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SocialisminIndiaWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

SocialisminIndia
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

SocialisminIndiaisapoliticalmovementfoundedearlyinthe20thcentury,asapartofthebroader
IndianindependencemovementagainstthecolonialBritishRaj.Itgrewquicklyinpopularityasit
espousedthecausesofIndia'sfarmersandlabourersagainstthezamindars,princelyclassandlanded
gentry.SocialismshapedtheprincipleeconomicandsocialpoliciesoftheIndiangovernmentafter
independenceuntiltheearly1990s,whenIndiamovedtowardsamoremarketbasedeconomy.
However,itremainsapotentinfluenceonIndianpolitics,withalargenumberofnationalandregional
politicalpartiesespousingdemocraticsocialism.
SmallsocialistrevolutionarygroupsaroseinIndiaintheaftermathoftheOctoberRevolutioninRussia.
TheCommunistPartyofIndiawasestablishedin1921,butsocialismasanideologygaineda
nationwideappealafteritwasendorsedbynationalistleaderssuchasJawaharlalNehruandSubhas
ChandraBose.RadicalsocialistswereamongstthefirsttocallforoutrightIndianindependencefrom
Britain.UnderNehru,theIndianNationalCongress,India'slargestpoliticalparty,adoptedsocialismas
anideologyforsocioeconomicpoliciesin1936.Radicalsocialistsandcommunistsalsoengineeredthe
TebhagamovementoffarmersinBengalagainstthelandedgentry.However,mainstreamIndian
socialismconnecteditselfwithGandhismandadoptedpeacefulstruggleinsteadofclasswarfare.
AfterIndia'sindependencein1947,theIndiangovernmentunderprimeministersNehruandIndira
Gandhioversawlandreformandthenationalisationofmajorindustriesandthebankingsector.
Independently,activistsVinobaBhaveandJayaprakashNarayanworkedforpeacefullandredistribution
undertheSarvodayamovement,wherelandlordsgrantedlandtofarmworkersoutoftheirownfreewill.
Inthe1960s,theCommunistPartyofIndiaformedIndia'sfirstdemocraticallyelectedcommunist
governmentwhenitwonelectionsinthestatesofKeralaandlaterWestBengal.However,whena
globalrecessionbeganinthelate1970s,economicstagnation,chronicshortagesandstateinefficiency
leftmanydisillusionedwithstatesocialism.Inthelate1980sand1990s,India'sgovernmentbeganto
systematicallyliberalisetheIndianeconomybypursuingprivatisation,aimingtoattractforeign
investment.Nevertheless,theCongresspartycontinuestoespousesomesocialistcauses,andother
majorpartiessuchastheCommunists,SamajwadiParty,BahujanSamajPartyandseveralothersopenly
espousesocialism.

Contents
1History
2Politicalparties
3Seealso
4References
5Externallinks

History
ThesocialistmovementbegantodevelopinIndiawiththeRussianRevolution.However,in1871a
groupinCalcuttahadcontactedKarlMarxwiththepurposeoforganisinganIndiansectionoftheFirst
International.Itdidnotmaterialise.[1]ThefirstarticleinanIndianpublication(inEnglish)thatmentions
thenamesofMarx&EngelsprintedintheModernReviewinMarch1912.Theshortbiographical
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articletitledKarlMarxamodernRishiwaswrittenbytheGermanbasedIndianrevolutionaryLala
HarDayal.[2]ThefirstbiographyofKarlMarxinanIndianlanguagewaswrittenbyR.RamaKrishna
Pillaiin1914.[3]
MarxismmadeamajorimpactinIndianmediaatthetimeoftheRussianRevolution.Ofparticular
interesttomanyIndianpapersandmagazineswastheBolshevikpolicyofrighttoselfdeterminationof
allnations.BipinChandraPalandBalGangadharTilakwereamongsttheprominentIndianswho
expressedtheiradmirationofLeninandthenewrulersinRussia.AbdulSattarKhairiandAbdulZabbar
KhairiwenttoMoscow,immediatelyonhearingabouttherevolution.InMoscow,theymetLeninand
conveyedtheirgreetingstohim.TheRussianRevolutionalsohadanimpactonmigrIndian
revolutionaries,suchastheGhadarPartyinNorthAmerica.[2]
TheKhilafatmovementcontributedtotheemergenceofearlyIndiancommunism.ManyIndian
MuslimsleftIndiatojointhedefenceoftheCaliphate.Severalofthembecamecommunistswhilst
visitingSovietterritory.SomeHindusalsojoinedtheMuslimmuhajirsinthetravelstotheSoviet
areas.[4]
ThecolonialauthoritieswereclearlydisturbedbythegrowinginfluenceofBolsheviksympathiesin
India.Afirstcountermovewastheissuingofafatwa,urgingMuslimstorejectcommunism.TheHome
Departmentestablishedaspecialbranchtomonitorthecommunistinfluence.Customswereorderedto
checktheimportsofMarxistliteraturetoIndia.Agreatnumberofanticommunistpropaganda
publicationswerepublished.[5]
TheFirstWorldWarwasaccompaniedwitharapidincreaseofindustriesinIndia,resultinginagrowth
ofanindustrialproletariat.Atthesametimepricesofessentialcommoditiesincreased.Thesewere
factorsthatcontributedtothebuildupoftheIndiantradeunionmovement.Unionswereformedinthe
urbancentresacrossIndia,andstrikeswereorganised.In1920,theAllIndiaTradeUnionCongresswas
founded.[6]
OneIndianimpressedwithdevelopmentsinRussiawasS.A.DangeinBombay.In1921,hepublisheda
pamphlettitledGandhiVs.Lenin,acomparativestudyoftheapproachesofboththeleaderswithLenin
comingoutasbetterofthetwo.TogetherwithRanchoddasBhavanLotvala,alocalmillowner,alibrary
ofMarxistLiteraturewassetupandpublishingoftranslationsofMarxistclassicsbegan.[7]In1922,
withLotvala'shelp,DangelaunchedtheEnglishweekly,Socialist,thefirstIndianMarxistjournal.[8]
Regardingthepoliticalsituationinthecolonisedworld,the1920secondcongressoftheCommunist
Internationalinsistedthataunitedfrontshouldbeformedbetweentheproletariat,peasantryandnational
bourgeoisieinthecolonisedcountries.AmongthetwentyoneconditionsdraftedbyLeninaheadofthe
congresswasthe11ththesis,whichstipulatedthatallcommunistpartiesmustsupportthebourgeois
democraticliberationmovementsinthecolonies.Someofthedelegatesopposedtheideaofalliance
withthebourgeoisie,andpreferredsupporttocommunistmovementsofthesecountriesinstead.Their
criticismwassharedbytheIndianrevolutionaryM.N.Roy,whoattendedasadelegateofthe
CommunistPartyofMexico.Thecongressremovedtheterm'bourgeoisdemocratic'inwhatbecamethe
8thcondition.[9]
TheCommunistPartyofIndiawasfoundedinTashkenton17October1920,soonaftertheSecond
CongressoftheCommunistInternational.ThefoundingmembersofthepartywereM.N.Roy,Evelina
TrenchRoy(Royswife),AbaniMukherji,RosaFitingof(Abaniswife),MohammadAli(Ahmed
Hasan),MohammadShafiqSiddiquiandM.P.B.T.Acharya.[10][11]
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TheCPIbeganeffortstobuildapartyorganisationinsideIndia.RoymadecontactswithAnushilanand
JugantargroupsinBengal.SmallcommunistgroupswereformedinBengal(ledbyMuzaffarAhmed),
Bombay(ledbyS.A.Dange),Madras(ledbySingaraveluChettiar),UnitedProvinces(ledbyShaukat
Usmani)andPunjab(ledbyGhulamHussain).However,onlyUsmanibecameaCPIpartymember.[12]
On1May1923theLabourKisanPartyofHindustanwasfoundedinMadras,bySingaraveluChettiar.
TheLKPHorganisedthefirstMayDaycelebrationinIndia,andthiswasalsothefirsttimetheredflag
wasusedinIndia.[13][14][15]
On25December1925,acommunistconferencewasorganisedinKanpur.Colonialauthorities
estimatedthat500personstookpartintheconference.Theconferencewasconvenedbyamancalled
Satyabhakta,ofwhomlittleisknown.Satyabhaktaissaidtohavearguedforanationalcommunism
andagainstsubordinationunderComintern.Beingoutvotedbytheotherdelegates,Satyabhaktaleftboth
theconferencevenueinprotest.[16]TheconferenceadoptedthenameCommunistPartyofIndia.
GroupssuchasLKPHdissolvedintotheunifiedCPI.[17]ThemigrCPI,whichprobablyhadlittle
organiccharacteranyway,waseffectivelysubstitutedbytheorganisationnowoperatinginsideIndia.
Currently,MarxismisespeciallyprevalentinKerala,West
BengalandTripura.ThetwolargestCommunistpartiesinIndian
politicsaretheCommunistPartyofIndia(Marxist)andthe
CommunistPartyofIndia.TheRSPandForwardBlocksupport
theminsomestates.ThesefourpartiesconstitutetheLeft
DemocraticFront.
Communistelectoralmuralin
Jadavpur

TherearealargenumberofsmallerMarxistparties,including
theCommunistPartyofIndia(MarxistLeninist),Marxist
CommunistPartyofIndia,MarxistCoordinationCommitteein
Jharkhand,JanathipathiyaSamrakshanaSamithy,CommunistMarxistPartyandBTREMSAKG
JanakeeyaVediinKerala,MazdoorMukti(Workers'Emancipation)andPartyofDemocraticSocialism
inWestBengal,JanganotantrikMorchainTripura,theRamPaslagroupinPunjab,andtheOrissa
CommunistPartyinOrissa.

Politicalparties
Atthe1931KarachisessionoftheIndianNationalCongress,socialistpatternofdevelopmentwassetas
thegoalforIndia.Throughthe1955AvadiResolutionoftheIndianNationalCongress,asocialistic
patternofdevelopmentwaspresentedasthegoaloftheparty.Ayearlater,theIndianparliament
adopted'socialisticpatternofdevelopment'asofficialpolicy,apolicythatcametoincludelandreforms
andregulationsofindustries.[18]ThewordsocialistwasaddedtothePreambleoftheIndian
Constitutionbythe42ndamendmentactof1976,duringtheEmergency.Itimpliessocialandeconomic
equality.Socialequalityinthiscontextmeanstheabsenceofdiscriminationonthegroundsonlyof
caste,colour,creed,sex,religion,orlanguage.Undersocialequality,everyonehasequalstatusand
opportunities.Economicequalityinthiscontextmeansthatthegovernmentwillendeavourtomakethe
distributionofwealthmoreequalandprovideadecentstandardoflivingforall.[19]
Followingindependence,theIndiangovernmentofficiallyadoptedapolicyofnonalignment,although
ithadanaffinitywiththeUSSR.Theparty'scommitmenttosocialismhaswanedinrecentyears,
particularlyfollowingtheassassinationofIndiraGandhiandhersonRajivGandhi.Electedin1991,the
governmentofNarasimhaRaointroducedeconomicliberalisationwiththesupportoffinanceminister
ManmohanSingh,theformerprimeministerofIndia.
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CommunistswerealsoactiveintheIndianindependencemovementandhaveplayedasignificantrolein
India'spoliticallife,althoughtheyarefragmentedintoamultitudeofdifferentparties.Communist
partiesrepresentedinparliamentare:(statisticsfrom2004GeneralElections)CommunistPartyofIndia
(Marxist)(43seatsintheLokSabha),theCommunistPartyofIndia(10seats),theRevolutionary
SocialistParty(threeseats)andtheAllIndiaForwardBloc(threeseats).TheformerspeakeroftheLok
Sabha,SomnathChatterjee,isamemberoftheCPI(M).LeftFrontpartiesremainanindependentfaction
intheparliamentcriticalofthepoliciesofboththegovernmentandthatofthemainstreamopposition
parties.
AsidefromtheCongressandtheLeftFront,thereareothersocialistpartiesactiveinIndia,notablythe
SamajwadiParty,whichemergedfromtheJanataDalandisledbyMulayamSinghYadav,theformer
ChiefMinisterofUttarPradesh.Ithas5seatsinthe16thLokSabha.[20]
NotedIndiansocialistsincludethefoundingleaderoftheAllIndiaForwardBlocandtheIndian
NationalArmySubhasChandraBoseandthecountry'sfirstprimeministerJawaharlalNehru.

Seealso
Socialism
Indiansecularism
CommunistPartyofIndia(Marxist)
CommunistPartyofIndia
ListofpoliticalpartiesinIndia
PoliticsofIndia
ListofCommunistParties
Marxisthistoriography
CommunisminKerala
FabianSociety
Europeansocialism

References
1. M.V.S.KoteswaraRao.CommunistPartiesandUnitedFrontExperienceinKeralaandWestBengal.
Hyderabad:PrajasaktiBookHouse,2003.p.103
2. M.V.S.KoteswaraRao.CommunistPartiesandUnitedFrontExperienceinKeralaandWestBengal.
Hyderabad:PrajasaktiBookHouse,2003.p.82,103
3. M.V.S.KoteswaraRao.CommunistPartiesandUnitedFrontExperienceinKeralaandWestBengal.
Hyderabad:PrajasaktiBookHouse,2003.p.82
4. M.V.S.KoteswaraRao.CommunistPartiesandUnitedFrontExperienceinKeralaandWestBengal.
Hyderabad:PrajasaktiBookHouse,2003.p.83
5. M.V.S.KoteswaraRao.CommunistPartiesandUnitedFrontExperienceinKeralaandWestBengal.
Hyderabad:PrajasaktiBookHouse,2003.p.8283
6. M.V.S.KoteswaraRao.CommunistPartiesandUnitedFrontExperienceinKeralaandWestBengal.
Hyderabad:PrajasaktiBookHouse,2003.p.8384
7. Riepe,Dale.MarxisminIndia(http://books.google.com/books?
id=3Um04zTdisEC&pg=PA41&lpg=PA41&dq=bhavan+lotvala&source=web&ots=qd4iDEGXba&sig=1X
QyAYo2LjhI9DDwXadjschhOBc#PPA41,M1)inParsons,HowardLeeandSommerville,John(ed.)Marxism,
RevolutionandPeace.Amsterdam:JohnBenjaminsPublishingCompany,1977.p.41.
8. Sen,Mohit.TheDangeCentenaryinBanerjee,Gopal(ed.)S.A.DangeAFruitfulLife.Kolkata:
ProgressivePublishers,2002.p.43.
9. M.V.S.KoteswaraRao.CommunistPartiesandUnitedFrontExperienceinKeralaandWestBengal.
Hyderabad:PrajasaktiBookHouse,2003.p.48,8485
10. M.V.S.KoteswaraRao.CommunistPartiesandUnitedFrontExperienceinKeralaandWestBengal.
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10. M.V.S.KoteswaraRao.CommunistPartiesandUnitedFrontExperienceinKeralaandWestBengal.
Hyderabad:PrajasaktiBookHouse,2003.p.8889
11. Ganguly,Basudev.S.A.DangeALivingPresenceattheCentenaryYearinBanerjee,Gopal(ed.)S.A.
DangeAFruitfulLife.Kolkata:ProgressivePublishers,2002.p.63.
12. M.V.S.KoteswaraRao.CommunistPartiesandUnitedFrontExperienceinKeralaandWestBengal.
Hyderabad:PrajasaktiBookHouse,2003.p.89
13. ::SingaravelarAchievements::(http://www.singaravelar.com/achievements.htm)
14. M.V.S.KoteswaraRao.CommunistPartiesandUnitedFrontExperienceinKeralaandWestBengal.
Hyderabad:PrajasaktiBookHouse,2003.p.110
15. ReportofMayDayCelebrations1923,andFormationofaNewParty(TheHinduquotedinMurugesan,K.,
Subramanyam,C.S.Singaravelu,FirstCommunistinSouthIndia.NewDelhi:People'sPublishingHouse,
1975.p.169
16. SatyabhaktathenformedapartycalledNationalCommunistParty,whichlasteduntil1927.
17. M.V.S.KoteswaraRao.CommunistPartiesandUnitedFrontExperienceinKeralaandWestBengal.
Hyderabad:PrajasaktiBookHouse,2003.p.9293
18. 662.PDF(http://www.cid.harvard.edu/hiid/662.pdf)
19. http://indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/amend/amend42.htm
20. http://eciresults.nic.in/

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