Communist Party of India
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What is the Communist Party of India?
The Communist Party of India (CPI) is a national political party with headquarters in New Delhi. Founded in 1925, the CPI aimed to combine anti-imperialist patriotism with internationalism, advocating for social equality, land reforms, and the rights of lower castes.
After India's independence in 1947, the CPI gained momentum, achieving significant political success in the 1950s. In 1957, the CPI formed the first non-Congress government in independent India in Kerala. Ideological differences led to a split in 1964, resulting in the formation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M), which weakened the CPI.
In later years, the CPI aligned with the CPI(M) and other leftist parties to form the Left Front coalition, influencing governments in West Bengal, Tripura, and Kerala. The 2004 Lok Sabha elections provided an opportunity for national political leverage, but subsequent political setbacks have led to a decline in the party's representation.
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When was the Communist Party of India founded?
The Communist Party of India (CPI) was founded in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, in late 1925. Earlier in that decade, efforts to establish a communist presence in India included a manifesto by Manabendra Nath Roy, Abani Mukherji, and Roy’s wife Evelyn in 1920, which called for the creation of a communist party in India.
Initially, the CPI combined anti-imperialist patriotism with internationalism, creating a movement like the nonviolent civil disobedience campaigns led by Mohandas K. Gandhi and the Indian National Congress. However, the British colonial administration banned communist activities and took measures against the party, such as imprisoning its leaders in 1929. As a result, the CPI remained weak and operated clandestinely until it was legalized in 1942. Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy became head of the CPI in 2012, following his election as general secretary.
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What are the main beliefs or ideas of the Communist Party of India?
The Communist Party of India (CPI), established in 1925, combines anti-imperialist patriotism with internationalism. The CPI's objectives included social equality for women, suffrage for all adults, nationalization of private enterprises, land reforms, social justice for the lower castes, and the right to protest. In 1951, the party replaced its demand for a "people’s democracy" with a "national democracy". Ideological differences in 1964 led to the formation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)]. The CPI has been part of the Left Front coalition and has been politically influential in multiple states in India.
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How has the Communist Party of India participated in Indian elections?
The Communist Party of India (CPI) has actively participated in Indian elections since gaining independence in 1947. In the 1950s, the CPI gained popularity advocating for social equality, land reform, and the right to protest, securing seats in the Lok Sabha and becoming the principal opposition party. In 1957, the CPI formed the first non-Congress government in Kerala, but was later dismissed by central authorities.
The party's fortunes declined in the 1960s, marked by a split in 1964 that led to the formation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). In the late 1970s, the CPI aligned with other leftist parties to form the Left Front coalition, which held power in West Bengal, Tripura, and Kerala. The 2004 Lok Sabha elections saw the CPI win 10 seats, providing crucial support to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition. However, by 2008, the Left Front withdrew its support, leading to political setbacks in subsequent elections.
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Which states in India have the Communist Party of India been most influential?
The Communist Party of India (CPI) has been influential in several states in India. After India's independence in 1947, the CPI advocated for women's equality, universal suffrage, nationalization, land reform, and social justice, increasing its popularity.
The party did well politically in the 1950s and, in 1957, won the legislative assembly elections in Kerala, forming the first non-Congress government in independent India. In the late 1970s, the CPI aligned with other leftist parties to create the Left Front coalition, which formed governments in West Bengal, Tripura, and, intermittently, Kerala. The party was also politically influential in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. However, the CPI's influence declined after a split in 1964, which led to the formation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M).
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What challenges has the Communist Party of India faced in recent years?
The Communist Party of India (CPI) has faced several challenges in recent years. Ideological differences between the Soviets and Chinese communists in the 1950s, and the response to the 1962 border clashes between India and China, caused a large faction to break away and form the Communist Party of India (Marxist) CPI(M). This split significantly weakened the CPI at the national level. The party has experienced political setbacks since 2008, when the Left Front withdrew its support for the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). In the 2009 and 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the CPI won only four seats and one seat, respectively.
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Communist Party of India (CPI), political party in India whose headquarters are in New Delhi. Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy became head of the CPI in 2012, following his election as general secretary.
According to the CPI’s official history, the party was founded in late 1925 in Kanpur (now in Uttar Pradesh state). Earlier in the decade, however, a number of people, both within and outside India, attempted to establish a communist presence on the subcontinent. Notable was a manifesto issued in 1920 in Tashkent (now in Uzbekistan) by Manabendra Nath Roy (who would become the party’s first leader), Abani Mukherji, and Roy’s wife Evelyn that called for the creation of a communist party in India.
The CPI’s initial objectives combined militant anti-imperialist patriotism with internationalism to create a movement parallel to the nonviolent civil disobedience (satyagraha) campaigns led by Mohandas K. Gandhi and the Indian National Congress (Congress Party). At that time, however, the British colonial administration had imposed a general ban on communist activities and took a number of measures against the party, including imprisoning its leaders in 1929. The CPI thus remained organizationally weak and constrained to operate clandestinely until the party was legalized in 1942.
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The CPI gained momentum after India became independent in 1947. It demanded social equality for women, suffrage for all adults, the nationalization of privately owned enterprises, land reforms, social justice for the lower castes (including those formerly called untouchables), and the right to protest through demonstrations and strikes—all of which increased the party’s popularity. In 1951 the party substituted its core demand of the formation of a “people’s democracy” with one it called a “national democracy.”
The party did well politically in the 1950s. Nationally, it gained relatively small numbers of seats in the Lok Sabha (lower chamber of the Indian parliament) elections of 1951, 1957, and 1962 compared with the ruling and then-dominant Congress Party, but each time it was enough for the CPI to be the principal opposition party. In 1957 the CPI defeated Congress in legislative assembly elections in the southern state of Kerala (now Keralam) and, under Chief Minister E.M.S. Namboodiripad, formed the first non-Congress government in independent India. That government introduced several reforms (including land distribution and education), but, following violent protests against those actions, its members were dismissed by the central authorities in New Delhi.
The CPI’s fortunes began to decline in the 1960s. It was defeated in the 1960 Kerala assembly elections by a Congress-led coalition. The 29 seats the party garnered in the 1962 Lok Sabha polls marked their electoral high point in that chamber. Most significantly, however, in 1964 ideological differences that had built up over a split between the Soviets and the Chinese communists in the 1950s and over the response to the 1962 border clashes between India and China prompted a large faction of party members (including Namboodiripad) to break with the CPI and form the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M). The split weakened the CPI considerably at the national level. The CPI(M) surpassed the CPI’s seat total in the Lok Sabha in 1971 and consistently won two or more times as many seats as the CPI in subsequent elections. In Kerala the CPI was forced to become part of a Congress-led coalition that governed the state between 1970 and 1977.
In the late 1970s the CPI started aligning itself with the CPI(M) and other leftist parties to create the Left Front coalition, which formed governments in the states of West Bengal, Tripura, and, intermittently, Kerala. In Tamil Nadu the CPI was part of the ruling Democratic Progressive Alliance formed there in 2004. The party was also politically influential in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Bihar.
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The 2004 Lok Sabha elections gave the country’s Left Front parties a chance for some national political leverage. The CPI won 10 seats (compared with only four in the 1999 elections) and the CPI(M) 43 seats, and the front was able to provide important external support that allowed the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition to form a government. By 2008, however, the Left Front had withdrawn its backing, citing its opposition to the UPA’s civil nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States. The front’s decision initiated a series of political setbacks for the country’s leftist parties. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the CPI was again able to win only four seats, and the CPI(M) total was reduced to 16, its lowest since it first fielded candidates in 1967. The Left Front also suffered defeat in the 2011 West Bengal state assembly elections, the first time that the left had been out of power there since 1977. The slide in leftist support continued in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, where the CPI could win only one seat, and the CPI(M) total dropped to nine.