THE century, since the formation of the Communist Party of India, constitutes a glorious chapter in the history of modern India – a history of fierce struggles, immense sacrifices of countless revolutionaries during the freedom struggle and subsequently, and significant contributions in bringing people’s issues on to the national agenda.  From its very inception, the Communists provided a scientific materialist analysis of contemporary, evolving developments and forwarding solutions needed to improve both people’s livelihood and political structures in independent India.  This was based on the vision of a secular democratic Republic, which eventually moves in the direction of converting our political independence into the economic emancipation of all our people, possible only under socialism. 

The rich details of Communist contributions, beginning from its foundation, will be documented throughout this year-long observations of the centenary.  Hence, we confine to highlighting some significant issues.

ORIGINS

The years before and during the First World War saw a struggle inside the national movement between the moderate leaders and the revolutionary ranks.  This converged with the triumph of the Russian revolution in 1917, which inspired the Indian revolutionaries as it did the revolutionaries all over the world.  The convergence of both these factors inspired many Indian revolutionaries to become Communists. 

Some Indian revolutionaries endured a very difficult travel to reach the land of the first proletarian revolution in the world.  Indian-emigre revolutionaries took the initiative of founding the Communist Party of India at Tashkent on October 17, 1920.  This provided, for the first time, a theoretical and practical education in Marxism-Leninism to various scattered groups of revolutionaries across India.  The small Communist groups in Bombay, Calcutta, Madras and the UP-Punjab region were all brought together for a Communist conference in Kanpur in 1925 and the Communist Party of India started functioning inside the country.  The theoretical-ideological inputs provided by M N Roy and a leader of the British Communists, Rajani Palme Dutt,  shaped the consciousness of many an Indian Communist.

Right from its formation, the Communist Party began influencing the agenda of the national movement. At the Ahmedabad session of the All India Congress Committee, 1921, Moulana Hasrat Mohani and Swami Kumarananda moved a resolution, which was not accepted then by Gandhiji, demanding complete independence from British rule.  At the next AICC, Gaya, 1922, CPI circulated a charter of objectives for the national movement.

INTENSE REPRESSION

From the beginning, the British saw the dangers of an organised Communist Party in India and launched an intense repression through conspiracy cases. Five Peshawar conspiracy cases were launched against emigre revolutionaries, Mohajirs, who tried to reach Moscow beginning in May 1922, then the Kanpur conspiracy case was launched in 1923-24. Many of the revolutionaries outside India were arrested upon return and domestic leaders were arrested and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment. Earlier, in 1915, the Lahore conspiracy case was slapped against those revolutionaries, who were part of the Ghadar Party movement, on their return to India and in neighbouring South Asian countries.  42 out of the 291 convicted were executed and 114 sentenced to life imprisonment. More large-scale repression came with the Meerut conspiracy case launched against 31 prominent leaders of the Communist party on March 20, 1929.

It is only when these leaders had served their sentences and re-emerged in public life that the all India centre of the CPI could be formed in 1934 and since then it has been regularly functioning, till date. 

BATTLE OF VISIONS

The emergence of the concept of an inclusive India was a product of a continuous battle between three visions that emerged during the course of the struggle.  The mainstream Congress vision had envisioned that independent India could be a secular democratic Republic. The Communists, while agreeing with this, went further to say that such a secular democratic structure would be untenable, if independent India pursues the path of capitalist development.  The Communists, thus, envisioned that political freedom that we achieve must be extended to the socio-economic freedom of every Indian – possible only under socialism. 

Antagonistic to both these is the third vision which argued that the character of independent India should be determined by the religious affiliations of its people. This vision had a twin expression – the Muslim League championing an `Islamic State’ and the RSS championing its `Hindu Rashtra’. The former succeeded with the unfortunate partition of the country, admirably engineered, aided and abetted by the British, with all its consequences that continue to fester tensions till date. The latter, having failed to achieve their objective at the time of independence, continued with their efforts to transform modern India into their project of a rabidly intolerant fascistic `Hindu Rashtra’. Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination reflected the disappointment over the fact that the Indian freedom movement rejected the RSS vision and political project.

Clearly, the ideological battles and the political conflicts today, are in a way, the continuation of this battle between these three visions.

ROLE OF THE LEFT

The Communist Party played a very important role in the evolution of an inclusive India by bringing on to the agenda of the national movement crucial issues through the struggles that it had launched. First, the struggles on the land question unleashed by the Communists in various parts of the country – Punnapra Vayalar in Kerala, the Tebhaga movement in Bengal, the Surma Valley struggle in Assam, the Warli uprising in Maharashtra etc – the highlight of which was the armed struggle in Telangana – brought the issue of land reforms to the centre stage. The consequent abolition of the zamindari system and landed estates liberated crores of people from the feudal bondage and drew in the exploiting sections of rural India into the liberation movement. In contrast, the Congress leadership was trying to co-opt the exploiting classes in rural India as partners. 

Secondly, Communist Party spearheaded popular struggles for the linguistic reorganisation of the states in independent India. It, thus, is chiefly responsible for creating the political `map’ of today’s India on reasonably scientific and democratic lines. The struggles for Vishalandhra, Aikya Kerala and Samyukta Maharashtra were led, amongst others, by people who emerged as communist stalwarts in the country. This paved the way for the integration of many linguistic nationalities that inhabit India, on the basis of equality, into an inclusive India.

Thirdly, the Left’s steadfast commitment to secularism was based on the recognition of India’s reality. In fact, as early as in 1920, soon after the formation of the CPI, M N Roy, on behalf of the party, in the background of raging communal riots in 1920s, wrote that the only antidote to communal division is class unity of the working people belonging to all castes and  communities against imperialism and the exploiting classes.

The unity of India with its immense diversity can be maintained only by strengthening the bonds of commonality within this diversity and not by imposing any uniformity upon this diversity. Such imposition of a uniformity is precisely what the communal forces are aggressively pursuing today. While strengthening the bonds of commonality is true for all attributes of India’s social diversity, it is of critical importance in relation to religion. Following the partition of India and the horrendous communal aftermath, secularism became an inseparable element of an inclusive India. Secularism means the separation of religion from politics. This means that while the State unflinchingly protects the individual’s choice of faith, it shall not profess or prefer any one religion. In practice, post-independence, this has been reduced to define secularism as equality of all religions. Inherent in this is the in-built bias towards the religious faith of the majority. This, in fact, contributes to providing grist to the mill of the communal and fundamentalist forces today.

EMERGING RULING CLASSES AND CLASS BATTLES

The Indian bourgeoisie, probably the most developed amongst the colonial countries, was eager to pursue the path of the capitalist development post-independence. In order to assume the role of the ruling classes, it struck an alliance with the landlords and bargained with imperialism for the transfer of power. They, thus, ensured that the freedom movement does not complete the task of liberating India from both imperialism and feudalism. The Communist Party, therefore, defined the democratic stage of the Indian revolution as the completion of three tasks – anti-feudal, anti-imperialist and anti-monopoly capital. 

Many well-wishers of the Communist movement, both within the country and abroad, raise the question as to why the Party founded in 1920 was not able to achieve its objective of socialism?  While the Communist parties in China, Vietnam, Korea could succeed, though formed around the same time, what is the reason for this not happening in India?  Lack of dedication, or sacrifices, is not the answer. Indian Communists have the proud record of leading big class battles, making tremendous sacrifices for the cause of the national liberation and the defence of the exploited classes of the working class, peasantry and millions of other oppressed sections.  They represent the best traditions of the revolutionary movement in India.

Marxism-Leninism is a creative science. Its living essence is the ‘concrete analysis of concrete conditions’. When the ‘conditions’ are not properly assessed or when the ‘analysis’ does not correspond to changing conditions, mistakes occur. While the Communists played an important role in India’s freedom struggle, they could not assume the leadership of the liberation struggle as it happened in China, Vietnam or North Korea.

The differences amongst Communists over the concrete conditions such as the class character of Indian ruling classes, the path that the Indian revolution should take etc resulted in various divisions over the decades. The CPI(M), with its correct analysis of the character of the Indian ruling classes, could mobilise larger sections of the Indian people in class battles and, thus, emerged as the major Communist force in independent India. 

By combining the parliamentary and extra-parliamentary struggles, the CPI(M) could significantly influence the course of political developments and the formation of the governments in India.  The first Communist government in Kerala, 1957, the Left Front governments in West Bengal and subsequently the emergence of the CPI(M)-led Left Front government in Tripura, apart from its role in the Indian parliament, contributed significantly to the evolution of modern Indian politics. 

However, during the last one decade, parliamentary influence of the CPI(M) has been substantially reduced.  The rightwing political offensive mainly targeted the Communists as the most non-compromising political opponent of its political project.  This was carried out through physical attacks, repression and generating a political culture of violence and terror.  This has happened in Bengal, subsequently in Tripura and now unsuccessful efforts are on to destabilise the LDF government in Kerala.

However, during the same period, the CPI(M) was the main force organising the struggles of the exploited classes, mainly the working class and the peasantry. It is these struggles that brought, and, continue to bring, on to the national agenda many issues that cannot be erased from public discourse.

CHALLENGES TODAY

A corporate communal alliance has come into dominance vigorously propagating the ideology of aggrandising communal jingoistic nationalism putting the `nation’ and its interests above the people, demanding sacrifices from the people including the forfeiture of their democratic rights in the name of the `nation’.  Recently, when the amendments to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act were being considered by the Lok Sabha, the home minister thundered that, those who opposed the amendments are supporting and protecting terrorists! These draconian amendments severely impinge on the democratic rights and civil liberties of all individuals. Any expression of dissent against the BJP government and its policies can lead to the arrest and detention, on the grounds of being ‘anti-national’ – the legalisation of a ‘Police State’.   

The recent abrogation of statehood of Jammu & Kashmir, the clampdown on the people in the state, the NRC turmoil in Assam and the threats to extend it to the rest of India, the Citizenship Amendment Bill defining Indian citizenship on the basis of religious affiliations, excluding the Muslims, are all clear pointers that what is at stake today is the very survival of a secular democratic constitutional order.

The challenge to this rightwing political consolidation shall necessarily come from the Left and Left of centre political consolidation.

The CPI(M) is determined to counter this challenge.  The observations of this centenary will also serve as the inspiration and an occasion to overcome our shortcomings and strengthen the Communist movement which is essential to both, to  safeguard our Constitutional order and take it forward towards the ending of exploitation. 

The slogan coined by Moulana Hasrat Mohani and immortalised by Bhagat Singh – Inquilab Zindabad – is the clarion call to meet the current offensive of communal nationalist jingoism. Inclusive India shall triumph.  The struggles for establishing people’s democracy and the forward march to socialism shall consolidate.