariat can and will rise.
The question is: will this struggle remain confined to a one-day bandh, or will it evolve into a sustained revolutionary movement? The answer depends on the leadership of the working class. The trade unions must move beyond reformist demands—such as a minimum wage of ₹26,000 per month—and fight for the complete abolition of the labour codes, the right to strike, and the democratization of the workplace. The SKM must continue to build alliances with workers across sectors, linking the struggle of the peasantry to that of the industrial proletariat.
The Indian working class has shown its capacity for mass action. Now it must show its capacity for political leadership. The four labour codes are not merely bad laws; they are symptoms of a deeper crisis of capitalism—a crisis that can only be resolved through the overthrow of the capitalist system itself. The struggle in India is a beacon for workers worldwide, a reminder that the fight for socialism is not a utopian dream but a concrete task that requires the united action of the entire working class.
The February 12 strike is a victory, but it is only the beginning. The fight for workers’ rights, for a living wage, for job security, and for democratic control of production must continue. The Indian proletariat must learn from the lessons of history: the bourgeoisie will never voluntarily relinquish power. Only through revolutionary struggle can the working class and the peasantry break the chains of exploitation and build a society based on human need, not profit.