While fighting for greater pay and better conditions for the workers, Samant and his allies also sought to capitalize on and establish their power on the trade union scene in Mumbai.
Although Samant had links with the Congress and Maharashtra politician Abdul Rehman Antulay, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi considered him a serious political threat.
Thus the government took a firm stance of rejecting Samant's demands and refusing to budge despite the severe economic losses suffered by the city and the industry.
As the strike progressed through the months, Samant's militancy in the face of government obstinacy led to the failure of any attempts at negotiation.
As labour market became less transparent and unified, exploitative placement agencies popped up in the city, so a large population moved to contractual employment, which lacked all the benefits of organised sector like provident funds or even job security.
Producer Sangeeta Ahir, who is also a co-founder of the NGO Shree Sankalp Pratisthan[8][9] is making a film on the Great Bombay Textile Strike worker movement of the city.