The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electoral seats, and one of the national parties of India. The party was founded through a splitting from the Communist Party of India in 1964 and it quickly became the dominant faction.
The Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest communist party in India. The CPI was founded in modern-day Kanpur on 26 December 1925.
Trade unions in India are registered and file annual returns under the Trade Union Act (1926). Statistics on trade unions are collected annually by the Labour Bureau of the Ministry of Labour, Government of India. According to the latest data released for 2012, there were 16,154 trade unions with a combined membership of 9.18 million, based on returns from 15 states out of a total of 28 states and 9 union territories. The trade union movement in India is largely divided along political lines and follows a pre-Independence pattern of overlapping interactions between political parties and unions. The net result of this system is debated, as it has both advantages and disadvantages. According to data submitted by various trade unions to the Ministry of Labour and Employment as part of a survey, INTUC, with a combined membership of 33.3 million, emerged as the largest trade union in India as of 2013.
Marxist Communist Party of India, MCPI was a political party in India that formed in 1983 under the leadership of Mohan Punamia. It emerged as a splinter group of Communist Party of India (Marxist) stuck to the original 1964 programme. The party general secretary was Jagjit Singh Lyallpuri.
Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) New Democracy is a communist political party in India. The party was founded as a breakaway from the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) in 1988. The general secretary of this party is Yatendra Kumar.
The Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) or SUCI(C) is an anti-revisionist Marxist-Leninist communist party in India. The party was founded by Shibdas Ghosh, Nihar Mukherjee and others in 1948.
Madhukar Kashinath Pandhe was a Politburo member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) from 2002 to 2011 and was also the General Secretary of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), one of the largest trade unions in India.
Shripad Amrit Dange 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 authorities for communist and trade union activities and was jailed for an overall period of 13 years.
Socialism in India is a political movement founded early in the 20th century, as a part of the broader movement to gain Indian independence from colonial rule. The movement grew quickly in popularity as it espoused the causes of India's farmers and labourers against the zamindars, the princely class and the landed gentry. After independence and until the early 1990s, socialism shaped some economic and social policies of the Indian government, although they mostly followed the principles of dirigisme. After this period, India moved towards a more market-based economy. Though, India is officially declared a socialist state as per the constitution.
The Workers and Peasants Party (WPP) (also known as the Kirti Kisan Party) was a political party in India, which worked inside the Indian National Congress in 1925–1929. It became an important front organisation for the Communist Party of India and an influential force in the Bombay labour movement. The party was able to muster some success in making alliances with other left elements inside the Congress Party, amongst them Jawaharlal Nehru. However, as the Communist International entered its 'Third Period' phase, the communists deserted the WPP project. The WPP was wound up, as its leadership was arrested by the British authorities in March 1929.
Communism in India has existed as a social or political ideology as well as a political movement since at least as early as the 1920s. In its early years, communist ideology was harshly suppressed through legal prohibitions and criminal prosecutions. Eventually, communist parties became ensconced in national party politics, sprouting several political offshoots.
Bommagani Dharma Bhiksham, a veteran leader of the Communist Party of India, was a member of the 10th Lok Sabha, and 11th Lok Sabha of India. Also, he was elected to Assembly three times. He represented the Nalgonda constituency of Andhra Pradesh both in the Parliament of India and Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh from Communist Party of India (CPI) political party. He also represented Hyderabad State Assembly from Suryapet constituency. He was the renowned freedom fighter during Telangana peasantry armed struggle at the time of Nizam regime. He was well known trade unionist and President of All India Toddy Tappers and workers Federation. Government of India honoured him by awarding the Thamra patra. His brother Venkataiah is also a freedom fighter.
K. P. Prabhakaran was a communist politician and trade unionist from Kerala, India. He was a senior leader of the Communist Party of India, served as Health Minister of Kerala for one period. At the time of his death, he was the chairman of the State Control Commission of CPI.
Baddam Yella Reddy was an Indian communist politician from Telangana. He was one of the prominent leaders in the Telangana armed struggle against the Nizam regime.
The Indian state of Kerala has a strong presence of communist politics. Today, the two largest communist parties in Kerala politics are the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India, which, together with other left-wing parties, form the ruling Left Democratic Front alliance.
Lavu Balagangadhara Rao was an Indian politician. He served as the Secretary of the Andhra Pradesh State Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) between May 1985 and November 1991.
In 1964, a major split occurred in the Communist Party of India. The split was the culmination of decades of tensions and factional infighting. When India became independent in 1947, differences arose of how to adapt to the new situation. As relations between the Nehru government and the Soviet Union improved, a faction that sought cooperation with the dominant Indian National Congress emerged within CPI. This tendency was led by S.A. Dange, whose role in the party hierarchy became increasingly controversial. When the Sino-Indian War broke out in 1962 Dange's opponents within CPI were jailed, but when they were released they sought to challenge his leadership. In 1964 the party was finally divided into two, with the left faction forming the Communist Party of India (Marxist). The split had a lot of regional variations. It also impacted other organizations, such as trade union and peasant movements. The split has been studied extensively by scholars, who have sought to analyze the various domestic and international factors involved.
