Revision summary
Forty party men occupying a factory is extortion, not job counselling. Diffuse the day with lockdown, a recorded demand for police, and talks only after they leave the floor — no panic appointments. Long term: transparent recruitment, lawful protection without bribing administration, and a completed trespass case. Paying or hiring the mob demoralises 700 employees and wrecks performance. A worker counter-attack risks blood and cases; it is not a strategy.
Model answer
Introduction
A factory that refused to buy the police is now hosting a mob that wants a salary and a party card together. My first duty is the safety of 700 people inside. My second is not to purchase a permanent occupation of the rolls.
Body
Stakeholders
- Employees who feel demoralised and threatened.
- The 40 gatecrashers and the political party behind them.
- You as CEO, owners, and lawful job-seekers outside.
- Law enforcement, which this firm has not cultivated with favours.
- The public interest in a factory that pays taxes and does not become a party camp.
Values
- Rule of law, safety, dignity of workers, and refusal of extortion.
- Courage without a macho clash that gets someone killed today.
- Fair recruitment later, not a panic hire of a militia.
(a) Diffusing the day
- Do not start a physical fight with 40 men. Lock down inner production if needed, keep women and vulnerable staff away from the gate, and give one calm public instruction: we will talk, we will not be beaten into a roster.
- Call the police in writing and by phone, on speaker with a witness, recording the time. The firm’s past refusal of favours does not cancel the State’s duty to remove a trespass. If the local station delays, escalate to the Superintendent of Police and the District Magistrate with a written request for protection of life and property.
- Offer a single meeting in a visible room: two managers, no signing of appointment letters under threat, water, and a statement that jobs follow advertised process.
- Ask the group to leave the shop floor; talking continues only after the illegal occupation ends. If they refuse, that fact goes in the police complaint.
- Do not distribute cash, “token jobs”, or a promise that they can remain party workers on the payroll. That is the demand; paying it today trains the next 40.
- Inform staff in one honest line so that rumours do not start a stampede or a counter-mob.
- Medical aid on stand-by; no hero speeches from the gate.
(b) Long-term solution
- Institutionalise lawful recruitment: public notice, criteria, local employment where skill fits, and a record that can be shown to any party.
- Seek a standing, professional relationship with administration that is clean: courtesy, compliance, and insistence on equal protection, not envelopes.
- Worker voice without a captured union: grievance committees, and if workers later choose a union, deal with it under labour law rather than pretending 700 people have no interests.
- Legal follow-through: trespass, intimidation, and, if facts support, unlawful assembly. A withdrawn complaint after a “settlement” invites a sequel.
- Industry association and State: ask for a published protocol on political occupation of workplaces.
- Physical security that is defensive, not a private army.
(c) Consequences of actions
- Action: immediate police help and refusal to hire under threat.
- On CEO: risk of political anger and a delayed rescue if the station is captured; also the only path that keeps the chair honest.
- On employees: fear during the wait; then restored dignity if the mob leaves. If police never come, morale falls further — which is why escalation must be real.
- On performance: a lost shift today; a saved firm tomorrow. Paying the mob would raise absenteeism of honest workers and destroy productivity through fear.
- Action: hire some of the 40 to “calm the day”.
- On CEO: short peace, long blackmail, possible illegal appointment.
- On employees: demoralisation, two classes of staff, pressure to join the party.
- On performance: a politicised shop floor, quality fall, and likely a union of the wrong kind — a party cell.
- Action: pay cash to leave.
- On CEO: cheap today, endless tomorrow.
- On employees: shame; some may leave.
- On performance: the factory becomes a toll booth.
- Action: vigilante eviction by workers.
- On CEO: criminal liability if someone dies.
- On employees: injury and later cases.
- On performance: a war, not a plant.
- Action: long-term clean recruitment plus persistent lawful protection.
- Cost: time and some political noise.
- Gain: the cooperative character that the stem praised can survive.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD MOB[Gatecrash for jobs] --> SAFE[Staff safety lockdown] SAFE --> POL[Recorded call to police and DM] POL --> TALK[Talk after occupation ends] HIRE[Hire under threat] --> BLACK[Permanent blackmail] CASH[Pay to leave] --> TOLL[Factory as toll]
Conclusion
- Today: protect people, call the State on record, talk only after occupation ends, hire nobody under a stick. Long term: fair jobs, clean insistence on police duty, and a complaint that is not withdrawn. Buying the mob would end the firm’s integrity faster than a lost shift.
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Case study. You are the Sarpanch of a Panchayat. There is a primary school run by the government in your area. Midday meals are provided to the children attending the school. The Headmaster has now appointed a new cook in the school to prepare the meals. However, when it is found that the cook is from the Dalit community, almost half of the children belonging to higher castes are not allowed to take meals by their parents. Consequently, the attendance in the school falls sharply. This could result in the possibility of discontinuation of midday meal scheme, thereafter of teaching staff and subsequent closing down the school. (a) Discuss some feasible strategies to overcome the conflict and to create the right ambiance. (b) What should be the responsibilities of different social segments and agencies to create a positive social ambiance for accepting such changes?
Next question on this syllabus topic (2015 · Q14). View answer →
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If the police do not come, should you still refuse to hire?
Yes. Escalate, document, and protect people. A forced appointment is not a safety measure; it is the mob’s victory condition.
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Is refusing a union what caused this?
The stem says workers chose not to form one. The attack is still unlawful. A later lawful union is a separate, legitimate path.
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