Workers, Farmers, and Students Unite in Kulgam as Left Parties Support Nationwide Strike

Danishwar Hameed 

Kulgam, July 9, 2025: In a strong show of solidarity, workers, farmers, and students in Kulgam joined forces as part of the nationwide general strike backed by five major Left parties. The strike was called by the Joint Platform of Trade Unions and supported by ten Central Trade Unions (CTUs), the Jammu and Kashmir Students Federation, the Apple Farmers’ Federation, the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Youth Federation (JKDYF), Kissan Tehreek, and several other sectoral groups.

The strike is a response to the central government’s controversial new Labour Codes, which protesters allege are tilted in favor of corporate interests and threaten the rights and protections of workers. Demonstrators argue that the codes undermine job security, weaken collective bargaining rights, and erode workplace safeguards.

In Kulgam, the protest was centered near the PHE Division office, where hundreds of workers, youth, farmers, and students gathered to demand the repeal of the Labour Codes. They also raised concerns over increasing contractualization, privatization of essential services, and the exploitation of labor in both public and private sectors.

Prominent voices at the protest included State Kisan Leader and DDC Chairperson Kulgam Mohd Afzal Parray, Zahoor Ahmad Rather of the Jammu and Kashmir Apple Farmers' Federation, and Mohd Abass Rather, State Secretary of CPI(M). Speakers strongly criticized the central government’s policies and vowed to continue the fight for workers’ rights and democratic values.

The protest concluded peacefully with a unified call to intensify the movement against what they termed an "anti-people and pro-corporate" agenda, reaffirming their collective resolve to defend the rights of the working class.