The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (Indian Workers' Union) is the largest central trade union

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

 organization in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. It was founded by Dattopantji Thengdi on July 23, 1955, which also happens to the birthday of Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Lokmanya Tilak –, was an Indian nationalist, teacher, social reformer and independence fighter who was the first popular leader of the Indian Independence Movement. The British colonial authorities derogatorily called the great leader "Father of the Indian unrest"...

.

The BMS itself claims to have over 8.3 million members. At present it is estimated around 5860 unions are affiliated to the BMS. According to provisional statistics from the Ministry of Labour, the BMS had a membership of 6215797 in 2002.