Kiran Maitra - Marxism in India

KIRAN MAITRA

Lotus Collection 2012

Kiran Maitra, 2012

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ISBN: 978-81-7436-847-8

Preface

T he socialist revolution in Russia was a phenomenon of worldwide importance. It was hailed across the colonial world, much to the discomfort of the imperialists, as it promised to eradicate the poverty of the common masses, and held aloft the ideal of the equality of men, irrespective of nationality and religion.

India was fighting her own battle for freedom. The leaders of the Indian struggle for independence were, however, elated at the success of the socialist revolution, but did not take up socialism themselves. Only a few young men with little or no political experience took to the study of socialism and adopted the socialist mode of struggle to fight the colonial ruler. Since a significant part of the freedom movement in India had chosen to be non-violent, the prospect of armed revolution of the Soviet kind was reduced.

Further, when the Communist Party was formed in India, it found the Communist Party of Great Britain as its natural guardian for advice and support from the Comintern. The marxists did not, rather could not, grow their roots in India.

Marxism had begun as an intellectual movement. The common people who were drawn by its unduly emphasized populist image were soon disillusioned and sought an escape route. This was also the case in the Soviet Union and the East European countries. The people of China, Cuba, North Korea and Vietnam are also waiting to avail the first opportunity to throw off marxism.

In India, too, marxism has failed to make a dent in the political landscape. Marxist leaders have been clearly unequal to the task of guiding such a gigantic intellectual movement, in terms of their honesty, integrity and political vision. The partys presence is now confined to a few pockets of the country.

Marxism in India , divided into nine chapters, traces the course of the communist movement in India, from its inception to proletarian revolution to the turn to constitutional benefaction .

I am grateful to my wife, Renuka, for having borne with the many inconveniences that I might have thrust upon her in the course of preparation of the manuscript. My daughters Manjari, Indrani and Pallavi have helped me by taking the responsibility of typing the manuscripts and checking the copies, as well as in numerous other ways.

I am grateful to my friend Shri A.K. Nanda who has been kind enough to go though the text with a toothcomb, making changes and suggesting improvements that I value most.

Kiran Maitra

India and the Socialist Revolution

T he socialist revolution in Russia came at a time when half the world was under imperialist occupation. India too was under the rule of Great Britain, the greatest imperial power of the day. People who were striving to end British rule in India were elated with the success of the socialist revolution, but were not prepared to accept socialism or the socialist mode of struggle themselves. Under the leadership of Gandhi, India accepted non-violence as the weapon to end British rule in India and was not prepared to change to any other form of struggle although after the First World War, the emotional and intellectual climate of the country was receptive to the ideas of socialism. Its appeal was universal as it promised to eradicate poverty of the common masses and bring about equality of men, irrespective of religion or nationality. But no political leader worth the name came forward to make use of the situation. Only a few young men with no political patronage or financial assistance, inspired by a vague idea of socialism, stepped forward to end British rule in India, following the method adopted by socialists in Russia. The success of the socialist revolution had a tremendous impact on these youths. Disillusioned and disheartened by the mode of struggle adopted by Gandhi, these youths thought of treading a new path. In Bombay (now Mumbai), Sripad Amrit Dange; in Bengal, Muzaffar Ahmed; in Punjab, Ghulam Hasan; in Madras (now Chennai), Singaravelu Chettiar; and in the United Province (now Uttar Pradesh), Satya Bhakt and Shaukat Usmani formed small, insignificant groups to study marxism, and if possible, to build a communist party in India. These were individual efforts and not the outcome of any decision taken jointly. In fact, these men did not even know each other.