The All India Communist Party (AICP) was a

communist party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It was formed after a split in the

Communist Party of India Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest Marxist–Leninist communist party in India and one of the nine national parties in the country. The CPI was founded in modern-day Kanpur (formerly known as Cawnpore) on 26 December 1925. H ...

in 1980, by a section of CPI cadres dissatisfied with the political changes that occurred during the 1978

Bhatinda Bathinda is a city and municipal corporation in Punjab, India. The city is the administrative headquarters of Bathinda District. It is located in northwestern India in the Malwa Region, west of the capital city of Chandigarh and is the fifth l ...

conference of CPI. During most of the 1970s CPI had supported the government of

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

and the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

. But after the electoral defeat of Gandhi in 1977 CPI began to reconsider its relation to the Congress. After the Bhatinda conference CPI distanced itself from the Congress and aligned itself with the

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in term ...

instead, promoting left unity. The founders of AICP wanted to retain the close relationship with the Congress. {{Infobox political party , name = All India Communist Party , colorcode = Red , foundation = 1980 , dissolution = 1987 , merged =

United Communist Party of India United Communist Party of India (UCPI), is a political party in India. It was formed in 1989 when Indian Communist Party led by Com. Mohit Sen along with Com Ramesh Sinha, M. Kalyanasundaram, K.Manickam, D. Pandian, and SU. Palanisamy; All I ...

, ideology =

Communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

Marxism-Leninism , position =

Left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

, national = , country = India

Roza Deshpande Roza Vidyadhar Deshpande (1929 – 19 September 2020) was an Indian politician of the United Communist Party of India. She was associated with All India Communist Party during 1980 to 1987 and with Communist Party of India earlier, with her hus ...

, the daughter of the founding leader of CPI

S.A. Dange Shripad Amrut Dange (10 October 1899 – 22 May 1991) was an Indian Politician who was a founding member of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and a stalwart of Indian trade union movement. During the 20th century, Dange was arrested by the ...

and her husband

Bani Deshpande Bani may refer to: Places Africa *Bani Department, a department in the Séno Province of Burkina Faso * Bani, Bani, Séno, Burkina Faso * Bani, Bourzanga, Bam, Burkina Faso *Bani, Gnagna, Burkina Faso * Bani, The Gambia * Bani River, a tributar ...

, played an important role in organising the founding of the new party.Andersen, Walter K.. ''India in 1981: Stronger Political Authority and Social Tension'', published in Asian Survey, Vol. 22, No. 2, A Survey of Asia in 1981: Part II (Feb., 1982), pp. 119-135 Dange himself was initially largely sceptical of a split in the CPI.Sen, Mohit. A Traveller and the Road – The Journey of an Indian Communist. New Delhi: Rupa Co., 2003. p. 388 The first conference of AICP was held in

Meerut Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capital ...

, commencing on 13 March. Dange turned up uninvited to the Meerut conference and took charge of the new party. He was elected general secretary of the party.Banerjee, Gopal (ed.), S.A. Dange – A Fruitful Life. Kolkata: Progressive Publishers, 2002. p.153 As an alternative to the CPI-controlled

Indo-Soviet Cultural Society The Indian Society for Cultural Co-operation and Friendship (ISCUF) is an organization in India promoting people-to-people cultural understanding and friendship. The organization was initially known as the Friends of the Soviet Union and, later, t ...

(ISCUS), members of AICP and the Congress set up the

Friends of the Soviet Union The International Association of Friends of the Soviet Union was an organization formed on the initiative of the Communist International in 1927, with the purpose of coordinating solidarity efforts with the Soviet Union around the world. It grew out ...

. But the control over FSU was completely taken over by the Congress.Bhattacharya, Mrimoy in Banerjee, Gopal (ed.), S.A. Dange – A Fruitful Life. Kolkata: Progressive Publishers, 2002. p. 141 Although having Dange, a historical stalwart of the communist movement in India, as its leader AICP was not able to attract any major nationwide following. According to Bhattacharya two reasons were of significance. First of all, the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

did not give any political support to the new party. The founders of AICP were upholding the pro-Soviet CPI policy of cooperating with the National Congress (which was in line with Soviet revisionism), but the Soviets were not interested in a split within CPI. Secondly, the Congress showed limited interest towards the idea of having a national alliance with the new party. In the end, the two parties would be poised against each other in several local elections. In 1987 AICP merged with the

Indian Communist Party The Indian Communist Party was a small communist group in India, led by U. Krishnappa from Karnataka. In May 1985 ICP merged into the Communist Organisation of India (Marxist-Leninist).Singh, Prakash. ''The Naxalite Movement in India''. New Del ...

and formed the

, which would function as a continuation of the political line of AICP.

References

Defunct communist parties in India Communist Party of India breakaway groups Political parties established in 1980 1980 establishments in India Political parties disestablished in 1987 1987 disestablishments in India