THE first Congress of the Communist Party of India (CPI) was held in 1943 in Bombay. It was held for eight days, from May 23 to June 1. 139 delegates attended the Congress, representing a membership of 15,563. By this time, Party organs were being brought out in 11 languages, with a combined circulation of 60,000. It was estimated that at least 6,00,000 people were reading these organs, along with other leaflets and pamphlets brought out by the Party.