Understanding Left-Wing Politics
Left-wing politics refers to political parties and ideologies that seek to transform society by promoting greater economic equality. The left-wing ideology emphasizes empathy for those who, for various reasons, have fallen behind or remain powerless compared to others in society.
The political terms “left” and “right” were first used during the French Revolution in 1789. Supporters of the monarchy were called right-wing, while those who opposed the king and believed in republicanism and secularism became known as left-wing.
In modern times, ideologies related to communism and socialism are referred to as left-wing politics. Modern communism and socialism are rooted in Marxism—an ideology based on the ideas of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
The Foundation: Marxist Philosophy
Karl Marx (1818-1883) was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist who developed scientific socialism. According to Marxist philosophy, the fundamental division in society is class-based division. Social class divisions result from the institution of private property.
Throughout human civilization’s history, there have always been two classes: the owners of the means of production (the wealthy) and the workers (the deprived). In modern times, the owners of the means of production are called capitalists. In Marxist terminology, the modern capitalist system has two classes: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.
The capitalist (bourgeoisie) constantly exploits workers (proletariat) and uses social, political, legal, and moral institutions to maintain dominance over the working class. Marx argued that the capitalist system could only be destroyed through revolution.
The Communist Party Concept
A Communist Party is one that believes in the social and economic principles of communism and strives to achieve those goals. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Russia’s Bolshevik Party was emulated worldwide. To establish coordination between Communist Parties in different locations, the Communist International (Comintern) was established in Moscow in March 1919.
Left-Wing Ideology in India
Left-wing politics emerged in India during the final years of the second decade and throughout the third decade of the twentieth century. In India, the communist ideology was advanced by communists who had the support of Russia’s communist organization, the Comintern, while the socialist ideology was carried forward by the Congress Socialist Party, represented by figures like Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose.
A major achievement of left-wing activists was presenting the Indian independence movement and the struggle of working people as inseparable and indivisible. Indians had been introduced to scientific socialism well before the Soviet Revolution.
Early Socialist Thinkers in India
Prominent 19th-century figures familiar with socialist ideas included:
- Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
- Shashi Pada Banerjee
- S.S. Bengali
- N.M. Lokhande
- Shivanath Shastri
- Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
- Lal Behari De
- Adhir Chandra Das
- Dadabhai Naoroji
In August 1907, Bhikaji Rustom Cama, Virendra Nath Chattopadhyay, and Sardar Singhji Rewabhai Rana (S.R. Rana) represented India at the Socialist International’s Stuttgart Congress. However, the emergence of left-wing ideology in India occurred after World War I (1914-1919).
The Rise and Development of Left-Wing Politics in India
The Russian October Revolution’s Impact
On November 7, 1917 (the October Revolution), Russia’s Bolshevik Party (Communist Party), led by Lenin, overthrew the Tsarist regime and established the first socialist state. The Russian Revolution attracted people worldwide to Marxism and socialism, with Indian youth particularly drawn to these ideas.
Indian communism’s roots emerged from within the national movement itself. The renowned Yugantar revolutionary Narendra Nath Bhattacharya, also known as Manabendra Nath Roy, was the founder of the Communist movement. He came into contact with Bolshevik Mikhail Borodin in Mexico in 1919.
The First Communist Party: Mexico to Moscow
M.N. Roy, together with Borodin, established the Mexican Communist Party in 1919. As the Mexican Communist Party’s representative, M.N. Roy traveled to Moscow to participate in the Communist International’s second conference (July-August 1920), where Abani Mukherji represented India.
At this second conference, M.N. Roy had a dispute with Lenin regarding the strategy communists should adopt in colonial countries.
The Communist Party of Hindustan
On October 17, 1920, in Tashkent, M.N. Roy led the formation of the Communist Party of Hindustan along with:
- Evelyn Trent Roy
- Abani Mukherji
- Rosa Fitingof (Abani’s Russian wife)
- Mohammad Ali (aka Ahmad Hasan)
- Mohammad Shafiq Siddiqui
- Mandayan Prativadi Bhayankara Tirumal Acharya
They also established a political-military school called ‘Induski Kurs.’ In 1921, another Communist Party of Hindustan was formed in Moscow. Newly converted Indian communists enrolled in Moscow’s Communist University of the Toilers of the East in early 1921.
M.N. Roy moved his headquarters to Berlin in 1922, where he published a biweekly called “Vanguard of Indian Independence” and, with Abani Mukherji’s cooperation, “India in Transition.”
Early Communist Organizations in India
In Berlin, Virendra Nath Chattopadhyay, Bhupendra Nath Dutta, and Barkatullah established the “India Independence Party” in 1922. By the mid-1920s, several important leaders of the Ghadar movement had also become communists.
Left-wing nationalist journals like Calcutta’s “Atma Shakti” and “Dhumketu,” and Guntur’s “Navayug” published articles praising Lenin and Russia, sometimes with interpretations from the Vanguard. In August 1922, Shripad Amrit Dange began publishing a weekly called “The Socialist” from Bombay—the first communist magazine published in India.
Key figures who helped spread communist ideology in India included:
- Muzaffar Ahmad – Editor of “Navayug” in Bengal
- Singaravelu Chettiar – Editor of “Labour Kisan Gazette” in Madras
- Ghulam Hussain – Editor of “Inquilab” in Lahore
Government Crackdowns: The Conspiracy Cases
Peshawar Conspiracy Case
The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 sent a wave of fear through ruling classes worldwide, reminding them of the French Revolution. The British government arrested young communists entering India via Afghanistan through legal and illegal means, prosecuting them in five separate cases known as the Peshawar Conspiracy Cases.
The first case was India’s first trial against communists, prosecuting Akbar Quraishi (Mohammad Akbar Shah), his father Hafeezullah Khan, and their servant Bahadur. Subsequent cases targeted various communist activists returning to India.
Kanpur Bolshevik Conspiracy Case
In 1924, communists outside the Peshawar cases—including M.N. Roy, Muzaffar Ahmad, Shaukat Usmani, Ghulam Hussain, Shripad Amrit Dange, Singaravelu Chettiar, Ram Charan Sharma, and Nalini Bhushan Das—were prosecuted in the Kanpur Bolshevik Conspiracy Case. This trial attracted significant public attention to the communists.
The Communist Party of India: Official Formation
In December 1925, an open communist conference was held in Kanpur to organize communist groups from various parts of India. The conference convenor was Satyabhakta, with Singaravelu as president and Hasrat Mohani as chairman of the reception committee.
At this Kanpur Communist Conference, the Communist Party of India (CPI) was officially born in 1925.
Working Within the Congress: Workers and Peasants Parties
Initially, communists used Workers and Peasants Parties operating within the Congress as instruments for their activities:
Bengal: The Labour Swaraj Party was established in November 1925 within the Congress, renamed the Bengal Workers and Peasants Party in 1928. Founders included:
- Muzaffar Ahmad
- Renowned poet Nazrul Islam
- Qutbuddin Ahmad
- Shamsuddin Hussain
- Militant Swarajist Hemanta Kumar Sarkar
The party published two Bengali magazines: “Langal” and “Ganavani.”
Punjab: In 1926, Ghadar leader Santokh Singh’s “Kirti” magazine became the center around which Sohan Singh formed the Kirti Kisan Party.
Bombay: In January 1927, a Workers-Peasants Party (Congress Labour Party) was established by S.S. Mirajkar, K.N. Joglekar, and S.V. Ghate, publishing a Marathi magazine called “Kranti.”
All India Workers and Peasants Party
Under Sohan Singh Josh’s chairmanship, the All India Workers and Peasants Party was established on December 21-24, 1928. Its main objectives were to work within the Congress to make it a “mass organization” and establish a socialist state in India.
Through the Workers and Peasants Party, dedicated and honest communists established genuine connections with the working class.
Labor Movements and Strikes
Communists played active roles in several major labor actions:
- 1927: Kharagpur Railway Workshop strikes (February and September) under V.V. Giri and C.F. Andrews’s leadership
- 1928: Long struggle at Bengal’s Liluah Rail Workshop led by Gopen Chakraborty and Dharani Goswami
- July 1928: South Indian Railway strike (leaders Singaravelu and Mukundalal Sarkar imprisoned)
- April-October 1928: General strike in Bombay Textile Mills
- 1929-30: Bombay railway strike and oil depot strike
In 1928 alone, 203 strikes occurred involving 506,851 workers, resulting in the loss of 31,647,404 work-days. In January 1929, Viceroy Lord Irwin acknowledged in the Central Legislative Assembly that communist propaganda was causing difficulties.
The Meerut Conspiracy Case
On March 20, 1929, the government arrested 32 communist leaders and prosecuted them under Section 121A of the Indian Penal Code in Meerut Sessions Court in the Meerut Conspiracy Case.
The Congress Executive formed a Central Defense Committee and donated 1,500 rupees for the case. Prominent figures like Jawaharlal Nehru, Kailash Nath Katju, and Dr. H.F. Ansari represented the defendants.
The trial lasted three and a half years until 1932, examining 300 witnesses and presenting nearly 300 testimonies. In January 1933, the Meerut Sessions Court sentenced 27 people to varying prison terms.
The Meerut Conspiracy Case introduced millions of Indians to communist ideology for the first time.
Communists and the National Movement
The Love-Hate Relationship with Congress
The Communist Party of India had a complex relationship with the Congress, characterized by both cooperation and conflict. Since the Indian Communist Party was directed by the Communist International (Comintern), changes in Comintern policies altered the communists’ attitude toward Congress—what left-wing terminology called “narrow politics” or “left-wing deviation.”
In 1929, following directives from the Sixth Congress of the Communist International, the Indian Communist Party severed ties with the Indian National Congress, declaring it a party of the capitalist class.
Left-wing activists criticized Gandhi’s leadership as “petty bourgeois” and labeled Congress left-wing leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose as “agents of capitalists” and “a terrible obstacle to the victory of Indian nationalism.” The Indian Communist Party called the 1931 Gandhi-Irwin Pact a betrayal of nationalism.
On July 23, 1934, the government declared the Communist Party of India and approximately 29 associated mass organizations illegal.
Reorganization and Underground Activity
In 1931, Abdul Halim formed the Bengal Peasants League, and in February 1932, established the Workers Party of India. By April 1933, almost all communist groups had recognized Halim’s Calcutta Committee.
Bhupendra Nath Dutta’s “Atma Shakti Group” and his party, the Bengal Proletarian Revolutionary Party, merged with Halim’s Calcutta Committee. The Sikh communists’ Bengal Kirti Dal also accepted Halim’s party leadership.
Communist leaders held a secret conference of the Communist Party of India in Calcutta in December 1933, which the Communist International recognized as its Indian branch in 1934.
The Anti-Imperialist United Front
In March 1936, R.P. Dutt and John Bradley published their essay “The Anti-Imperialist People’s Front in India” (the Dutt-Bradley Thesis). This thesis urged communists to join the Indian National Congress and strengthen the Congress Socialist Party.
During 1936-1937, cooperation between socialists and communists led to the formation of:
- All India Kisan Sabha (Peasants Association)
- All India Students Organization
- Progressive Writers Association
In 1939, P.C. Joshi wrote in “National Front” that “our greatest class struggle today is the national struggle, and Congress is its main instrument.”
World War II and Left-Wing Politics
Initial Opposition to British War Efforts
On September 15, 1939, Gandhi declared World War II an imperialist war. Due to the 1939 agreement between Soviet leader Stalin and Germany’s Hitler, communists labeled British war efforts an “imperialist war.”
At the 1940 Ramgarh session of Congress, the Indian Communist Party issued a document titled “Proletarian Path,” declaring armed struggle against the British government. This declaration led the Congress Socialist Party to expel communist members.
The British government arrested most communists and banned communist activities.
The Dramatic Policy Shift
In June 1941, Hitler attacked Russia, leading to an agreement between the Soviet Union and Britain on July 12, 1941. Following this agreement, communists declared the world war a “people’s war.”
Due to improved Soviet-British relations, the ban on communists was lifted in July 1942. Communists were directed to stay away from Gandhi’s August 1942 Quit India Movement. In 1946, communists proposed to the Cabinet Mission dividing India into 17 separate sovereign states.
Party Growth Through British Collaboration
By collaborating with the British government, the Indian Communist Party strengthened its organization and popular base. Party membership grew from:
- 1942: 400 members
- 1943: 15,000 members
- 1946: 53,000 members
- 1948: 100,000 members
Communist-Led Mass Movements
Communists organized movements and struggles on issues related to peasants and workers across various parts of the country:
- Tebhaga Peasant Movement in Bengal (1946)
- Punnapra-Vayalar Movement in Travancore (1945)
- Telangana Peasant Movement in Hyderabad princely state, Andhra Pradesh (1946-51)
- Support for the Royal Indian Navy Mutiny (1946)
Communists provided strong leadership to worker and student struggles supporting these movements.
The Significance of the Left-Wing Movement
Criticisms and Contributions
Left-wing activists are often accused of prioritizing communism over nationalism when independence from British imperialism should have been Indians’ primary objective.
Although left-wing proletarian internationalism and Indian nationalism were not mutually compatible, left-wing activists made significant contributions:
- Raised workers’ and peasants’ issues to the national level
- Connected deprived sections of Indian society—workers, students, peasants—to the struggle against imperialism
- Influenced Congress policies significantly
- Established numerous mass organizations and raised voices for common people’s problems
The left-wing movement in India, despite its contradictions and controversies, played a crucial role in shaping modern Indian politics by bringing class consciousness to the independence struggle and creating lasting institutions that continue to advocate for social and economic justice.
Key Takeaways:
- The Communist movement in India emerged in the 1920s, influenced by the Russian Revolution
- M.N. Roy was instrumental in founding India’s first communist organizations
- The Communist Party of India was officially formed in 1925 in Kanpur
- Communists had a complex relationship with the Congress, alternating between cooperation and confrontation
- Despite criticisms, left-wing activists successfully organized workers, peasants, and students, giving voice to marginalized communities in India’s freedom struggle
