STAGE IV - OPERATING ACTION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP61S00750A000700120006-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 28
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 7, 2000
• Sequence Number: 6
• Content Type: STATEMENT

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Stage IV - Operating Action
What shall we do?
General Comment:
The NIS as at present organized and the files of OIR do
not provide adequately the detailed type of operational in-
formation called for under most of the headings in Stage IV.
In so far as the data is not available at present in the files
of operational officers in State and USIA, either in Washington
or in the field., a special effort will have to be made to
collect data required. The material included below comes largely
from the NIS. Given more time OIR could provide general answers
to most of the questions unanswered below which would be a
further elaboration of the data provided in Stages II and III,
but which would not be sufficiently detailed to meet operational
requirements.
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A. What are the strengths and weaknesses of communist influence
in each of the (perhaps selected) infiltrated groups?
Effectiveness of communist propaganda.
Considering the relatively small size of the Communist Party of
India and the small number of foreign personnel in charge of the
propaganda efforts of the U.S.S.R. and its satellites, communist
propaganda has been remarkably prolific and effective. In the 1951-
52 elections the Communists succeeded in polling 4.5% of the vote
for the central legislature and in capturing 4,7% of the seats.
The effectiveness of communist propaganda may be traced to five
major factors. First in importance is the communist's adroit selection
of vulnerable targets. The communists have directed their appeals to
all groups which oppose or are critical of the goverment- to the grow-
ing body of the general public who are disappointed with the lack of
improvement in economic welfare since independence; to the groups who
are demanding regional reorganization; to the cultivators whose hopes
of land reform are being fulfilled slowly or who resent the governmentts
compulsory grain procurement system; to the laborers with hopes of better
wages and greater security of employment; and above all, to the college
students, for whom job prospects are extremely uncertain, and to the
large numbers of primary and high school teachers and newspaper employees,
who are in a position to influence public opinion and who have serious
financial difficulties. The second factor favoring communist propaganda
is the fact that most of itLis drafted and disseminated by Indians. All of
the newspapers and most of the books and pamphlets are written by Indian
Communists or fellow-travellers so that the ideas presented appear as
Indian ideas, the comment on internal and international events is from an
Indian perspective., and the arguments are directed to appeal to Indian
points of view. A third important asset is the form in which communist
material is made available. Publications are brought out in an attractive
but inexpensive form and are priced at such low rates as to be within
the reach of all but the poorest groups. Fourth, Communist organization
at the village level and the presentation of communist propaganda both in
direct conversation and in indigenous folk form makes it particularly
accessible and persuasive to rural audiences. The bulk of India's rural
population is` only indirectly reached by publications and since inde-
pendence has tended to be neglected by the village level of Congress Party
organization which has been largely diverted by the demands and attractions
of office holding. Finally communist propaganda has benefitted by exploit-
ing certain common Indian fears and suspicions of the West which range
from dislike of materialism and distrust of capitalism to fear of the power
of the West and the danger of a third World War.
Communist propaganda can be expected to enjoy these advantages for
some time to come. Nevertheless, certain developments are beginning to
limit seriously the effectiveness of communist propaganda in India.
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Soviet expansion in Europe since World War II, particularly the domination
of Czechoslovakia and the successful revolt of Yugoslavia, have created
distrust and fear of Soviet tactics and objectives. The emergence of Commu-
nist China as a unified power of military significance while it has
aroused some curiosity and admiration has aallso aroused Indian fears as to
China's future intentions, particularly since the Chinese occupation of
Tibet. The successes of the CPI in the Indian elections of 1951-52 and its
open and bitter attacks against the Congress Party have provoked sharp
retaliation from the latter and denunciations of the Communists for their
subservience to a foreign power. Even some of the opposition parties whose
support has been courted by the Communists have become increasingly sus-
picious of Communist objectives and offers of cooperation. The tendency
to distrust the domestic and international communist movements has been
encouraged by certain positive gestures of Western goodwill, such as the
substantial U.S. grain loan and the offers of technical aid made in 1951.
Since mid -1951 the more educated segments of Indian public opinion have
demonstrated a noticeable tendency to subject the Communist propaganda
line to a more critical scrutiny,,.,,,
All-India Peace Council.
The all -India peace movement is closely allied to the international
communist peace campaign which is directed by the World Congress of Partisans
of Peace. Resolutions of the Indian sub-section with minor exceptions, indistinguishable from those of the nterrnnationale'
body. However the world peace movement has in India certain special ad-
vantages, which the communists fully exploit. Among these are
aspects of Hinduism, popularized by Gandhi nd pacifist
and desire
ians to
remain aloof from international co roies, the
the latent most
Indian
sus-
picion of the motives of the Western powers -- a survival from colonial days.
Thus the communist peace offensive, which emphasizes the "peaceful desires
of the common people everywhere" and pretends to approach the problem of
peace from an objective point of view, but rich actually promotes a propa-
ganda campaign against "Anglo-American foreign policy," has had some in-
fluence in India, Nevertheless communist efforts to collect large numbers
of signatures for their Peace Recta, have met with little success.
The All Indian Peace Council, established originally ui)der the auspices
of the communist-controlled All-India Trades Union Con~,ress (AITUC), organized
the first All-India Peace Congress on November 2
gress., held in Calcutta was attended ' 1tes who This first Con-
Con-
represented 250 mass organizations, by 3industrialaand reportedly
comprising 75% of those present. Delegates from the icuural workers
lI onesia,
Burma, and China were also invited, but all of these delegations were pre-
vented from attending, either bym~their own governments or by Indian missions
abroad. The Congress adopted a "Statement of Peace" and elected a permanent
All India Peace Committee..
In October 1950 an All-India Peace Convention was held, ostensibly to
adopt a report to the second World Peace Congress and to elect delegates
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to represent India at the Congress. The convention elected a Preparatory
Committee headed by Dr. M. Atal for the second Al India Peace Congress.
The Preparatory Committee met monthly in early 1951 and through its powers
of co-option increased its membership from an original 14 to approximately
80. The March meeting of the committee endorsed the Five Power Peace Pact
Appeal and urged Prime Minister Nehru to invite the five Great Power lead-
ers to hold a peace conference in Delhi.
When the Government of India refused to revise its decision to ban
the holding of the second All India Peace Congress in Delhi in the spring
of 1951, the Communists' Preparatory Committee decided on an All India
Peace Convention in Bombay. The convention, which was held May 1111.,
1951, divided into four commissions on Organization, Indo-Pakistan Relations,
Colonies and Wars on Asian.Soil, and Cultural and Economic Cooperation.
The convention dissolved the 80-member Preparatory Committee and recon-
stituted it as the All-India Peace Council, which was to include repre-
sentatives from all the states, the total membership not to exceed M.
The following cfficers were elected: president, Dr. S. Kitchlew; vice
presidents, Dr? M, Atal, Dr. Mulk Raj Anand, Pritaviraj Kapoor, Prof,
Kosambi, and Sardar Gurbuksh Singh; and secretary, Krishan Chander. The
convention decided to hold the second-All-India Peace Congress in Delhi
in September 1951,
At about the same time the convention was held the Statement of Policy
of the Communist Party of India was published. In It the basic purposes
of the Indian peace effort were given:
One of the key tasks that faces us in defence of the people
is the building of the peace movement. We have to bring it to the
active consciousness of the masses that the ruling classes in
order to preserve their power, will ever be ready to embroil us,
the people, in a war so that we may give up our war against them
..... Re must fight for a pact of peace between Pakistan, India
and Ceylon, for banning of the Atom Bomb and for reduction of arma-
ments and military budgets. The peace movement must be made real
to the masses in terms of their own problems of land and bread, work
and wages and prosperity for all.
The peace movement must mobilize widest opposition to the
colonial wars waged by British, French, Dutch and American im-
perialists in South East Asia and prevent all direct and indirect
support to these imperialists given by the present Indian Govern-
ment,
In June 1951 the newly appointed Peace Council held a "Peace in
Korea Day" meeting. Three resolutions were passed which: 1) urged the
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Government of India to support the demand for withdrawal of all foreign
troops from Korea; 2) protested the refusal of the Government of India
to give permission to J. 09, Crowther, British scientist and prominent
fellow traveller, to come to India; 3) protested the intervention of the
British Government in the internal affairs of Iran.
At its July 1951 meeting in Bombay, the Peace Council discussed the
organization of sectional conferences including an All India Conference
of Women for Peace, an All India Cultural Conference for Peace, and a
Preparatory Committee, to discuss India's representation at the Inter-
national Economic Conference in Moscow sponsored by the World Peace
Council. The Council also:
1) Appealed to all major political parties to make the
issue of peace among nations one of the major planks
in their platforms;
2) Called on the Government of India to call a conference
of the powers concerned in the Korean dispute to press
for a settlement which would insure withdrawal of all
foreign troops from Korea and the right of all people
to determine their own affairs;
3) Denounced the Anglo--~4merican resolution in the UN con-
concerning Jammu and Kashmir and urged settlement of the
issue on the basis of the wishes of the people of the
state without recourse to arms, and. deplored the de-
cision of the United Nations to send Dr. Frank Graham
to the area as mediator in spite of India's opposition
to the Security Council resolution.
All India Progressive Writers' Association.
The All-India Progressive Writers' Association (AIPVPA)' was founded
in April 1936 as a group of left-wing writers supporting the movement
for independence. Originally this group looked for inspiration to the
coianunists and to the socialistically inclined literati of the West,
primarily because of their anti-imperialist philosophies. Following the
legalization of the CPI in 1942, however, CPI members exerted increas-
ing influence in the group and at the 4th Annual Conference of the
AIPWA held in Bombay in May 1943 it was resolved to translate and propa-
gate progressive foreign writings -- specifically., recent Soviet and
Chinese literature. The AIPVVA also resolved to organize literary and
cultural circles among industrial workers and peasants in order to link
itself with Indian folk literature and arts, and pledged itself to
cooperate with the Indian People's Theatre Association (see below). The
Communists soon gained complete control of the group but continued to
exert a wide influence among nationalist and progressive elements by the
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generalized nature of their appeal. Among the objectives of the
organization as set forth in its constitution in 1946 were 1) to
to produce and translate literature of a progressive nature; 2) to
fight against cultural reaction and in this way to further the
cause of Indian freedom and social regeneration; 3) to bring
literature and art into closest touch with the people and realities
of life; and 4) to develop an attitude of literary criticism which
would discourage reactionary and imitative tendencies and encourage
the spirit of progress.
Among the founders of the "progressive" writers movement in
India was Syed Sajjad Zhhir (until mid-1951, General Secretary of
the Comnunist Party of Pakistan). Prominent among the present mem-
bers of the AIWA are Dr. Mulk Raj Anand, Krishan Chander, Ali
Sardar Jafri, Ehtisham Husain, Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, and Ismat Chugtai.
While some of the leaders of the group, notably Dr. Mulk Raj Anand,
are not OPI members, they are fellow-travelers who have been active
in India in such coninninist ventures as the "peace movement."
The members of the AIPWA are generally prolific writers and in-
clude a number of talented poets, short story writers, novelists,
essayists and playwkights. Some of them, such as K. A. Abbas, Krishan
Chander, Rajendra Singh Bedi, Ismat Chugtai, and?Majruh Sultanpuri
have also been active in the Indian film industry writing screen plays,
dialogues,andlyrics. Some AIP(A members also write plays for the
Indian People's Theatre Association.
Since the beginning of the peace
movement" in India, members of the AIPWA have participated in cultural
programs presented at peace congresses, conferences, and meetings. On
these programs AIPWA members have rendered their own works often
poems and songs dealing with the struggle for peace. While most of the
members of the AIPWA are not even nationally known, some of the leaders
have substantial literary reputations in India and a few are known
internationally, through the translation of their works into foreign
languages.
No detailed information on the current organization of the associa-
tion is readily available, but in 1946 the AI PWA had provincial branches
in Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Bombay and local branches in Lahore,
Bhopal, Hyderabad City., Mangalore, and Gauhati. The AIPWA probably main-
tains all of these branches at the present time with the exception of
that at Lahore which is now a branch of the All-.Pakistan Progressive
Writers' Association. Other branches may also have been opened.
The work of the assaiation is directed by an executive committee
elected at the annual conference. The chief sources of income are
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ub ce~pthew ons donations, to b andemoney raised t u h liter functions
rk ddonationsIrom the CPf.
os of +~ appears finance through
The AIPVA publishes at least four literary journals: Parichaya (published
in Calcutta in the Gengali language), Na a Sahit as (published in Bombay
in Hindi), Naya Adab (published in Bo ay in UFO)., and Abhidya (published
in Vijayara , ormerly Bezwada in Telugu). These perioo have been
banned by the government from tine to time, but appear intermittently.
Indian People's Theatre Association
The People's Theatre Movement which originated in the U.S.S.R. and
was successfully tried in Spain and China, first made its appearance in
India in 1941 when a workers' theatre group was started in Bangalore. In
March 1912 the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) was formed.
Anil de Sof va Professor Daruwala, and Anant Kanekar were among the first
officers t'e organization.
The IPT specializes in producing and presenting coanuunist propaganda
plays. The first lair staged by the organization was entitled Dada and
was presented on May Day 191i2 to the mill workers of Bombay. Sific'e-then
many plays have been written and translated and many so s composed for the
IPTA. Many of the plays such as Bastu Vita (Birthplace by Digin Banerjee,
journalist on the Calcutta Anand Bazar FatrTka, and Mabhund. (Our Land) have
been banned by state or city governments, in addition some of the organiza-
tion's branches have been suppppressed and a number of its members arrested
and jailed under Public Safely Acts..
In 1 46 the IPTA entered the motion picture production field with a
full length documentary feature film entitled Dharti ke Lal (Children of
the E ) which dealt with famine in Bengal, While this is the only film
the organization has produced, some of its members, like David Abraham,
who became president of the Association in mid-1951, are well knevn film
artists, who exert considerable influence in the Indian film world.
The IPTA has branches throughout India -- in Bengal Bihar, Uttar
Pradesh, Bombay, Madras, Delhi, and the Punjab. All of these branches
have cooperated with the All India Peace Council and its provincial
peace committees. IPTA groups have been on hand at almost all peace con-
gresses and conferences to partidpate in the cultural programs that are
part of, every such event. In addition, the association periodically sends
groups of student-actors on tour to stage so-called "progressive" plays
in the villages, frequently depicting the sufferings. of under-privileged
groups, or attacking the domination of l andlords, money lenders or police
officials. Such groups often travel with a simple portable stage. The
movement has attracted a small group of college students and graduates, but
has not developed any large popular following to date.
All India
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All-India Friends of the Soviet Union
With headquarters in Bombaar and branches in Bombay, Calcutta, Lucknow,
Lashkar, Jamshedput, Muzaffarpur, Madanpalle, Nellore, Amritsar, Ahmadabad,
and Wardha, the All India Friends of the Soviet Union (AIFSU) is the Indian
equivalent of Sovje t friendship societies found throughout the world. It
was started in 142 and was sponsored by a group of persons including such
prominent people as Mrs. Vijayalakshimi Pandit, Rabindranath Tagore,
Sarojini Naidu, and Professor H. N. Mukerjee, Only Mukerjee is still active
in the organization. At the time that the AIFSU was launched, Congress
Party leadership was hopeful of Soviet support for the demand that Indian
independence be included as one of the Allied aims in World War II. Follow-
ing the imprisonment of the Congress Party leaders in the fall of 1942 how-
ever, the AIFSU became commppletel dominated by the communists. In 1950 the
general secretary was R. N. Jamsheker, who has been in Pra
where he is reported to act as the European representative of thsie e CPI. The
secretary is Ravi Mohan Bakayya,
The AFSU plays an important We in the distribution of Soviet and
communist ooks an periocj cal$. one of the first objectives of a newly
formed FSU branch is the opening of a library and reading room. The
libraries are stocked with both locally produced and imported communist
literature. The TASS news bulletins in English and the various Indian
languages are also on hand. Anyone is allowed to use the reading room but
only members may take books out of the libr . Persons obtaining literature
are encouraged to organize reading circles. The ISFU itself publishes a
mont journal in English called the Indo-Soviet Journal and FSU branches
not or y keep copies of it in their li a e , u so end FSU members
on house-to-house sales campaigns. Probably no more than 1,500 copies a
month are sold to members and others.
The AIFSU also plays a key role in the noncommercial exhibition of
films produced in the U.S.S.R., Communist China,and the Soviet satellite
countries. The first Soviet film to come to India was the Childhood of
Maxim Gorky presented to the AIFSU by the Soviet A11-Union Society for
Cultural Relations Abroad (VOKS), in 1944. With the arrival of this film
and the opening of an Indian branch of Asia Films of China, a firm en-
gaged in the distribution of Soviet films, the AIFSU launched its program
of showing communist films through FSU branches. In addition to
sponsor-
ing communist films, the AIFSU also agitates against the commercial show-
ing of anticommunist films.
The AIFSU also organizes exhibitions of photographs icturee, posters,
and books. Many of the exhibitions relating pp
from the Rumanian-Soviet Society to the U,S.~.R are received
VOKS. The AIFSU also produces loocal~ ateriaalllfor display inothetnumerousm
exhibitions which it sponsors. The exhibitions are customarily presented
in connection with the Soviet celebration of some ecial day or week such
ffs "Gorky Days" "Peace Week,'t '133rd Anniversary of he October Revolution"
Lenin ay, and International Children?s Day." s
Lectures
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Lectures form an important part of many FSU activities. Talks
are presented by outstanding communists and fellow-travelers from
abroad as well as from India. Among prominent foreign lecturers
have been D. N. Pritt, member of the Communist Party of Great Britain,
and Mrs. Jessie Street,, president of the Australian-Russian Society.
The AIFSU, as a communist front organization naturally participates
actively in many of the activities sponsored by tcie CPI or its fronts.
It has assisted woments organizations in the celebration of International
Women's Day, sponsored a Southeast Asia Women's Conference promoted the
Soviet-Cine Art Festivals held in 1950 in Bombay and Calcutta, and has
been extremely active in the "peace movement."
India-China Friendship Associations
In October 1950 an India-China Friendship Associations (ICFA) oraniz-
ing committee was formed in Calcutta with Satyapriya Banerjee, an AITUC
leader., and Promode Sen Gupta, a prominent worker in the "peace movement,t!
as prime movers. The association was formally inaugurated in February
,951. A number of communist intellectuals are among the members of the
ecutive Committee: Satyen Bose (professor and. scientist), Manik Bannerjee
(novelist), Probodh Sanyal (editor), Satyendra Nath Majumdar (editor),
0. C. Ganguli (art critic), and Probodh Bagehi (professor of Chinese studies
at Shantiniketen). Professor Ti ur Ch avarti was ele t d secretary
of the association. He is a member of the PI pprofessor of Chinese studies
at Shantiniketan, and a proprietor of New Publishers which is subsidized by
the Chinese Consulate General in Calcutta. This enterprise is the sole
sales agent of all Chinese Communist publications,
A meeting to organize an India-China Friendship Associations branch
in Bombay was convened in that city early in 1951 under the auspices of
a number of influential communists and fellow travelers. Among these were
Devati Pannikar (daughter of the Indian Ambassador to the People's Republic
of China), Mulk Raj and (Member of the AIMA and the India Peace
Council), It. K. Karanjia (editor of Blitz), Anil Biswas (member of the All-
India Peace Council Aruna Asaf Ali (former socialist leader expelled for
her communist sympathies)., and M. D. Japeth (president of the Indo-Israel
Association),. The association was formally inaugurated on may 15, 1951.
Similar assqciat ions have been :inaugurated in Dehra Dun (July 7, 1951) and
in Patiala (July 1951j, where Taractand Gupta, president of the PEPSU
(Patiala and East Punjab States Union) State Journalists' Association was
one of the organizers. It is probable that similar associations are being
started elsewhere.
The published objective of the ICFA is to foster friendship between
India and Communist China. In attempting to do so the various branches
of the association organize lectures and discussions, publish and dis-
tribute literature, arrange goodwill missions, and entertain Chinese
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visitors whom they place in contact with Indians and Indian institutions.
Membership in the ICFA is open to all, and every effort is made to attract
persons of divergent political beliefs. Control of the association, how-
ever, is entirely in the hands of CPI members or sympathizers. It is be-
lieved that the Chinese Embassy and Consulates not only provide it with
literature, films, exhibitions, and speakers, but also contribute financial
support,
In addition to the above communist-controlled a`ganizations there are
a number of others among which the largest and most important are the All-
India Kisan Sabha, representing peasants; the All India Trade Union
Congress; the Democratic Youth League- the Mahila Atma Raksha Samiti (Women's
Protective Association)., which is act iv; ve among women workers an re ugees;
and the All -India Students' Federation. Besides these organizations, all of
which have branches and affiliates throughout the country, there are numerous
others, representing various socio-economic or political groups such as
youth, labor, women's, student, untouchable, professional and cultural, which
are infiltrated or controlled by communists,
Organization of labor
Primary Organizations -- Although only a small percentage of the Indian
labor force is unionized India's position as the world's eighth largest
industrial nation, and th'e country s vast industrial expansion program will
probably open the way for stronger. and more politically active labor unions,
At the end of March 194.9, there were 3,150 workers' and e 1
tions registered in India under the Indian Trade Unions Act ofe1926.rAtt least
3,000 of these were workers' organizations. There were, in addition, an un-
determined number of labor organizations not registered under the act.
Of the approximately 3,000 registered labor unions, 1,813 or about
60% reported a combined membership of about 1,915,000 workers. At least
a third of the railway employees were unionized. The states of Bombay and
West Bengal with the more important manufacturing centers and the large
terminals of land and sea transportation are the greatest strongholds of
organized labor in India but the states of Madras and Uttar Pradesh also
are important centers. Most officials of the relatively large unions are
high officials of political parties, from which they
a large portion of their income for services currentyy rendered in both
the political and labor fields,, A number of the outstanding labor leaders
are in the legislatures of the central and state governments, these,
Khandubhai Desai and Hariharnath Shastri are members of the UnionoParliament,
while Deven Sen and Suresh Chandra Banerjee are members of the Bengal legis
lative Assembly. Apart from their formal party differences, most of the
officials of the larger unions in India are proponents of a socialist state
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and are intellectuals rather than laborers. As a result of the poverty
and general illiteracy of the people, leadership in the labor organiza-
tions has come predominantly from above and outside rather than up from
within the unions.
Federations -- The majority of primary labor organizations in India
belong`fo ere erations of unions, usually supported by one political party.
The largest and most inclusive federations which affiliate to themselves
unions from all over India and from every industry are the Indian National,
Trade Union Congress (INTUC , the AllriIndia Trade Union Congress the Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), and. the United Trade Union Congress(UTUC).
Proposals for "united fronts" and even organizational unity are heard in
India from time to time. In 1951 the Communist Party in India appeared
? to deemphasize its previous policy of direct action and violence and to
favor a united front with other groups. This approach is now being fol-
lowed by the AITUC which has, in the Labor Relations Bill and the Trade
Unions Bill now before the central legislature, a major issue upon which
to unite a great segment of organized labor,
C, 1)
INTUC -- the Indian National Trade Union Congress., or
the htri Mazdoor K res (National Labor Congress)
as iRass also . own, s e argest federation of labor
organization in India, It is organized primarily by in-
dustry, with its strongest representation in manufactur-
ing, ransportation, and agriculture. At the end of
October 1950 it claimed a membership of 1,106 unions repre-
senting 1,li3!,258 employees.
INTUC is sponsored by the Congress Party and follows the
party's principle of conciliation and arbitration in
preference to strikes; the failure of the machinery set
up by the central and state governments under various
enactments to bring about speedy and satisfactory settle-
ments of trade disputes has drawn the strong criticism
of that organization. The INTUC, however, does not hesi-
tate to criticize the Congress Government for its slow-
ness in setting up effective labor legislation. Through
the government's recognition of the INTUC for representa-
tion on all labor committees, moreover, its affiliates
are able to participate in the formulation of national
policy.
On the international level, INTUC is associated with the
ICFTU and has taken the lead in organizing an Asian
Federation of Labor, v&ich is expected to be reorganized
at the regional ICFTU conference in Karachi, on May 28-
31, 1951.
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(2) AITUC --
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(2) AITUC -- the All India Trade Union Congress was the
largest federation of labor organizations in India
prior to the founding of the INTUC in 1947. Like
the INTUC, the AITUC is organized chiefly by in-
dustry, with its main strength reportedly in textiles,
In the early part of 1951, however, AITUC could claim
a membership of only 729 unions representing 706,194
workers as compared with INTUC's 1,106 unions with a
combined membership of 1,434,25$. AITUC, now communist-
:controlled, has affiliates in all parts of the country,
but Bombay and West Bengal are its strongholds. Among
some of the larger communist-led unions affiliated with
the AITUC are the Girni Kamgar, Bombay, and the South
Indian Railway union.
Holding top positions in the AITUC for several years have been
S. A. Danger S. S. Mirajkar C. Chettiar, S. S. Yusaf, Manek Gandhi,
Shanta Mukhurji, and K. N. Joglekar. The last two are members of the
Forward Bloc while the others are Communist Party members. Many of
the communist leaders of AITUC have been Jailed by various state govern-
ments for their disruptive activities and the AITUC has operated in the
last two years with only a small staff. With most members in prison or
"underground", meetings of the Working Committee and the General Council
have been scheduled infrequently and have been poorly attended.
No more than twelve of the delegates attending the last General Session
of the AITUC were non-communist; the rest were communists or communist
sympathizers. That the session was a communist affair is clearly indicated
by the content of the numerous resolutions passed by it. A resolution, con-
veying the greetings of the AITUC to the people of China "on the eve of
his historic success against the reactionary Kuomintang forces and their
mates, the American imperialists" was made by a Working Committee member
who stated that the victories scored by the Liberation Army in China
heralded the "dawn of freedom" of the Southeast Asian countries. (4b.-24)
The Hind Mazdoor Sabha is about the same size as AITUC. At the end
of December 1950 it claimed a membership of 464 unions representing ap-
proximately 703,000 workers, chiefly from the manufacturing, particularly
cotton textiles, and the transportation industries. Also present in the
organization are a group of Trotskyites communists and the left wingers
who go under the name of Bolshevik- i nin-jsts. Among the latter is Anthony
Pillai. R. S. Ruikar, who was president of HMS until he left the organiza-
tion early in 1951 to join the United Front with the communist AITUC was
a member of the Forward Bloc party.
Government Attitude and Policy -- The government's attitude toward
labor is pa erna list c arid soci stic. There is a real desire to improve
working conditions and provide basic social security. There is also a
great distrust of the unions as qualified agents to effect such improve-
ments. Yet, because the party in power is keenly aware of the importance
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of the labor vote in the first general election scheduled under the new
constitution for the fall of 1951, its agents have tried to avoid un-
necessarily antagonizing the unions. India's Labor Minister, Jagjivan
Ram, an "untouchable", again and again has stressed the theme of labor
as a "partner" in industry, and has reminded the unions that it was the
government which, by amending the Trade Union Act, compelled employers
to recognize and to negotiate with trade unions.....
The central government is more favourable to labor than are the state
governments, which are more open to opposition from employer groups. This
results in the loose plementation of labor laws passed by the central
government." ()4i--19-2
Other radical leftist parties
Between the Socialist Party and the Communist Party are a number of
small radical leftist splinter parties, most of which are located in West
Bengal. Virtually all of these parties combine some elements of communist
or socialist ideology with a virulent nationalism.
Bengal's political history reveals a paradoxical combination of con-
servatism, docility, and adaptability with a strong and respected tradition
of radical idealism, anarchism, and revolution. Bengal's nationalist anarchist
movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was the fore-
runner and inspiration of the radical Forward Bloc movement which developed
within the Congress Party under the leadership of Subhas Chandra Bose in
the late 19301x. The Forward Bloc's advocacy of the use of violence in the
struggle for independence constituted a direct challenge to the Gandhian
principles then being followed by the party and resulted in the ejection of
Bose and his supporters. During World War II Bose, who escaped to Germany
and then proceeded to Japan, helped organize Indian soldiers captured by
the Japanese in China Malaya, and Burma, together with a number of Indians
in Southeast Asia, into an Indian National Army (I NA) with the objectives
of winning Indian independence with Japanese milita support. Bose died
in an airplane crash in Indochina in the fall of 1919 but the British brought
a number of the INA officers to trial. This move was generally unpopular
in India and particularly in Bengal where Bose was regarded as a hero. As
a result most of the defendants were simply denied the right to return to
the regular Indian Army and a number of them subsequently became active among
left wing splinter groups, particularly in Bengal.
In addition to a revolutionary and extreme nationalist tradition,, India's
radical left wing groups exhibit to a marked degree the same tendency towards
political splintering which is increasingly becoming a characteristic of general
I ndiai political prganization. Personal rivalries and conflicts over ideological
differences --- often over relatively minor points --- have caused a successive
splitting of the left, resulting in the formation of a multitude of groups, none
of them individually very strong,
Since independence various leftist leaders have attempted to unite some
of these groups or to provide an effective basis for their cooperation. Although
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most of them can on occasion cooperate on a political issue, as demonstrated
in the 1950 elections in Howra.h, West Bengal, a full united front of all
leftists has proved impossible, One of the main issues contributing to
leftist division during the past few years and thwarting efforts at unity
has been disagreement over cooperation with the CPI,
Parties prepared to cooperate with the CPI
United Socialist Organization of India -- The USOI was launched on
October 30, 1949 as a result of the efforts of Sarat Chandra Bose, younger
brother of Subhas, to enhance his own political influence by achieving a union
of as many leftist groups as possible, Sarat Chandra Bose left the Congress
Party in 1947. Since Sarat had been earlier associated more with the moderate
than with the radical elements in the nationalist movement, and it was sur-
mised that his departure from the Congress Party was in resentment over not
being offered a Cabinet or equally important post in the government. While
serving as one of the lawyers provided by the Congress Party to defend the
INA prisoners he had built up his political reputation, and when he returned
to West Bengal in 1947 he began to take up leadership among the leftists in
the name of his brother Subhas. Sarat first attempted to organize the leftists
by launching the Socialist Republican Party which he apparently hoped would
have such broad popular appeal that it would attract not only all of the Forward
Bloc and the INA, but the support of most of the other leftist groups as well.
The Socialist Republican Party, however, turned out to be little more than
another leftist party and the preference of most leftist groups for the reten-
tion of their individual identities led Bose eventually to organize the USOI1,
which he envisaged as an organization in which all leftist groups would be
represented and through which they -would cooperate on policy matters. Both the
Socialist and Communist parties as well as all the smaller parties of the left
were invited to participate. At the time, the CFI was following a policy which
excluded cooperation with any other party. The Socialists expressed an interest
but refused to join as long as the CPI was being invited. A number of the minor
leftist parties, however, cooperated in forming the USE. On the death of Bose
in the spring of 1950 the presidency of the organization passed to General
Mohan Singh, a prominent leader of both the Forward Bloc and the INA,
The USOI is a loose working arrangement of the Socialist Republican Party,
Forward Bloc (Marxist), Revolutionary Socialist Party Bolshevik Party of
India, Revolutionary Communist Party (Das Gupta ~t
Center. ~'~ 3 s and Socialist Unity
Other political organizations such as the Workers' and Peasants'
League, United Trade Union Congress the West Bengal branch of the AllIndia
United Kisan Sabha, and the Indian rational Army also belong. The object
of the coalition continues to be the avoidance of conflict among leftist
groups and the maintenance of a united opposition to the Congress Party. In
addition to supporting the candidates of its constituent parties in the last
election the USOI ran some of these under its own name and also supported some
independents. The main features of the USOI's program include: socialized
ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange; severance of
the Commonwealth tie; abolition of landlordism without compensation; and in-
corporation into the state of West Bengal of all contiguous Bengali-speaking
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areas. The decision of the CFI to cooperate with other leftist groups
has posed a problem. Some elements in the USOI claim that the CPI
cannot be trusted in view of its earlier policy, and are wary of direct
co mnunis t participation in their organization, but the majority appear
to favor cooperation.
Socialist Republican Party of India -- The SRPI has perhaps 10,000 to
15,000 members throughout India, but is largely concentrated in West Bengal
and Bihar among middle class and industrial labor groups. when this party
was founded by Sarat Chandra Bose it included the Forward Bloc and the INA,
who retained their individual identities, and a miscellaneous group of
moderates and leftists, who resented the partition of West Bengal and looked
to Bose's leadership to launch an effective challenge to the Congress Party.
The SRPI never became strong and with the death of Bose,, the Forward Bloc
and INA group proceeded to function quite independently and a number of mem-
bers drifted away leaving only a central core of party organizftion and
some admirers of Subhas Chandra Bose. The part has retained clost ties with
the Marxist wing of the Forward Bloc and like the latter has shown a willing-
ness to cooperate with the CPI in an anti-Congress "united front." Jyotish
Joardar is General Secretary and the SRPI's representative on the organizing
committee of the US(I. Other leaders include Jitendra Nath Ghosh and
Arunanshu Bhowmik, secretary of the SRPI Students' Union.
The party retains the same basic objectives laid down by Sarat Chandra
Bose at its founds but there has been some modification in emphasis. His
program included: 1) the co lete independence of India, free from British
or any other forei ties, 2) the ending of autocratic rule in the Indian
princely states, 3)the abolition of landlordism and the complete repudia-
tion of rural debts, and Li) the reunion of India and Pakistan on the basis
of a Union of Socialist Republics based on linguistic groupings. Since 1919,
when Bose decided to organize the USCI, the party has tended to play down
its own particular ideology in favor of cooperating in a united front of
leftists and nationalists directed against the reactionary forces in the
Congress Party. The SRPI continues to oppose the partition of the subcontinent
and to favor the severance of commonwealth ties and the formation of an Asian
bloc under Indian leadership.
The All India Forward Bloc (Marxist) The Forward Bloc was founded in
the late 1930's as a mi an nationalist wing within the Congress Party by
Subhas Chandra Bose. Following the ejection of the group from the Congress
Party in 1940, it continued to advocate the achievement of independence by
direct methods, including the rise of violence.
Bose's efforts to organize an Indian National Army in southeast Asia
during the war and his subsequent death converted him into a nationalist
hero. (He is frequently referred to as Netaji, his title of leadership with
the INA.) At the end of the war the Forward Bloc opposed the Congress Party
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and and demanded the restoration of all Indian National Army officers and men
to their former positions in the Indian army. In 1947 the Forward Bloc
issued a program which in addition to its demands in behalf of the INA in-
cluded. the following: 1) complete Indianization of the army and the police,
2) strengthening of the army and the adoption of an extensive scheme of
military training; 3) end of all cooperation with the United Kingdom, 4)
formation of an Asian union to force the expulsion of Europeans and Americans,
liberate the colonial areas, and work to prevent the suppression of Japan
or Germany by the United States, the Soviet Union, or the United Kingdom,
5) cooperation of all leftist forces in opposition to the Congress Party,
and 6) cultivation of the widest possible popular support through workers',
peasants and students' organizations.
A struggle for leadership within the Forward Bloc eventually resulted
in an open split between Shilbadra S. Yagee and R. S. Ruikar in December
1948 over the question of seeking cooperation with the CPI. The majority
of the party under the leadership of Shilbadra Yagee formed a Marxist wing
which stressed the prime importance of cooperation among all leftist elements,
This wing has played a major role in the USOI and in the United Trade Union
Congress. Both the Marxist (Yagee) and Ruikar (or Subhasist) wings appeal
to the memory of Subhas Chandra Bose and hold much of their program in com-
mon. Policies common to both grows include: 1) opposition p pposition to the Con
Party, 2) nationalization of industries, 3) abolition of zamindara (land-
lordism) without compensation, and 4) full civil liberties or all, In addi-
tion the Yagee group advocates labor's right to strike, the right of the
civil population to carry arms and the need to prepare for a social revo-
lution.
The Forward Bloc (Marxist) group polled almost one million votes in the
election td the House of the People, but elected only one of its 24 candidates.
In the state elections it fared somewhat better, electing 14 candidates as
co ared to 3 won by the Ruikar group. Of these 14 candidates, 10 are in
West Bengal.
Another prominent leader of the Yagee group is General Mohan Singh of
the INA, who on his release followin trial first organized the Desh Sewak
Sena (Army of the Servants of the Nation) in the Pun ab, and then became
increasingly prominent in the Forward Bloc and the UOI. Other leaders in-
clude Colonel Gurbaksh S. Dhillon, also of the I NA., Satyapriya Banerji,
Debnath Das, Asoka Ghosh and Sushil Roy.
Revolutionary Socialist Party of India -- The RSPI, a selfPstyled biarxi.st-
Leninist group which dates back to the 19301s, claims an active membership
of between 2:000 and 4,Ooo. In addition to a central core of 4O0 to
bers in the Calcutta area there are affiliated branches in other partsOofmWest
Bengal as well as in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and the Tam.ilnad areas of Madras
and Travancore-Cochin. The party prides itself on its orthodox Leninism in
contrast to the Stalinism of the CPI. Although it has been prepared to cooperate
with the CPI on occasion, particularly in election alliances directed against
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the Congress Party, it is keen to retain its own identity. It was active
in the United Trade Union Congress with the express purpose of counter-
ing both the socialist influence of the Hind Mazdoor Sabha and the com-
munist influence of the All India Trade Union Congress. Like all other
leftist groups the party has concentrated on developing labor, peasant,
and student organizations. In addition to its activities in the United
Congress, it has cooperated with the Kisan Sabha (Peasant Organization)
in Uttar Pradesh, is attempting to revitalize the organization of the de-
ceased peasant leader, Swami. Sahajanand Saraswati, and is cooperating
with the Ruikar wing of the Forward Bloc in directing the All Bengal
Students' Congress.
The RSPI advocates the inauguration of a Socialist state, liberation
of colonial areas and a union of Asia directed against Western imperialism.
In view of its small size the party made a fair showing at the ppolls in the
1951-52 elections to the House of the People. It received 400,000 votes
and elected 2 of its 8 candidates to the central legislature. In the state
elections it elected one of its candidates in Uttar Pradesh, cooperating
with the USOI in the Bengal elections and with the CPI in the Tamilnad area
of Madras.
The present leader of the party is Jogesh Chandra Chatterji. Other
prominent personalities include: Tridib Chaudhri, Kesav Prasad Sharma,
Thakur Mar .bans Singh, Ramen Roy, and Kanten Nair.
Socialist Unity Center (SUC) -- The SUC is a small faction which seceded
from tfi'e-ItSP=n Favor o croser cooperation with the CPI. As a result it has
become a thoroughgoing communist front organization. The SUC has a relatively
small active membership of perhaps 1,000 to 2 000 with a few thousand ad-
herents. Most of its support is among students, refugees, and labor in the
Calcutta area, among oil-field workers in Assam., and coal field workers in
Bihar and Orissa. The party's General Secretary is Sibdas Ghosh. Other im-
portant leaders are Subodh Bannerjee, editor of Ganadebi, the party newspaper,
Mikar Mukherji, and Sukomal Das Gupta, General Secretary of the SUC's Students'
Bureau.
Revolutionary Communist Part of India (Das Gupta Grow) -- The RCFI
is a Trotskyite party dating back the ear y days o communism in India.
The expulsion of Trotsky and his followers from the Communist Party of the
Soviet Union led to a division among the Indian communists with one group
sympathizing with Trotsky and opposing Stalin's theory of a two-stage revo-
lution. This group centered among Bengalis in Calcutta, who organized them-
selves as the Bolshevik-Leninist Party (BLP). The party gained strength
among migrant Bengalis in Assam in the early 1930's. It supported Bengali
expansion in Assam through strong arm methods directed against the Assamese.
These tactics were defended on the grounds that the Assamese were supporting
British power and that the only hope of organizing the nationalist struggle
in this corner of India lay in large immigrations from Bengal and the develop-
ment of a militant Bengali movement.
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During the late 1930's, when the CPI was following a "united front"
policy and supporting the Indian nationalist movement, the BLP cooperated
with the CPI. With the signing of the Hitler-Stalin pact, however, rela-
tions between the two parties were once again strained. During the early
part of World War II, when Indian demands for British guarantee of in-
dependence were gaining in strength, the BLP changed its name to the Revo-
lutionary Communist Party of India (RCPI) and began to organize acts of
sabotage with the announced objective of forcing the British to agree to
India's independence and of thus converting the war in India from an "im-
perialist" to a "people's" war.
Following independence the RCPI split in 1948 over the question of
the continued use of violent tactics. The extremists under Pannalal Das
Gupta advocated "violent tactics for the overthrow of the Congress Party
Government" which it blamed for the partition of Bengal and for selling
out to reactionary "big business" and landlords. While the activities
of this faction have been somewhat obscure in the past few years, it appears
to have been cooperating with some militant elements in the Bharatiya Jan
Sangh to exploit the discontent of refugees from East Pakistan and to have
organized some border incidents, presumably to serve as a warning to East
Pakistan. It has also been particularly active in Assam where it has con-
tinued to organize disaffected Bengalis in the now largely Assamese Congress
Party government of the state and also has attempted to organize the Tribals
of the bordering hill areas against the Assamese of the valley and their
government. During this same period, 19h8 to 1951, the CPI was also follow-
ing a policy of violence and subversion directed against the Congress Party
government. Despite the ideological differences between the CPI and the
Das Gupta faction of the RCPT the latter appears to have cooperated closely
with the CPI in efforts to whip up discontent among the Tribals of Assam
and to elude the government's military countermeasures. The Das Gupta
group is essentially a terrorist organization in the militant nationalist
tradition of Bengal. Although the group has defied communist discipline
and resisted past CPI efforts at control the CPI can be expected to con-
tinue to cultivate and utilize the activities of this group in connection
with the CPI's own undercover program of sabotage and subversion.
The Das Gupta wing of the ROPI claims a membership of 10,000 and al-
though it is the larger faction within the party, it probably has an active
membership of less than 2,000. It polled only 26,000 votes in the 1951-52
elections and none of its candidates were successful. In addition to Das
Gupta its prominent leaders include: Hena Ganguli, reported to be second
in command of the terrorist wing; Dr. Jyotirmy Gupta, leader of the party's
medical squad; and Khagen Barbarua, believed to have led the RCPI's terrorist
campaign in the Tribal areas of the Sibsagar district of Assam in later 1950.
Bolshevik Party in India -- The BFI is a Trotskyite communist party
which ciMs to follow a more "correct" communist line than the CPI itself.
Originally part of the Bolshevik-Lenist Party of India, it split from the
parent group to form the Labor Party of India and finally adopted its present
name in 1910. when it accepted the principles of the Fourth International. The
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party is small, less than 1,000 active members, but has some support among
the Bengal jute mill workers. The party ran a candidate for the House of
the People in the 1951-52 elections, who polled almost 26,000 votes but was
unsuccessful. Major emphasis of the party has been on revolutionary activity
and it attempts to influence other groups to adopt violent tactics. In 1950
party leaders attempted to incite strikes and sabotage in the Calcutta area
as a protest against what it termed Western intervention in Korea. Leaders
of the party include Sisir Roy General Secretary; Ranen Ghosh, Assistant
to Roy; Biswanath Dubey, Secretary; and Dukhi Ram, and Sudhir Dutta, press
agents.
Indian Nations Army -- The INA is an organization of former members
of the army organize by 04blias. Chadra Bose in World War II to achieve
the liberation of India with Japanese aid, primarily organized to assist
its members and protect their interests. It is politically significant
because a number of its leaders revere the revolutionary tradition of their
former leader Subhas Bose and because they have been active in cooperating
with elements in the leftist movement. Among its members are General Mohan
Singh, Colonel Dhillon, and Debnath Das, who have already been mentioned
as prominent in the Forward Bloc (Marxist) and the USOI. In addition there
are several politically active leaders who advocate close cooperation with
the CPI, notably Promode Sen Gupta -- active in the Bolshevik Party of India
--- J. K. Banerji, and Bela Mitra.
Peasants' and Workers' Party -- The Peasants' and Workers' Party is a
radicarrrtist party tha is n r Bengali nor associated with the USOI.
Organized in 19 1.5, the Peasants' and Workers' Party is located principally
in the Maharashtra region of Bombay and Hyderabad. The party's membership
is estimated to be less than 1,000 but this is because membership is largely
confined to actual organizers who are recruited for their readiness to work
for party ideals., and who are expected to volunteer most of their services
and exist on a subsistence allowance. The party's program is designed to ap-
peal to those labor and peasant elements who have been active in labor and
peasant movements of the past and vho were prepared to engage in sabotage
against the British during World War II and to organize independent local
governments in defiance of the established authorities. Accordingly this
program is a non Brahman, leftist-reform, intensely nationalistic program,
advocating provincial reorganization on a linguistic basis, the formation
of a Peasants' and Workers' government, and opposition to Western imperialism,
including withdrawal from the Commonwealth.
The party is one of the largest of the radical left parties- it polled
around a million votes in the elections for the House of the People, won two
seats in the central legislature, and 26 in the state legislatures -- 1 in
Bombay, 2 in Madhya Pradesh, and 10 in Hyderabad. The party accepts Marxism
but opposes accepting the guidance of the CFI, preferring to retain its own
identity and to make its own decisions on policies and tactics. In 1950 the
party decided to accept the Cominform directive to organize the struggles of
workers and peasants but split over the question of the use cf violence. The
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bulk of the party under the leadership of S, S. More favored peaceful
methods of organization. Although it opposed cooperation with the CPI
in 1950 when the latter was following a policy of violence, in 1951 it
welcomed the CPIfs change in policy and endorsed the CPI's election
manifesto, so that for the present at least this group is prepared to
cooperate with the CPI. However, a small element of the party under
the leadership of Datta Deshmuukh and Rana Patil resembles the Das Gupta
group of the RCPI in its strong preference for violence. This group
favored cooperation with the CPI in 1950 and has been sharply critical
of the CPI's shift in tactics in 1951. Nevertheless this wing would
probably be prepared to cooperate with the CPI in-any underground pro-
I ram of subversion and violence. The Deshmn_zkh group is called the Kisan
amgar Party and won 3 seats in the Bombay legislature.
Leftist Parties opposed to coope ration with the CPI
Forward Bloc (Ruikar or Subhasist) -- This branch of the Forward
Bloc is weaker than the Marxist wing, but it polled 140,OOO votes in the
1951-52 elections and succeeded in getting three of its candidates elected
to the state legislatures in West Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa, respectively.
Although the Ruikar group are opposed to the Congress Party government and
share much the same social and political objectives as the Marxist wing,
including the objection to Commonwealth ties, they are highly nationalistic
and oppose any organizational cooperation with the CPI. Ruikar, the General
Secretary, stated in an interview early in 1951 that he was opposed to dic-
tatorship of both the Soviet Union and CPI variety and that he rejected the
Marxist materialistic interpretation of history. Active membership of the
party, which is largely concentrated in West Bengal and the adjoining states
of Bihar and Orissa, is estimated at less than 1,000. In addition to Ruikar
some of the more prominent leaders include: Leela Roy and her husband, Anil
Roy; Professor Kanailal Bhattacharji, Secretary; Ajit Biswa, and Subodh Ghosh.
Revolutionary Communist Party (Tagore Group) -- This group, under
the leadership o ounyen rang Tagore broke wit as Gupta wing of the
pay when the former advocated resort to terrorist and violent tactics in
19 . It is suspicious of boviet intentions, is anti-Stalinist and believes
in a nationalist type of communism. It is the smaller wing of the party with
an estimated active membership of less than 1,000 in Assam and Bengal, but
it has some influence among intellectual circles.
National Synthesis Party (NSP) -- The NSP is extremely weak, having
been founded bnnlin Iy-51 in Calcutta. It is primarily controlled by a few
disciples of Subhas Chandras Bose, who are opposed to violence and are primarily
nationalists. It has cooperated with the Tagore group of the RCPT and the
Ruiker group f the Forward Bloc. The party leaders are Satyaranjan Bakshi and
Tulai Charan Uoswamy.
Radical Humanist Party -- M, N. Roy, well-know ex-Communist, heads
this small party which has some following in intellectual and white collar
circles. Roy is a bitter critic of the Congress Party and advocates a special
type of communism with a strong emphasis on humanism. Opposed to the theory
of revolution he favors trying to goad government, public opinion, and the
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middle class into providing the basis for a strong society and into
inaugurating reforms within the existing structure of government. Alert
to the imperialist objectives of the Soviet Union and to its tactics
of working through local communist groups, Roy advocates close Indian
friendship with the United States.
The Communist Party at the Polls
The party put on quite an impressive publicity and intensive election-
eering campaign in 1951-52 elections. This together with CFIts effective
exploitation of a certain general dissatisfaction with the record of the
Congress Party government appear to have been the major factors that con-
tributed to the CPI success. Much of the vote must be considered as a pro-
test vote against the Congress Party rather than a conscious choice of the
communist platform. Not hampered by concern over fulfilling its program the
CPI promised immediate solutions to a number of major problems: larger food
rations, free distribution of land, increased housing facilities, and prompt
dismissal of all grafters. Secondary factors included the united front
effort and other electoral alliances which gave valuable aid in some instances.
The Communist Party also gained a few seats because of support lost to the
Congress by the splintering of the vote.
In view of the general features of the OPI campaign it is not surprising
that the party's major successes were in south India where regional senti-
ments are the strongest and where corruption and strife within the Congress
Party were reinforced by the particularly stringent food position, and in
Hyderabad and Malabar where the same factors were reinforced by the burdensome
system of land tenure. In Bombay, Punjab, and PEPSU the CPI's moderate en-
deavors met with little success and in the rest of India the party is not yet
politically important.
The CPI success in the Warangal and Nalgonda districts, the Telinganda
(Telugu-speaking) part of Hyderabad, was particularly important as this area
was the center of communist terrorism between 191.8 and 1950. In some of this
region the CFI had forcefully redistributed land and successfully established
"parallel governments," substituting their own appointees for local officials.
The CPI victory was particularly disappointing to the Congress Party as
governmental efforts to liquidate the communist rebels were believed to have
been generally successful and it had hoped that communist terrorism had
alienated the people. This hope was not borne out and in one constituency a
communist leader was elected to the House of the People with the largest vote
prcentage of any constituency in India, There is evidence of some coore3on
ye the communists but it is impossible to tell how important this was to their
electoral success.
In the State of Madras the Communist Party gains were principally in
Andhra,, Kerala (Malabar Coast), and the Tanjore area of Tamilna.d -- three
areas that are quite widely separated and well-differentiated from each other
economically, culturally, and politically. The Communist Party fully snpported
the local demand for the formation of a new state of Andhradesa, exploited
the popular dissatisfaction with the Madras state administration, which had
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been widely criticized for its grain procurement program and accused of
extensive corruption, and put on an intensive grass roots campaign.
Party workers visited every rural area, personally interviewed a great
number of people, made innumerable speeches, and on the day of the
election saw to it that their supporters went to the polls. On the
Malabar coast the CPI has a fairly long history of sustained political
effort under the leadership of A. K. Gopalan, a member of the Political
Bureau of the CPI, and the party won support for its advocacy of a Kerala
state for the Malayalam speaking populations. In Tamilnad the CPI was
not able to form a large united front but did get an election alliance
with the anti-Brahman, sectionalist Dravidian Federation , which did not
enter separate candidates in the election. Of the 13 successful Communist
Party candidates to the Madras Assembly from Tamilnad, 10 were officially
supported by the Dravidian Federation.
The same basic reasons of Congress division, and exploitation of
regional and economic problems, and intensive campaigning are responsible
for the Communist Party victories in Travancore-Cochin. In the state the
party members filed nominations as independents and campaigned as the
United Front of Leftists composed of the CFI1 the Revolutionary Socialist
Party, and the Kerala Socialist Party (not a part of the Socialist Party
of India). Travancore-Cochin,, with the highest density of population in
India, faces especially acute food and employment problems. It regularly
must import a substantial amount of its grain supply and the governmentts
drastic cut of the ration as a result of the serious decline in grain
production in 1951 was sharply resented. Furthermore the state's unusually
high literacy rate gave the communists an opportunity to make extensive
use of inexpensive propaganda materials? much of which was in local languages
and brought in from outside India. It has been reported that during the
campaign there was a prominent display of communist propaganda books and
pamphlets.
The other centers of communist success were in West Bengal and Tripura,
The Communist Party received about 11% of the vote and seats in West Bengal
and but for the inability of the different leftist groups to unite the CPI
would probably have done better. The Revolutionary Communist Party (Das
Gupta group), the Revolutionary Socialists, the Forward Bloc (Marxist), and
the United Socialist Organization of India -- all parties sympathetic to
the Communist Party but not directly allied -- gained nearly a half million
votes and 15 seats in the West Bengatstate legislature. The major source
of CFI strength in Bengal lies in the party-controlled labor unions, The
CPI's success in electing delegates to the Tripura electoral college* is
indicative of the communist threat in this isolated hill area strategically
located near the Burma border,
The Communist Party strength in number of votes and seats won, ranging
between 4,5% and 7% at both the center and in the states, is not large when
compared with the Congress Party victory. However, the CPI electoral suc-
cesses undoubtedly have been an important asset to inner party discipline
and
Tripura, a "C" state administered by the central government has
no legislative assembly but its popularly elected electoral college
participates in the indirect elections for the central Council of
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43-
and the party's effectiveness as a united political force is greatly en-
hanced. An important percentage of Indian public opinion has leftist lean-
ings. Out of about 92,540,000 votes cast in the elections to the state
assemblies, approximately one-fourth were for parties to the left of the
Congress Party, ranging from the Socialists to the CPI. Among this group
the number of dissidents without settled political affiliations is sizable.
The real danger is that the Communist Party with its greater organizing
ability and its strong sense of destiny will become the focal point of most
of the dissident elements. The strength of the party in Madras and
Travancore-Cochin is such as to make stable governments difficult. Emergency
rule of the states under Article 356 of the Constitution is possible but the
CPI might then gain even greater support by casting the central government
in the role of oppressor and by playing upon the distrust of state versus
central government and the traditional friction between south and north.
In the House of the People the number of seats controlled by the CPI is too
small to handicap the passage of legislation, but as a number of the members
are extremely vocal they are assured of the widest kind of hearing for their
party views and propaganda and for their attempts to harass and embarrass
the government, (53 -13)
The Communist Party of India is still relatively small and is not in a
position to oust the present government. Nevertheless its vociferous ex-
ploitation of these bases of urban and rural discontent enabled it to score
some impressive victories.during the 195152. elections, particularly in South
India. The CPI has been drawing its main body of recruits and organizers
from the ranks of students and discontented middle-class elements, who in turn
are used to exploit the broader situation of ruralp urban or regional dis-
content. The grievances which the Communists exploit range from grain pro-
curement, the quality and size of the food ration, and burdensome rents and
terms of tenancy, to issues involving regional sentiment and pride. But in
virtually all of these cases, the Communists have also been exploiting the
lack of contact between Congress Party government officials and the ordinary
citizen, particularly in rural areas. The present contacts between govern-
ment officials and the rural public are still largely confined to land revenue
and grain collection and the exercise of police duties, with the result that
in the villages the government is still widely regarded as an outside force
imposing its will on the public. (555)
Tenant grievances against the landlords have long constituted one of
the most popular issues for political agitation in rural areas. Before in-
dependence the Congress Party took the lead in ventilating these grievances,
but now that the Congress Party land reform program has begun to fall short
of the highly optimistic expectations of pre-independence days the Communist
Party is attempting to step in and organize the peasants. (55-3)
In the past Indian peasants have tended to accept poverty as their
inevitable, lct but with inproved methods of mass communication and the
introduction of the right to vote, a change in the peasant attitude has
become noticeable. The communist demonstration of the forcible redistribution
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-24"
of land, notably in the Telengana area of east Hyderabad, continues to
harbor explosive possibilities. As opposition parties, particularly
the communists, continue to expand their organizations in rural areas
the situation can he expected to become increasingly critical, since
the government is committed to proceed according to law but is facing
serious difficulties in working out the necessary financial solution.
(55.20)
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Labor
One of the basic problems in India today is finding employment
for the surplus population on the land. As jobs in city are not
usually permanent. The workers tie to the villages, therefore, is
essentially an economic one under a family rather than a state system
of social security. Wage rates for the unskilled are at a subsistence
lend, if not below, in terms of the recent rapid increase in the cost
of living. (64-3)
Tenancy
The increasing number of cultivators, along with India's land
policy, has led to excessive fragmentation and small, scattered, un-
economical holdings. During political changes and upheavals the
Zamindars (intermediaries between state governments and cultivators)
ana-s-1 Lar landlords acquired control and virtual ownership of much
of the land, so that today the great majority of the cultivators do
not own the land they till but are either tenants or landless laborers
......The government is also fostering land reform, chiefly in land-
ownership. (61-3) Tenant cultivators and agriculture laborers con-
itute 68% of the total number of agriculturists. At least 12 of the
states in India are sponsoring legislature which has as the primary
object the abolition of large landowners, the many tax collectors, and
the many intermediary tenantholders. Reform is slow and as of July 1,
1952, Uttar Pradesh was the only state to go beyond legislation.
(61-16,17)
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-27-
25X611
The Government of India follows the policy of training Indian
students in Great Britain to supplant British technicians. Efforts are
being made to obtain tdlecom specialists from the United States. Technical
training centers and schools for communication specialists are listed and
number of students and location of each is given.
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_'
India has an infant telecom industry employing about 20,000
workers. Large scale industrial training is conducted by the Govern-
ment in the nearly complete telephone factory at Bangalore where about
70% of the 16,1000 Government telecom employees produce and assemble
components for automatic telephones. The major industrial facilities
consist of three large P & T workshops, a Government owned automatic
telephone factory, and five major privately-owned assembly plants for
25X6L adio broadcast receivers. (38-5)
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