4 SOCIAL SCIENTIST In this connection, it will be interesting to get some idea about the founder leaders of the Indian trade union movement, in terms of their ideology and role. For this purpose, we may group them into: a) SOCIAL WORKERS (B P Wadia, Joseph Baptista, 5 H Jhabvala, F J Ginwala, G F Andrews). This group was motivated by the ideal of social upliftment of the downtrodden. For them, the working class was the most oppressed and exploited section of society. It was therefore an object of pity. The workers' poverty, ignorance and helplessness called for sympathy and consideration from the more favourably placed. They considered it a social obligation to focus the workers9 problems and hoped that by pleading for social justice they would be able to convince the employers to take steps to ameliorate the plight of the labour to some extent. Their contribution to the growth of trade unions, however, cannot be minimized. As an example we may mention the name of B P Wadia who was mainly responsible for building up the Madras Labour Union, and who came to the trade union field, it is said, rather accidentally. If in a subsequent period this group's hold over the working class slackened, that was inevitable because of the changed circumstances which called for a different type of ideology and leadership to guide the labour movement. Philanthropy, even in its purest form, can act as a catalyst in accelerating social movements upto a point. Beyond that it either acts as a brake or dies away slowly. Along with such people, another group should also be mentioned. These were motivated primarily by personal considerations (gain in social status or profession), though they also claimed to be social workers. Quite a number of such leaders were lawyers by profession and some were employees themselves who wanted to exploit the situation for their personal gains. On British Model b) MODERATE POLITICIANS (N MJoshi, V V Giri). They belonged ideologically to the wellknown Liberal Party of the day. Their political thinking—-and hence their socio-economic outlook—was reflected in their attitude to trade unionism, its role and goal. By and large, they wanted to build up trade unions on the model of the British Trades Union Congress. They wanted trade unions to remain aloof from the general current of anti-imperialist politics of the Congress. They also believed in 'politics5 but politics of a different nature. Hence it was no accident that