Today, the Communist Party of India (CPI) marks a century since its founding.
Born in a modest hall in Kanpur during the chilly winter of 1925, this party arrived with the dream of rooting the red flag of communism in Indian soil. It continues to serve as the voice of workers, farmers, and the marginalised.
This century-long journey is not just a chronicle of political events but a saga of countless sacrifices, movements, and ideological battles.
The CPI has never chased power for its own sake, yet its contributions to strengthening India’s democracy are immeasurable.
The Communist Party of India was established on December 26, 1925, in Kanpur. This was an era when the waves of the Russian Revolution were reaching Indian shores. Young revolutionaries were seeking a new ideological upheaval against British imperialism.
The party’s founder was Manabendra Nath Roy (MN Roy), who had returned from Tashkent, inspired by the Communist International.
The conference saw around 500 delegates in attendance, including Sachchidanand Vishnu Ghate, who became the first general secretary.
Before this, small communist groups had been active in cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, and Madras since 1920.
However, the Kanpur Conference unified them. The party’s manifesto was clear: the end of imperialism, worker-farmer rule, and social justice.
Colonial Repression and Early Struggles
The British government, viewing it as a threat, immediately imposed a ban, but this repression became the party’s defining identity.
In the 1930s, the CPI led worker strikes and peasant uprisings. Examples include the 1928 Bristol Strike and the 1934 Kolkata Tram Strike.
The Communist Party fuelled major movements such as the Telangana Peasant Rebellion (1946–51) and deeply influenced revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh with its ideas.
After independence, the CPI raised demands for land reforms, labour rights, and minority protections.
In the 1950s and 1960s, it emerged as the main opposition party, and in the 1957 Kerala Assembly elections, it formed the first communist government under EMS Namboodiripad, marking India’s inaugural non-Congress government.
The ideological rift between the Soviet Union and China divided India as well. Internal discord intensified after the 1962 India-China War, leading to the CPI splitting into two factions in 1964, one the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the other the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M). Later, the 1969 Naxalbari Movement gave birth to the CPI(ML).
These divisions were painful but infused diversity into the left movement.
Controversies and Political Stands
During World War II, its adoption of the ‘People’s War’ policy led to accusations of being pro-British, isolating it from the Quit India Movement of 1942. In the 1962 India-China War, despite its pro-Soviet stance, support from some leaders for China drew charges of being ‘anti-national’.
The party’s backing of Indira Gandhi’s government during the 1975 Emergency sparked further debate, while the CPI(M) opposed it, earning the CPI the label of ‘pro-establishment’.
The CPI was the first party to advocate for women’s equal rights and led farmer movements in Telangana, West Bengal, and Kerala.
However, waves of privatisation and liberalisation have weakened the left movement overall. Despite these challenges, the party’s century-long journey remains a testament to its dedication to social justice, labour rights, and democratic principles.
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