100 years of CPI - Role & Limitations - Explained Pointwise |ForumIAS

The Communist Party of India (CPI) has turned 100 on December 26, 2025. The CPI has played a very important role during the freedom struggle as well as in the post-independence period. It has traditionally been strong in states like Kerala, West Bengal, Tripura, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.

Table of Content

Evolution of the CPI
Role of CPI in the freedom struggle
Role of CPI in post-independence period
Limitations of CPI

Evolution of the CPI:

The Formative Years (1920-1947)	The Dual Birth (1920 vs. 1925): There is a long-standing debate over the party’s origin. One group was formed in Tashkent (1920) by M.N. Roy and Abani Mukherji. However, the CPI officially celebrates December 26, 1925, when various communist groups met at the Kanpur Conference to form a unified party on Indian soil. Colonial Repression: The British viewed communism as a major threat, leading to famous “Conspiracy Cases” (Peshawar, Kanpur, and Meerut) where leaders like S.A. Dange and Muzaffar Ahmad were imprisoned. The “Poorna Swaraj” Demand: The Communists were the first to formally demand “Complete Independence” from British rule at the 1921 Ahmedabad session of the Congress, years before the Congress party adopted the goal.
Post-independence Electoral Success (1947-1964)	First Opposition: In India’s first general election (1951-52), the CPI emerged as the largest opposition party to Jawaharlal Nehru’s Congress. The Kerala Miracle (1957): Under E.M.S. Namboodiripad, the CPI formed the world’s first democratically elected communist government in Kerala, initiating radical land and education reforms.
The Split of 1964	Ideological friction eventually split the party into two: the CPI and the CPI(M). The causes were: Sino-Soviet Rift: A global divide between the USSR (advocating peaceful coexistence) and China (advocating revolution). Stance on Congress: The “Right” faction (CPI) favored a “National Democratic Front” with the progressive wing of the Congress, while the “Left” faction (CPI-M) viewed the Congress as a class enemy. 1962 Border War: Tensions peaked during the India-China war, as one faction supported the Indian government while the other remained more critical.
Role in Recent Years	Support for Emergency: The CPI famously supported Indira Gandhi’s Emergency in 1975, a move it later officially regretted as a “tactical mistake.” Left Front Era: Since the late 1970s, the CPI has largely acted as a junior partner to the CPI(M) in the “Left Front,” governing West Bengal for 34 years and maintaining a recurring presence in Kerala. Loss of National Status: In 2023, the Election Commission of India withdrew the CPI’s “National Party” status due to declining vote shares, though it remains a powerful “State Party” in several regions.

Role of CPI in the freedom struggle:

Demanding “Poorna Swaraj” (1921): Long before the Congress party adopted the goal of “Complete Independence” in 1929, the Communists were the first to raise this demand. At the 1921 Ahmedabad Session of the Congress, communist leaders moved a resolution for Poorna Swaraj. They argued that “Swaraj” should not just mean a change of rulers but a complete social and economic transformation.
Mobilization of Workers’ & Peasants: The CPI’s most significant contribution was the mobilization of sectors the Congress initially neglected:
1. All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC): Communists were instrumental in building the AITUC (founded in 1920) into a militant force, leading massive strikes like the 1928 Bombay Textile Strike.
2. All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS): Founded in 1936, this became the largest peasant organization in India, fighting against both British taxes and Indian landlordism (Zamindari).
3. They founded the All India Students’ Federation (AISF) in 1936 and the Progressive Writers’ Association (PWA) to involve youth and intellectuals in the anti-colonial struggle.
Conspiracy Trials: The British government viewed the CPI as a greater threat than the Congress because of their revolutionary ideology. To crush the movement, the British launched several “Conspiracy Cases” like Peshawar (1922-27), Kanpur (1924), and Meerut (1929): In the Meerut Conspiracy Case, 31 labor leaders were arrested. The trial lasted four years and, ironically, gave the Communists a national platform to propagate their ideas from the courtroom.
The Post-War Upsurge (1945-1947): Following the war, the CPI led some of the most militant anti-colonial and anti-feudal struggles that accelerated the British departure:
1. Royal Indian Navy (RIN) Mutiny (1946): The CPI was the only major party to provide open support and organize food and logistics for the mutineers in Bombay.
2. Tebhaga Movement (Bengal): A massive peasant uprising demanding two-thirds of the harvest for sharecroppers.
3. Telangana Rebellion (1946-51): An armed peasant struggle against the Nizam of Hyderabad and feudal lords.

Role of CPI in post-independence period:

Agrarian & Land Reforms: CPI played a crucial role in peasant movements, demanding – abolition of landlordism, tenancy rights, fair wages for agricultural laborers etc. Its pressure contributed to land reform legislation in several states.
Kerala State Government (1957): The CPI achieved a global “first” in 1957 by forming the world’s first democratically elected Communist government in Kerala, led by E.M.S. Namboodiripad. The CPI government introduced several reforms like:
1. Land Reforms: They introduced the Agrarian Relations Bill, which sought to abolish tenancy and give land to the tillers.
2. Education Bill: Aimed at regulating private schools and improving teacher salaries, this bill triggered the “Vimochana Samaram” (Liberation Struggle) by opposition forces, leading to the central government dismissing the state government in 1959.
Language and Federalism: The CPI was a staunch advocate for the Linguistic Reorganization of States, arguing that state boundaries should reflect cultural and linguistic identities to bring administration closer to the people.
The United Front (1996-1998): The CPI joined the central government for the first time. Indrajit Gupta served as the Union Home Minister, becoming the first Communist to hold a high-ranking cabinet portfolio in India.
UPA-1 Support (2004-2008): The CPI (along with the Left Front) provided crucial external support to the Manmohan Singh government. They were instrumental in the passage of landmark legislations like:
1. MGNREGA: The rural employment guarantee scheme
2. Right to Information (RTI) Act
3. Forest Rights Act
Current Role: It remains a key partner in the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala and the INDIA bloc nationally. The party focuses heavily on opposing the privatization of public sector undertakings (PSUs) and championing the rights of unorganized labor.

Limitations of CPI:

Geographic Concentration: Its influence is largely restricted to Kerala and parts of Tamil Nadu and Bihar. It has struggled to make inroads into the Hindi heartland or among the urban middle class.
Aspirational India: The CPI’s traditional focus on industrial labor and peasantry sometimes fails to resonate with a modern “aspirational” India, which includes a massive services sector, gig workers, and a tech-driven economy.
Caste vs. Class: For decades, the party was criticized for viewing social issues primarily through the lens of class, which led to a late and sometimes inconsistent engagement with the specific realities of caste-based discrimination in India.
Perceived “Extra-Territorial” Loyalties: Historically, the CPI has struggled with the perception of being more aligned with international communist centers (like the former USSR) than with Indian national interests for e.g. CPI’s refusal to support the 1942 Quit India Movement (due to the Soviet alliance with Britain) and its nuanced stance during the 1962 India-China War created a “nationalist” critique that opponents still use against the party today.
Aging Leadership: Like many veteran parties, the CPI faces the challenge of a “leadership vacuum” and has struggled to recruit and promote younger leaders to top positions.
Resource Constraints: Unlike larger national parties, the CPI lacks the massive funding and corporate backing required to compete in India’s increasingly expensive election cycles.
Loss of National Status: In 2023, the Election Commission of India (ECI) withdrew the CPI’s status as a National Party because it failed to meet the required criteria (vote share and seat count) across multiple states. It is now classified as a State Party.