In 1966 we at La Martiniere experienced the first servants strike. The biggest problem was the kitchen and dining hall. But it turned out fine as volunteers from each house came forward, I being one for Cornwallis, and the serving and washing up was handled successfully, perhaps leading to the failure of the strike. A couple of the kitchen staff (cooks) remained loyal. Major and Ma'am Towning later took us all to a circus (Gemini) that happened to be in town at the time. There has subsequently been unrest among this section several times.
The strike that started on Thursday May 6 has several demands, one being pension for retiring servants. Teachers till now are only entitled to it.
Food for the boarders and others was arranged through a caterer, Kazmi (?), an ex-Martinian in the business.
Pic of the servants sitting on 'dharna' near the dhobi ghat (Martinpurwa). The cops were around in sizeable number to prevent them from crowding the gateways where such sit-ins are considered most suitable.
Saturday morning (May 8) I asked a servant about their hartal and he said it had fizzled out. I guess some pressure was brought to bear on a few of them and so the endeavour failed.
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