Communist movement in India

Communist movement in India
Name	Communist movement in India
Origin	Late 19th–early 20th century
Ideology	Marxism, Leninism, Maoism, Trotskyism
Region	Indian subcontinent

Communist movement in India The communist movement in India encompasses a diverse set of political partys, trade unions, peasant movements, and armed insurgency groups that emerged from interactions among Marxism, Leninism, and indigenous social struggles during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Its trajectory intersects with figures such as M. N. Roy, institutions such as the Comintern, and events such as the Quit India Movement, shaping regional politics in West Bengal, Kerala, Telangana, and the Chota Nagpur Plateau.

Origins and early influences

Early influences on the movement included translations of Das Kapital, engagement by expatriates in London and Berlin, and the political activism of émigré intellectuals like M. N. Roy and Benoy Kumar Sarkar. Contacts with the Russian Revolution and the Comintern linked activists in Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, and Punjab to international currents including Bolshevism, Leninism, and Trotskyism. Labor disputes in the Dock strike of 1928, textile mills of Bombay Textile Strike, and peasant unrest in Bengal and United Provinces provided practical theaters for the diffusion of Marxist theory, Marxism–Leninism, and radical organizing methods developed in Soviet Union and debated in circles around Jawaharlal Nehru's Congress activists.

Formation of communist parties and factions

Organizational consolidation produced entities such as the Communist Party of India (CPI), formed in 1925 in Kanpur with delegates influenced by S. A. Dange, Muzaffar Ahmed, and Rash Behari Bose. Post-World War II realignments and ideological disputes led to the formation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) in 1964, with leaders like E. M. S. Namboodiripad and P. Sundarayya citing differences over Sino-Soviet split-era positions and relations with the Indian National Congress. Further splits produced factions including Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist), Revolutionary Socialist Party, and Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation, while Trotskyist currents clustered around groups inspired by H. N. Goshal and international formations such as the Fourth International.

Role in anti-colonial and independence movements

Communists participated in anti-colonial campaigns alongside activists from the Indian National Congress, All India Muslim League, and regional movements such as the Quit India Movement and the Non-Cooperation Movement. CPI cadres engaged in strikes during the Great Depression era and organized anti-imperialist campaigns against British policies in Bengal Presidency, Madras Presidency, and Bihar. Tensions with Congress leadership surfaced during episodes like the Royal Indian Navy mutiny and debates over support for the Second World War following the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact reversal, implicating leaders such as P. C. Joshi and raising issues about alignment with Soviet Union policy.

Trade unions, peasant movements, and agrarian struggles

Communist activists built mass organizations including the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), and peasant bodies such as the All India Kisan Sabha to mobilize workers in textile mills, railways, and plantations, and peasants in Zamindari-affected districts. Notable campaigns included the Burdwan peasant movements, Tebhaga movement in Bengal, and the Ryotwari-region agitations in Kerala, led by figures like N. K. Krishna Menon and E. M. S. Namboodiripad, which clashed with landlords, police forces, and regional administrations such as the Nizam of Hyderabad's apparatus.

Electoral politics and parliamentary participation

CPI and CPI(M) entered electoral politics in Post-independence India, forming governments in states such as Kerala and West Bengal; leaders included E. M. S. Namboodiripad, Jyoti Basu, and Pinarayi Vijayan. Alliances with the Indian National Congress and regional parties like the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Telugu Desam Party shaped coalition dynamics at the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha levels. Electoral strategies varied across contexts, with left formations contesting land reform legislation such as the Land Ceiling Acts and implementing policies affecting provincial administrations and public sector institutions like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and State Bank of India-run projects.

Insurgencies and armed movements (Naxalite–Maoist)

The 1967 Naxalbari uprising in Siliguri catalyzed the Naxalite wave, inspiring armed groups including factions of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) and later the Communist Party of India (Maoist). Insurgencies spread through the Red Corridor—including districts in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh—pitting cadres against state police forces like Central Reserve Police Force detachments and raising national security debates involving institutions such as the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Supreme Court of India. International influences from Mao Zedong Thought and debates over protracted people's war shaped tactics, while programs like the Surrender and Rehabilitation Policy were used in counterinsurgency efforts.

Decline, splits, and contemporary relevance

From the late 20th century onward, electoral setbacks, ideological fragmentation, and shifts in global politics such as the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of neoliberalization policies affected left movements; splintering produced groups like CPI(ML) Liberation and smaller regional outfits in Tripura, Tamil Nadu, and Assam. Contemporary left politics engages with issues involving agrarian distress in Maharashtra, labor disputes at Tata Steel and Maruti Suzuki, environmental conflicts in Niyamgiri, and policy debates in the Supreme Court of India and Election Commission of India on recognition, funding, and representation. Despite reduced parliamentary strength, left parties and movements continue to influence social justice campaigns involving caste-based mobilizations led by organizations connected to leaders such as K. R. Gouri and activists from the Dalit Panthers tradition.

Category:Politics of India Category:Communism in India