Adani Power protest continues for 56 days amid allegations of indirect violence

Gautam Adani, a Jain, faces criticism as Hindu employees claim they are being harassed.

Workers have sat on a dharna in the Kutch region of Gujarat at Adani Power Limited. Permanent and technical staff of Adani Power have been on an indefinite strike. Their protest has been ongoing for the last 55 days. Today marks the 56th day of the dharna. This protest primarily focuses on demands for job security, payment arrangements, transfer policies, and salary increases.

One of the main demands of the protesting employees is to halt the process of outsourcing and removal from the company's payroll. Employees have demanded an immediate stop to the management's pressure on permanent employees to resign from the company's payroll and switch to third-party contractors or 'business partners' payroll. They argue that the company now wants to hire even permanent employees on a contractual basis, which is not in the interest of the workers.

Additionally, they have demanded a stop to forced transfers to other states. Employees have protested against involuntary transfers to other states and have called for a clear and fair transfer policy, under which local employees should be retained at the Mundra plant and not sent to work at any other plant.

The demand for a guarantee to continue service until the age of 58 is also included in the protesters' demands. The demonstrators have sought formal assurance that permanent employees will be allowed to continue their service directly on Adani's payroll until the retirement age, which is 58 years.

A crucial demand behind the employees' dharna is for salary increases to be conducted fairly and transparently. Employees have protested against receiving a zero percent salary increase and have called for a fair and transparent annual evaluation and appropriate salary increase arrangements.

There is also a demand to address the shortage of employees. Workers have reported that due to very few permanent recruitments since 2015, there has been a significant shortage of employees at the Mundra plant. As a result, existing permanent employees are having to work in two shifts, while vacant positions are being filled by contract workers.

Adani Power Limited is a significant company of the Adani Group and is the largest producer of thermal power in the country. It has 16 power plants across eight states and employs over 4,200 staff. It produces 18,150 megawatts of electricity. It sold 96 billion units of electricity in 2024-25. Last year, its revenue was ₹75,865 crore, and its profit was ₹12,971 crore. Is it not indirect violence to harass employees of such a large company?

In fact, the owner of this company is Gautam Adani. He is a Jain. In Jainism, causing distress to anyone is also considered violence. These employees are being harassed, so from the perspective of Jainism, this can be termed as indirect violence being perpetrated by Gautam Adani. The Jain scripture 'Samana Suttam' states, “Just as you do not like suffering, others do not like suffering either. Consider all beings as equal and show compassion to all living beings with utmost respect and care.” Yet, this indirect violence continues in the name of profit and development of the country.

It is surprising that the union protesting is affiliated with the RSS's Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS). Still, there seems to be no one listening to them. Will Gautam Adani, as a Jain, pay attention to the complaints of Hindu employees or focus solely on profits?

According to Article 25 of the Constitution of India, Gautam Adani, despite being a Jain, is still considered a Hindu. So, whether a Jain or Hindu owner, it is the Hindu employees who are being exploited—this is what is called development!