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Socialism in India is apolitical movement founded early in the 20th century, as a part of the broader movement to gainIndian independence fromcolonial rule. The movement grew quickly in popularity as it espoused the causes of India's farmers and labourers against thezamindars, the princely class and thelanded gentry. After independence and until the early 1990s, socialism shaped some economic and social policies of the Indian government, although they mostly followed the principles ofdirigisme.[1][2] After this period, India moved towards a moremarket-based economy, though, India is officially declared asocialist state as per theconstitution.[3][4]
In 1871 a group inCalcutta had contactedKarl Marx with the purpose of organizing an Indian section of theFirst International.[5] The first article in an Indian publication (in English) that mentions the names of Marx & Engels printed in theModern Review in March 1912. The short biographical article titledKarl Marx – a modern Rishi was written by the German-based Indian revolutionaryLala Har Dayal.[6] The first biography of Karl Marx in an Indian language was written by R. Rama Krishna Pillai in 1914.[7]
Marxism made a major impact in Indian media at the time of theRussian Revolution.[citation needed] Of particular interest to many Indian papers and magazines was the Bolshevik policy of right toself-determination of all nations.Bipin Chandra Pal andBal Gangadhar Tilak were amongst the prominent Indians who expressed their admiration ofLenin and the new rulers in Russia.Abdul Sattar Khairi andAbdul Zabbar Khairi went to Moscow, immediately on hearing about the revolution. In Moscow, they met Lenin and conveyed their greetings to him. The Russian Revolution also affected émigré Indian revolutionaries, such as theGhadar Party in North America.[6]
TheKhilafat movement contributed to the emergence of early Indian communism. Many Indian Muslims left India to join the defense of the Caliphate. Several of them became communists whilst visiting Soviet territory. Some Hindus also joined the Muslim muhajirs in their travels to the Soviet areas.[8]
The colonial authorities were clearly disturbed by the growing influence ofBolshevik sympathies in India. A first counter-move was the issuing of afatwa, urging Muslims to reject communism. The Home Department established a special branch to monitor the communist influence. Customs was ordered to check the imports ofMarxist literature to India. A great number ofanti-communistpropaganda publications were published.[9]
TheFirst World War was accompanied by a rapid increase of industries inIndia, resulting in a growth of an industrial proletariat. At the same time prices of essential commodities increased. These were factors that contributed to the buildup of the Indian trade union movement. Unions were formed in the urban centers across India, and strikes were organized. In 1920, theAll India Trade Union Congress was founded.[10]
One Indian impressed with developments in Russia wasS. A. Dange inBombay. In 1921, he published a pamphlet titledGandhi Vs. Lenin, a comparative study of the approaches of both the leaders with Lenin coming out as better of the two. Together with Ranchoddas Bhavan Lotvala, a local mill-owner, a library of Marxist Literature was set up and publishing of translations of Marxist classics began.[11] In 1922, with Lotvala's help, Dange launched the English weekly,Socialist, the first Indian Marxist journal.[12]
Regarding the political situation in the colonised world, the 1920 second congress of theCommunist International insisted that a united front should be formed between the proletariat, peasantry and national bourgeoisie in the colonised countries. Among the twenty-one conditions drafted by Lenin ahead of the congress was the 11th thesis, which stipulated that all communist parties must support the bourgeois-democratic liberation movements in the colonies. Some of the delegates opposed the idea of alliance with the bourgeoisie, and preferred support to communist movements of these countries instead. Their criticism was shared by the Indian revolutionaryM.N. Roy, who attended as a delegate of theCommunist Party of Mexico. The congress removed the term 'bourgeois-democratic' in what became the 8th condition.[13]
A Communist Group was founded inTashkent on 17 October 1920, soon after the Second Congress of theCommunist International byM.N. Roy. Roy made contacts withAnushilan andJugantar groups inBengal. Small communist groups were formed in Bengal (led byMuzaffar Ahmed),Bombay (led byS.A. Dange),Madras (led bySingaravelu Chettiar),United Provinces (led byShaukat Usmani) andPunjab (led byGhulam Hussain).[14]
On 1 May 1923 theLabour Kisan Party of Hindustan was founded inMadras, bySingaravelu Chettiar. The LKPH organised the first May Day celebration in India, and this was also the first time thered flag was used in India.[15][16][17]
On 25 December 1925, theCommunist Party of India formed at thefirst Party Conference inKanpur, thenCawnpore.[18]S.V. Ghate was the first General Secretary of CPI. The conference held on 1925 December 25 to 28. Colonial authorities estimated that 500 persons took part in the conference. The conference was convened by a man calledSatyabhakta, of whom little is known. Satyabhakta is said to have argued for a ‘national communism’ and against subordination under Comintern. Being outvoted by the other delegates, Satyabhakta left the conference venue and later the party in protest. Satyabhakta then formed a party called National Communist Party, which lasted until 1927.[citation needed] The conference adopted the name ‘Communist Party of India’. Groups such as LKPH dissolved into the unified CPI.[19] The émigré CPI, which probably had little organic character anyway, was effectively substituted by the organisation now operating inside India.
There are many smaller Marxist parties, including theCommunist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist),Marxist Communist Party of India,Marxist Coordination Committee in Jharkhand,Janathipathiya Samrakshana Samithy,Communist Marxist Party andBTR-EMS-AKG Janakeeya Vedi in Kerala, Mazdoor Mukti (Workers' Emancipation) andParty of Democratic Socialism in West Bengal,Janganotantrik Morcha in Tripura, the Ram Pasla group inPunjab, and theOrissa Communist Party in Orissa.
At the 1931 Karachi session of theIndian National Congress, socialist pattern of development was set as the goal for India. Through the 1955 Avadi Resolution of the Indian National Congress, a socialistic pattern of development was presented as the goal of the party. A year later, the Indian parliament adopted 'socialistic pattern of development' as official policy, a policy that came to include land reforms and regulations of industries.[20] The wordsocialist was added to the Preamble of theIndian Constitution by the42nd amendment act of 1976, duringthe Emergency. It implies social and economic equality. Social equality in this context means the absence of discrimination on the grounds only ofcaste, colour,creed, sex, religion, orlanguage. Under social equality, everyone has equal status and opportunities. Economic equality in this context means that thegovernment will endeavour to make the distribution of wealth more equal and provide a decent standard of living for all.[21]
Communists were also active in the Indian independence movement and have played a significant role in India's political life, although they are fragmented into a multitude of different parties. Communist parties represented in parliament are: (statistics from 2024 General Elections)Communist Party of India (Marxist) (4 seats in theLok Sabha), theCommunist Party of India (2 seats), theCommunist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation (2 seats), theRevolutionary Socialist Party (1 seat).[22]
Aside from the Congress and the Left Front, there are other socialist parties active in India, notably theSamajwadi Party, which emerged from theJanata Dal, formed byMulayam Singh Yadav, former Chief Minister ofUttar Pradesh and Union Defence Minister and now led by his sonAkhilesh Yadav, also a former Chief Minister ofUttar Pradesh. It has 37 seats in the 18thLok Sabha.[23]
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