Communist Party Of India (Marxist–Leninist)
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The Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) (CPI(ML)) was an Indian communist party formed by the All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries (AICCCR) at a congress in
Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
in 1969. The foundation of the party was declared by
Kanu Sanyal Kanu Sanyal (1932 – 23 March 2010) was an Indian communist politician. In 1967, he was one of the main leaders of the Naxalbari uprising and in 1969 he was one of the founding leaders of Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) ( CP ...
at a mass meeting in Calcutta on 22 April,
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
's birthday. Later the CPI(ML) party splintered into several
Naxalite Naxalism is the communist ideology of the Naxalites or Naxals, a grouping of political and insurgent groups from India. It is influenced by Maoist political sentiment and ideology. Inspired by Maoism, Charu Majumdar wrote the Historic Eight ...
groups.


Origin

The CPI (ML) was formed by the radicals within the
Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a Communism in India, communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electora ...
(CPM) who grew concerned by the increasingly parliamentary character of its politics. A debate ensued where the radicals accused the CPM leadership of turning towards revisionism. Finally, the party purged the radicals, who went to form the CPI (ML). The CPI (ML) advocated armed revolution and denounced participation in the electoral process. Its leaders were
Charu Majumdar Charu Majumdar (15 May 1918 – 28 July 1972) was an Indian communist leader, and founder and General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist). Born into a progressive landlord family in Siliguri in 1918, he became a Commun ...
and Saroj Dutta, both of whom had belonged to the
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
within the CPM in northern
West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
. Sanyal, Jongol Santhal and his followers had mobilised a revolutionary peasants movement in Naxalbari, which evolved into an armed uprising of the mostly Santhal tribal inhabitants. CPI (ML) saw Naxalbari as the spark that would start a new Indian revolution, and the movement came to be known as "
naxalite Naxalism is the communist ideology of the Naxalites or Naxals, a grouping of political and insurgent groups from India. It is influenced by Maoist political sentiment and ideology. Inspired by Maoism, Charu Majumdar wrote the Historic Eight ...
s". In several parts of India, for example
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
,
Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
, other parts of West Bengal, and in Srikakulam in northern
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
, the CPI (ML) organised guerrilla units. The party got moral support from
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, which actively encouraged the attempts of CPI (ML) to launch revolution. According to Pradip Basu in his book ''Towards Naxalbari (1953-1967): An Account of Inner-Party Ideological Struggle'':
"There were two nuclei of radicals in the party organisation in West Bengal. One 'theorist' section around Parimal Das Gupta in Calcutta, which wanted to persuade the party leadership to correct revisionist mistakes through inner-party debate, and one 'actionist' section led by Charu Majumdar and Kanu Sanyal in North Bengal. The 'actionists' were impatient, and strived to organize armed uprisings. According to Basu, due to the prevailing political climate of youth and student rebellion it was the 'actionists' which came to dominate the new
Maoist Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic o ...
movement in India, instead of the more theoretically advanced sections."


Naxalbari uprising

It occurred in Naxalbari of Siliguri subdivision, Darjeeling district under the leadership of communist leaders like
Charu Majumdar Charu Majumdar (15 May 1918 – 28 July 1972) was an Indian communist leader, and founder and General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist). Born into a progressive landlord family in Siliguri in 1918, he became a Commun ...
and others who later became the part of CPI (ML).


Srikakulam peasant uprising

In the
Srikakulam district Srikakulam district is a district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, located in the Uttarandhra region of the state, with its headquarters located at Srikakulam. It is one of the six districts, located in the extreme northeastern direction ...
of Andhra Pradesh, communist leaders aligned themselves with the then formed AICCCR and launched peasant upsurge in Srikakulam which continued for almost 5 years in late 1960s and early 1970s.


After 1970

The first party congress was held in Calcutta 1970. A Central Committee was elected. As a result of both external repression and a failure to maintain internal unity, the movement did however degenerate into extreme sectarianism. Instead of popular armed struggle in the countryside, individual terrorism in Calcutta became a principal method of struggle. In 1971 Satyanarayan Singh revolted against the leadership, "individual killing of people branded as class enemy" and sectarianism of Majumdar. The result became that the party was split into two, one CPI (ML) led by Satyanarayan Singh and one CPI (ML) led by Majumdar. In 1972, frail and broken Majumdar died of multiple diseases in police custody; after his death a series of splits took place during the major part of the 1970s. The naxalite movement suffered a period of extremely harsh repression that rivalled the
Dirty War The Dirty War () is the name used by the military junta or National Reorganization Process, civic-military dictatorship of Argentina () for its period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983. During this campaign, military and secu ...
s of South America at the same time that the movement got all more fragmented. After Majumdar's death the CPI (ML) central committee split into pro- and anti-Majumdar factions. In December 1972 the Central Committee of the pro-Charu Majumdar CPI (ML) led by Sharma and Mahadev Mukherjee adopted resolution to follow the line of Charu Majumdar unconditionally which others did not agree to. The pro-Charu Majumdar CPI (ML) later split into pro- and anti-
Lin Biao Lin Biao ( zh, 林彪; 5 December 1907 – 13 September 1971) was a Chinese politician and Marshal of the People's Republic of China who was pivotal in the Chinese Communist Party, Communist Chinese Communist Revolution, victory during the Chines ...
factions. The pro-Lin Biao faction became known as Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) (Mahadev Mukherjee) and the anti-Lin Biao-group later became known as Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation and was led by Jauhar, Vinod Mishra, Swadesh Bhattacharya.


Legacy

Today, there exist a large number of political organisations whose roots are in the AICCCR/CPI (ML). Only C.P.I (M-L) faction led by Mahadev Mukherjee follows Charu Majumdar's concept of armed revolution and annihilation, whereas others have condemned the excesses of the sectarian epoch. All the organisations belonging to the later category have established legal overground structures (trade unions, student groups, peasant organisations, etc.) and started participating in elections.


Splinter Groups

Current parties and organisations with origins in CPI (ML) include * CPI (Maoist) * CPIML Liberation led by Dipankar Bhattacharya * CPIML Red Star led by K.N. Ramchandran * CPIML Red Flag/ MLPI (Red Flag) led by P.C. Unnichekkan * CPIML Class Struggle * CPIML New Democracy led by Yatendra Kumar *CPIML People's Liberation * CPIML Somnath led by Somnath Chatterjee Ukhra and Pradip Banerjee * CPIML Shantipal * Provisional Central Committee, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) * Communist Party of United States of India led by Veeranna * Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Janashakti - Koora Rajanna led by Koora Rajanna * Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Janashakti - Ranadheer led by Ranadheer * Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Janashakti - Chandra Pulla Reddy led by Chandra Pulla Reddy * Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Mahadev Mukherjee) led by Mahadev Mukherjee *Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Praja Pantha *Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Jan Samvad *Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Nai Pahal *Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) New Proletarian *Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Maharashtra *Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Bhaijee *Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Prajashakti *Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Prathighatana *Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Praja Pratighatana


References


External links


Banned Thought - India
documents and statements of CPI (ML) {{DEFAULTSORT:Communist Party Of India (Marxist-Leninist) Naxalite groups Political parties established in 1969 Political parties disestablished in 1972 1969 establishments in West Bengal 1972 disestablishments in India Anti-revisionist organizations Defunct communist parties in India Political parties in West Bengal Communist Party of India (Marxist) breakaway groups