Foundation & Early Evolution
- Formal founding: Kanpur, 26 December 1925
- Alternate ideological origin claim: Tashkent, 1920 (M.N. Roy–Comintern initiative)
- Nature of rise: Gradual convergence of diaspora activists + urban labour groups + peasant movements
- Key pioneers:
M.N. Roy, S.A. Dange, Muzaffar Ahmad, Ghulam Hussain, Shaukat Usmani, Singaravelu Chettiar
Relevance
- GS-I | Modern Indian History
- Left movements, labour & peasant mobilisation
- Role of ideological currents in the freedom struggle
- GS-II | Political Ideologies & Party Systems
- Evolution of Left politics in parliamentary democracy
Global-Ideological Background
- Industrial capitalism → inequality → socialist critique
- Karl Marx: class struggle, surplus value, historical materialism
- Russian Revolution (1917): inspiration to anti-imperialist movements
- Comintern (1920s): coordination of revolutionary groups in colonies
Streams Feeding the Indian Communist Movement
- Internationalist–diaspora strand (M.N. Roy)
- Independent Left circles in India: Bombay, Calcutta, Madras
- Worker–Peasant activism: trade unions → AITUC (1920) as mass platform
Early State Response & Repression
- Meerut Conspiracy Case (1929–33): arrests, bans, underground re-organisation
- Established CPI as a serious labour-based ideological force
Role in the National Movement
- Labour & Peasant mobilisation: strikes, plantation & mill workers
- 1930s: cooperation with Congress Socialist Party
- WWII phase: “People’s War line” after Nazi invasion of USSR
- Regional bases: Bengal, Bombay Presidency, Andhra, Punjab agrarian belts
