In 1871 a group in
Calcutta had contacted
Karl Marx with the purpose of organizing an Indian section of the
First International. The first article in an Indian publication (in English) that mentions the names of Marx & Engels printed in the
Modern Review in March 1912. The short biographical article titled
Karl Marx – a modern Rishi was written by the German-based Indian revolutionary
Lala Har Dayal. The first biography of Karl Marx in an Indian language was written by R. Rama Krishna Pillai in 1914. Marxism made a major impact in Indian media at the time of the
Russian Revolution. Of particular interest to many Indian papers and magazines was the Bolshevik policy of right to
self-determination of all nations.
Bipin Chandra Pal and
Bal Gangadhar Tilak were amongst the prominent Indians who expressed their admiration of
Lenin and the new rulers in Russia.
Abdul Sattar Khairi and
Abdul Zabbar Khairi went to Moscow, immediately on hearing about the revolution. In Moscow, they met Lenin and conveyed their greetings to him. The Russian Revolution also affected émigré Indian revolutionaries, such as the
Ghadar Party in North America. The colonial authorities were clearly disturbed by the growing influence of
Bolshevik sympathies in India. A first counter-move was the issuing of a
fatwa, urging Muslims to reject communism. The Home Department established a special branch to monitor the communist influence. Customs was ordered to check the imports of
Marxist literature to India. A great number of
anti-communist propaganda publications were published. The
First World War was accompanied by a rapid increase of industries in
India, resulting in a growth of an industrial proletariat. At the same time prices of essential commodities increased. These were factors that contributed to the buildup of the Indian trade union movement. Unions were formed in the urban centers across India, and strikes were organized. In 1920, the
All India Trade Union Congress was founded. One Indian impressed with developments in Russia was
S. A. Dange in
Bombay. In 1921, he published a pamphlet titled
Gandhi Vs. Lenin, a comparative study of the approaches of both the leaders with Lenin coming out as better of the two. Together with Ranchoddas Bhavan Lotvala, a local mill-owner, a library of Marxist Literature was set up and publishing of translations of Marxist classics began. In 1922, with Lotvala's help, Dange launched the English weekly,
Socialist, the first Indian Marxist journal. Regarding the political situation in the colonised world, the 1920 second congress of the
Communist International insisted that a united front should be formed between the proletariat, peasantry and national bourgeoisie in the colonised countries. Among the twenty-one conditions drafted by Lenin ahead of the congress was the 11th thesis, which stipulated that all communist parties must support the bourgeois-democratic liberation movements in the colonies. Some of the delegates opposed the idea of alliance with the bourgeoisie, and preferred support to communist movements of these countries instead. Their criticism was shared by the Indian revolutionary
M.N. Roy, who attended as a delegate of the
Communist Party of Mexico. The congress removed the term 'bourgeois-democratic' in what became the 8th condition. A Communist Group was founded in
Tashkent on 17 October 1920, soon after the Second Congress of the
Communist International by
M.N. Roy. Roy made contacts with
Anushilan and
Jugantar groups in
Bengal. Small communist groups were formed in Bengal (led by
Muzaffar Ahmed),
Bombay (led by
S.A. Dange),
Madras (led by
Singaravelu Chettiar),
United Provinces (led by
Shaukat Usmani) and
Punjab (led by
Ghulam Hussain). On 1 May 1923 the
Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan was founded in
Madras, by
Singaravelu Chettiar. The LKPH organised the first May Day celebration in India, and this was also the first time the
red flag was used in India. On 25 December 1925, the
Communist Party of India formed at the
first Party Conference in
Kanpur, then
Cawnpore.
S.V. Ghate was the first General Secretary of CPI. The conference held on 25 to 28 December 1925. Colonial authorities estimated that 500 persons took part in the conference. The conference was convened by a man called
Satyabhakta, of whom little is known. Satyabhakta is said to have argued for a ‘national communism’ and against subordination under Comintern. Being outvoted by the other delegates, Satyabhakta left the conference venue and later the party in protest. Satyabhakta then formed a party called National Communist Party, which lasted until 1927. The conference adopted the name ‘Communist Party of India’. Groups such as LKPH dissolved into the unified CPI. The émigré CPI, which probably had little organic character anyway, was effectively substituted by the organisation now operating inside India. . There are many smaller Marxist parties, including the
Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist),
Marxist Communist Party of India,
Marxist Coordination Committee in Jharkhand,
Janathipathiya Samrakshana Samithy,
Communist Marxist Party and
BTR-EMS-AKG Janakeeya Vedi in Kerala, Mazdoor Mukti (Workers' Emancipation) and
Party of Democratic Socialism in West Bengal,
Janganotantrik Morcha in Tripura, the Ram Pasla group in
Punjab, and the
Orissa Communist Party in Orissa. ==Political parties==