Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)
Encyclopedia
The Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) was formed by the All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries
at a congress in Calcutta in 1969. The foundation of the party was declared by Kanu Sanyal
at a mass-meeting in Calcutta on the 22nd of April (Lenin's birthday).
and Soroj Dutta, both of whom had belonged to the left-wing within Communist Party of India (Marxist)
in northern West Bengal
. Majumdar and his followers had mobilized 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
s'. In several parts of India, for example Uttar Pradesh
, Bihar
, different parts of West Bengal
and in Srikakulam
in northern Andhra Pradesh
CPI(ML) organized guerilla units. The party got moral support from China
, which actively encouraged the attempts of CPI(ML) to launch revolution.
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 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 Charu Majumdar. In 1972 Majumdar was killed by the police in custody, and 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 rivaled the Dirty War
s of South America at the same time that the movement got all more fragmented. Another heavy blow to the movement was the Bangladesh Liberation War
in 1971 when China
more or less asked the Indian naxalites to support the side of Pakistan
(which was a political suicide in India at the time). On this issue Majumdar's line had some differentiation from that of the CPC
. He gave emphasis to supporting the armed struggle of the East Pakistan Communist Party (Marxist–Leninist), which fought against both Pakistan
and the Bangladesh
i national liberation movement. Majumdar's line and the Chinese line caused conflict in CPI(ML) and produced splits, such as that of Ashim Chatterjee
.
The pro-Charu Majumdar CPI(ML) later split into pro- and anti-Lin Biao
factions. The pro-Lin Biao group NBBRC became known as Central Organising Committee / Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) (Shanti Pal) and the anti-Lin Biao-group later became known as Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation.
All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries
All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries was formed in 1967 as a pro-People's Republic of China splinter-group of Communist Party of India...
at a congress in Calcutta in 1969. The foundation of the party was declared by Kanu Sanyal
Kanu Sanyal
Kanu Sanyal, , was an Indian communist politician. In 1967, he was one of the main leader of the Naxalbari uprising...
at a mass-meeting in Calcutta on the 22nd of April (Lenin's birthday).
History
CPI(ML) advocated armed revolution and denounced participation in the electoral process. The party leaders were Charu MajumdarCharu Majumdar
Charu Majumdar was a communist revolutionary from India. Charu Majumdar's life is a story of "riches to rags". Born in a progressive landlord family in Siliguri in 1918, he not only dedicated his entire life to peasants' cause but also authored the historic 1968 Naxalbari uprising, the ideology...
and Soroj Dutta, both of whom had belonged to the left-wing within Communist Party of India (Marxist)
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of...
in northern West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
. Majumdar and his followers had mobilized a revolutionary peasants movement in Naxalbari
Naxalbari
Naxalbari is the name of a village and a community development block in northern part of the state of West Bengal, India. Naxalbari block comes under the jurisdiction of Siliguri subdivision of Darjeeling district. Naxalbari became famous for the left wing revolt that took place in the late...
, 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
Naxalite
The word Naxal, Naxalite or Naksalvadi is a generic term used to refer to various militant Communist groups operating in different parts of India under different organizational envelopes...
s'. In several parts of India, for example Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
, different parts of West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
and in Srikakulam
Srikakulam
Srikakulam is a town, municipality and headquarters of Srikakulam district in the north-eastern Andhra Pradesh, India. It is part of Srikakulam Assembly constituency and Srikakulam Parliament Constituency. Srikakulam was formerly called as Gulshanabad during Muslim rule and was headquarter of...
in northern Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
CPI(ML) organized guerilla units. The party got moral support from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, which actively encouraged the attempts of CPI(ML) to launch revolution.
The first party congress was held in Calcutta 1970. A Central Committee
CPI(M-L) Central Committee 1970
The first party congress of Communist Party of India was held in Calcutta 1970. A Central Committee was elected, consisting of:* West Bengal:** Charu Majumdar** Kanu Sanyal** Sushital Roy Chowdhury** Saroj Dutta** Soren Bose** Suniti Ghosh...
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 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 Charu Majumdar. In 1972 Majumdar was killed by the police in custody, and 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 rivaled the Dirty War
Dirty War
The Dirty War was a period of state-sponsored violence in Argentina from 1976 until 1983. Victims of the violence included several thousand left-wing activists, including trade unionists, students, journalists, Marxists, Peronist guerrillas and alleged sympathizers, either proved or suspected...
s of South America at the same time that the movement got all more fragmented. Another heavy blow to the movement was the Bangladesh Liberation War
Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh....
in 1971 when China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
more or less asked the Indian naxalites to support the side of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
(which was a political suicide in India at the time). On this issue Majumdar's line had some differentiation from that of the CPC
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
. He gave emphasis to supporting the armed struggle of the East Pakistan Communist Party (Marxist–Leninist), which fought against both Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and the Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
i national liberation movement. Majumdar's line and the Chinese line caused conflict in CPI(ML) and produced splits, such as that of Ashim Chatterjee
Ashim Chatterjee
Ashim Chatterjee is an Indian politician and a former Naxalite leader. He was a student leader of Communist Party of India in Calcutta...
.
The pro-Charu Majumdar CPI(ML) later split into pro- and anti-Lin Biao
Lin Biao
Lin Biao was a major Chinese Communist military leader who was pivotal in the communist victory in the Chinese Civil War, especially in Northeastern China...
factions. The pro-Lin Biao group NBBRC became known as Central Organising Committee / Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) (Shanti Pal) and the anti-Lin Biao-group later became known as Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation.
Today
Today, there exist a large number of political organizations whose roots are in the AICCCR/CPI(ML). Only C.O.C/C.P.I (M-L) led by Shanti Pal maintain and develop Charu Majumdar's concept of armed revolution, whereas others have condemned the excesses of the sectarian epoch. All the organizations belonging to the latter category have established legal overground structures (trade unions, student groups, peasant organisations etc.) and started participating in elections.- Communist Party of India (Maoist)Communist Party of India (Maoist)The Communist Party of India is a Maoist political party in India which aims to overthrow the government of India through violent means. It was founded on 21 September 2004, through the merger of the People's War, and the Maoist Communist Centre . The merger was announced to the public on October...
led by Muppala Lakshmana RaoMuppala Lakshmana RaoMuppalla Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapathy is present General Secretary of Communist Party of India . He was born in village Beerpur in Sarangapur mandal in Karimnagar district of Andhra Pradesh. He worked as teacher in Karimnagar district and deserted his job for higher education in Warangal...
, founded as the result of the September 2004 merger of the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCC) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) People's War. The CPI(ML)PW originated from the CPI(ML), the MCC did not. - Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation led by Dipankar BhattacharyaDipankar BhattacharyaDipankar Bhattacharya is an Indian politician. He is the general secretary of the Communist Party of India Liberation. Bhattacharya succeeded Vinod Mishra as the leader of the party in 1998....
- Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Naxalbari led by Rauf
- Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Janashakti led by Koora RajannaKoora RajannaKoora Rajanna is an Indian communist politician. He is the former secretary of the Communist Party of India Janashakti Andhra Pradesh unit.-Early life:...
- Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) led by Mahadev Mukherjee
- Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Central Team
- Revolutionary Communist Centre of India (Marxist–Leninist–Maoist)
- Communist Party of United States of IndiaCommunist Party of United States of IndiaThe Communist Party of United States of India is an underground communist political party in India, based in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The CPUSI was formed on May 17, 1997 as a result of fractional infighting in the Communist Party of India Janashakti. The founder of CPUSI was M. Veeranna and...
- Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) led by Kanu SanyalKanu SanyalKanu Sanyal, , was an Indian communist politician. In 1967, he was one of the main leader of the Naxalbari uprising...
- Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Red Flag led by Unnichekkan
- Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) New Democracy led by Yatendra Kumar
- Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) SomnathCommunist Party of India Somnath is a splinter group of Communist Party of India . The party is split from Communist Party of India led by Kanu Sanyal....
led by Somnath Chatterjee Ukhra and Pradip Banerjee - Provisional Central Committee, Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) led by Santosh RanaSantosh RanaSantosh Rana is an Indian politician. In the 1960s, he was a firebrand figure in the armed struggle of the Naxalites led by Charu Majumdar.-Agrarian revolutionary:...
- Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Central Team
- Communist Party of BharatCommunist Party of BharatCommunist party of Bharat is a naxal splinter group of Communist Party of India . This party is having presence in West Bengal. The party was in front of the agitation in Singur and Nandigram....