Nissim Mannathukkaren - Communism, Subaltern Studies and Postcolonial Theory

This book is a thematic history of the communist movement in Kerala, the first major region (in terms of population) in the world to democratically elect a communist government. It analyzes the nature of the transformation brought about by the communist movement in Kerala, and what its implications could be for other postcolonial societies. The volume engages with the key theoretical concepts in postcolonial theory and Subaltern Studies, and contributes to the debate between Marxism and postcolonial theory, especially its recent articulations.

The volume presents a fresh empirical engagement with theoretical critiques of Subaltern Studies and postcolonial theory, in the context of their decades-long scholarship in India. It discusses important thematic moments in Keralas communist history which includethe processes by which it established its hegemony, its cultural interventions, the institution of land reforms and workers rights, and the democratic decentralization project, and, ultimately, communisms incomplete national-popular and its massive failures with regard to the caste question.

A significant contribution to scholarship on democracy and modernity in the Global South, this volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of politics, specifically political theory, democracy and political participation, political sociology, development studies, postcolonial theory, Subaltern Studies, Global South Studies and South Asia Studies.

Nissim Mannathukkaren is Associate Professor in the International Development Studies Department at Dalhousie University, Canada. He is the author of the book The Rupture with Memory: Derrida and the Specters That Haunt Marxism (2006). His research has been published in journals such as Citizenship Studies, Journal of Peasant Studies, Third World Quarterly, Economic and Political Weekly, Journal of Critical Realism, International Journal of the History of Sport, Dialectical Anthropology, Inter-Asia Cultural Studies and Sikh Formations. He is a regular op-ed contributor to the English-language press in India.

The Left in South India

Nissim Mannathukkaren

First published 2022

by Routledge

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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2022 Nissim Mannathukkaren

The right of Nissim Mannathukkaren to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

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ISBN: 978-1-138-05679-4 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-032-05055-3 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-003-19579-5 (ebk)

Typeset in Sabon

by Apex CoVantage, LLC

To

Ammachi and Appachen

for being the Grace and Joy of my life

This book has accumulated a lot of debt from many people in their unstinting support in various ways. It would not have been possible without all the help rendered by Andalat, librarian at AKG Centre for Research and Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, for pointing to sources and procuring much valuable research material. I am grateful to him for going much beyond his call of duty. His own voluminous and painstaking compilations of original and inaccessible material on the communist movement as well as his own oral survey of subaltern Communist activists from the early period have been significant and are a vital source for those interested in research. The book would also not have been possible without the kindness shown by Pachu Ashan for sharing time as well as unpublished writings about his own experiences in the communist movement. Both Andalat and Pachu Ashan are sadly deceased. I thank Queens University and Dalhousie University for grants which aided the research process.

Jayant Leles wisdom and unfailing encouragement throughout have proven invaluable in bringing this work to fruition. I have benefited immensely from conversations with him over the years as well as by reading his work. The seeds of this book were sown by grappling with, and being influenced by, his very original theoretical framework and his ruminations on tradition and modernity. I also take this opportunity to thank Eleanor McDonald and Grant Amyot for their critical inputs and suggestions when this work was in its rudimentary stages.

I thank the staff at Kerala State Archives, Thiruvananthapuram; Kozhikode Regional Archives, Kozhikode; Tamil Nadu Archives, Chennai; National Archives of India, New Delhi; Nehru Memorial and Museum Library, New Delhi; Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram; Kerala Sahitya Akademi, Thrissur, and The British Library, London. I am very thankful to M. A. Jose, Kavita Krishnan, J. Devika, Vijayan, Vijoo Krishnan, Surjit Esthose and Prasenjit Bose for all their help during the course of this research.

Anil Varughese has been a great sounding board, and I have gained many insights from discussions with Shajahan Madampat and Joseph Tharamangalam. I owe a special gratitude to Ravi Raman, Yasser Arafath and John Roosa for reading parts of the manuscript and making very valuable comments. I thank Rajin Khan and Mitherayee Augustine for their meticulous assistance. Theresa Ulicki, John Cameron, Matthew Schnurr, Robert Huish, Ajay Parasram, Marian MacKinnon and Nicole Drysdale have been the most wonderful colleagues to work with and a great source of support.

I thank Taylor and Francis Ltd. for the permission to include material from the following articles authored by me: The Poverty of Political Society: Partha Chatterjee and the Peoples Plan Campaign in Kerala, India, Third World Quarterly, March 1, 2010, 31 (2); Postcolonialism and Modernity, Journal of Critical Realism, October 29, 2010, 9 (3); Redistribution and Recognition: Land Reforms in Kerala and the Limits of Culturalism, Journal of Peasant Studies, March 1, 2011 (38), 2; The Rise of the National-Popular and Its Limits: Communism and the Cultural in Kerala, Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, December 1, 2013, 14 (4). Aakash Chakrabarty and Brinda Sen at Taylor and Francis, Ltd., New Delhi, have been immensely patient.

My brother, Ashim, sister-in-law, Reena, and niece and nephew, Kunjulakshmi and Kunjikannan, have been a pillar of strength. Finally, I thank Anu, Polu and Ashi for showing me, every waking moment, the world of manifold colors outside the world of books.

Nissim Mannathukkaren
Halifax, January 2021