In Phuljihari, a tiny hamlet in East Bengal, now known as Bangladesh, on 15.12.1915, Com Kalyan Kumar Mundul was born into a family of four and he was the second son.There was an elder brother, himself and two sisters, both younger to him.His father, Shri K C Mundul was working in the Railways, after retirement, Shri K.C.Mundul moved to Hazaribagh, 60 Kms. From Ranchi in the State of Bihar. Here, the elder brother, Prof. A K Mundul was working as Professor of Physics in St. Columbus College.However, Com K K Mundul went to Calcutta and studied law in La Martinere School, Calcutta.He passed the University of Cambridge School Certificate exam.Unfortunately, he could not complete his graduation.
One day early morning, at that young age, he felt some inconvenience on the left side of his face while he was studying graduation course.Soon the doctors discovered that he had a facial paralytic attack. This damaged permanently some of the nerves on the left side of his face.After this attack, despite medical attention he could not smile on the left side of his face.But strangely, this one side smile created an impact upon those nearer to him of a pleasant image of him.Anyhow, except to his sons he never revealed any details of his younger days.
He joined as an Executive in Advertising Company by name Lintas Ltd. At Calcutta.Its parent organisation,internationally known as Lever Brothers, which subsequently became Hindustan Lever Ltd., sent him on a project work to Bombay.Earlier,from 1st September 1942 to 31st May 1947,he worked as Accounts Executive.
Soon he came into conflict with his British bosses.He could not digest the policies of the company towards the workers.He developed a spontaneous and natural sympathy for all the workers in that company,who were exploited.Slowly, he became the spokesman of the workers to convey the grievances to the English bosses.Inevitably,this led him to assume the role of a union leader.He resigned his job as senior executive in the company at a time when he was drawing a hefty salary, according to the then living standards.In Bombay around that time (1947), the city was agog with the effects of Independence struggle.Shri Joaquim Alva,in whose printing press Azad Publishers,he worked,became his mentor.In 1952, he contested the Bombay Municipal Corporation Elections and lost,but this experience exposed him to the working class brethren in several other companies.He organized the employees of Brooke Bond Co Ltd and functioned as its All India General Secretary for a number of years.In the banking industry,his first assignment was president of the British Bank of Middle East Employees Union.He was also associated in those years with Standard Chartered Bank Employees Union and other unions in foreign banks at Bombay.He was also the President of Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Employees Union.All these brought him inevitably to our movement under AIBEA and he began playing an important role in developing the Bombay Bank Employees Federation,which later became the Maharashtra State Bank Employees Federation which today is the largest State body under the banner of AIBEA.
He felt his imperishable, ever lasting imprint in the Syndicate Bank Employees Union whose General Secretary he was from 1952 to 1967 and President from 1967 to 1991.Thus for a period of nearly 40 years till his death in 1991,he guided the destinies of this bankwise organisation under the banner of AIBEA.At this distance of time it is really a matter of great perplexity to note as to how operating from Bombay, he faced this vindictive and anti-labour management of the Syndicate Bank in those years.He took up numerous cases of individual denial of rights and privileges,violations of Bipartite Settlements and invariably in the judicial forums,he won most of the cases.
In 1965 on the question of adequate bonus, when the negotiations failed,under the leadership of Mundal,the Syndicate Bank Employees Union went on strike for 104 days.This was a historic struggle fully supported by all State Federations and AIBEA.The Management unleashed a reign of terror,suspended scores of employees and eventually dismissed 149 activists including all the top leaders.Thereafter,the dimensions of the struggle got enlarged,Boycott Syndicate bank Instruments program was observed by employees in all other banks.The Government interfered and in the end AIBEA leaders were invited for discussion by the Management.Eventually,the strike was called off and later all the dismissed employees were reinstated.
He also played a role of great distinction as Vice President of the Maharashtra State Federation for a long time.
He was also intimately associated with the development and growth of the Corporation Bank Employees Union.
An excellent negotiator and master tactician, on occasions necessary he launched powerful struggles and the morale of the employees in great condition.During the 1970s, he launched a struggle, exposing the irresponsible leadership provided by the Chairman of the Bank,drawing the attention of the Reserve Bank of India on many failures, demanded expansion of banking business and opening of new branches and launched a month long agitation.It was indeed a strange development at that time for the public and the customers to note a Trade Union conducting a struggle for the improvement land growth of the Institution, demanding the removal of a Chairman of a Bank.In the end,he won the battle.RBI interfered compelling the then Chairman to resign and ensured that an official of the RBI to take the Chairmanship of the Bank.
During the later period,around the year 1988, a reign of terror was unleashed by the Management by large scale transfers of the clerical cadre including ladies from center to center, even to far off distant places.The Bank played a diabolical game of dividing the workers also by creating a picture that such compulsory transfers were necessary to oblige request transfers from other employees.The situation was tense.But with great patience and tactic he saved the situation, visited many branches, launched a campaign of education and awareness preparing the employees for some struggles and prevented organisation from getting divided.However,he was not very happy and to some extent felt responsible also for the total traumatic situation created by the Management. After the Coimbatore Conference was over, he stepped down as President, of course, without assigning any reason but he punished himself with an admirable sense of organizational image to protect.
He was also Vice President of AIBEA for over 25 years, President of RBI Workers Federation at Bombay and also closely associated with Brook Bond Employees Union.He joined the Communist Party of India. The pen and the paper were at his command. In that craft he was matchless and a master.Throughout his life, until he died on 6th January 1991 around the age of 75 years, he was a full time worker getting meager honorariums and never had enjoyed what an ordinary bank employee is entitled to, today be it a regular wage revision, numerous allowances, various loan facilities, massive hospitalization benefits, regular compensation through DA or superannuation benefits like Pension, PF or Gratuity.
He was one of the Trinities of AIBEA and thus he was known as one of the three builders and architects of AIBEA.