Leftism in India, 1917-1947

This book provides a comprehensive account of the Leftist movements in India during the most decisive phase of its struggle for freedom. It also describes how the Leftist movements interacted with the mainstream Indian freedom movement led by the Indian National Congress, guided by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and his ideology of non-violence. This ideology directly opposed those who believed in Marxism-Leninism and, naturally, their policies clashed at almost every stage of the freedom movement. These clashes gave rise to dramatic developments, which have been described in this book in their proper context and analysed with scholarly objectivity. The book traces the early twentieth-century socio-political awakening of the bourgeois-democratic class of Indian society, the rise of Left-wing nationalists following the Swadeshi Movement, the activities of the early revolutionaries and the formation of the Communist Party of India abroad, the growth of communism in India, the growth of the Left wing within the Indian National Congress (known as the Congress socialists) and other Left parties, and various labour and peasant movements. The book will be useful to the students, researchers and teachers of Political Science, History and South Asian Studies. Readers with an interest in South Asian politics and anyone wishing to gain a thorough understanding of the origin of the Left in India will also find the book interesting.

Satyabrata Rai Chowdhuri, PhD, DLitt (1935-2016), was a renowned political scientist of his times, specializing in South Asian politics and international relations. He taught at various government colleges in West Bengal early in his career before joining Rabindra Bharati University in Kolkata where he held a long stint as a Professor and the Head of the Department of Political Science. In 2000, the University Grants Commission conferred on him the Emeritus Fellowship. Professor Rai Chowdhuri also lectured on Indian politics at the University of Oxford and was a Senior Fellow in International Relations at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London. In 2006, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. A prolific writer, he was a commentator and columnist on South Asian politics with several esteemed publications across the globe. His other recent book is Nuclear Politics: Towards a Safer World.

Foreword by Professor Stephen Cohen. Preface. Chapter 1 Historical Background Chapter 2 Ideologies and Orientations Chapter 3 Communism in India Chapter 4 Growth of the Congress Left Wing Chapter 5 Labour and Peasant Movements Chapter 6 Growth of Other Leftist Parties Chapter 7 Appraisal. Select Bibliography, Index.