Professional Documents
Culture Documents
info
Maoist-Influenced Revolutionary
Organizations in India
[Last revision: Nov. 25, 2008. This information is subject to further correction and updating.
For more information about a specific organization, click on its name in the tables below.]
1
Split from CPI(ML) 2ndCC. They claim to be the
CPI (M-L) [Mahadev CPI (M-L) Bharater Iskra, "real" CPI(ML).
Mukherjee] [MM] WWW Small, doctrinaire and idiosyncratic; they continue
to support Lin Biao!
CPI (M-L) Maharashtra [Maharashtra is a state in west India.]
CPI (M-L) Nai Pahal
CPI(ML) MUC merged into this group in April
1999. After 2000,
a splinter group from the CPI(ML) Red Flag, led by
Advocates
someone named
CPI (M-L) Naxalbari Naxalbari immediate
Rauf, merged with CPI(ML) Naxalbari. Rauf is the
people’s war.
current Secretary of
this group. It is affiliated with CCOMPOSA and
RIM.
Formed in 1988 by Yatendra Kumar. Active in
New Democracy,
Bihar and elsewhere.
CPI (M-L) New CPI (M-L) Pratirodh ka Swar Possibly
Say they favor the "revolutionary mass line", but
Democracy Prajapandha Web: in flux.
also leaning more
http://cpimlnd.org
toward guerrilla warfare lately.
CPI (M-L) New
Proletarian
Said to be active in Bihar under the leadership of B.
CPI (M-L) N. Sharma.
CPI (M-L) Organizing
Organization (Unclear if this is the same group that merged into
Committee
Committee CCRI
in 1988.)
Engaged
CPI (M-L) Praja People’s
in armed
Pratighatana Retribution
struggle.
CPI (M-L)
CPI (M-L) Prajashakti People’s
Power
CPI (M-L)
Retribution; Engaged
CPI (M-L) Prathighatana CPI (M-L) Pratighatana in armed Split from CPI(ML) Praja Pratighatana.
[Phani struggle.
Bagchi]
Formed in 1977 with the merger of the CPI(ML)
S.N. Singh
CPI (M-L) Provisional Group and the CPI(ML) Unity Committee. The
For a New Prob.
Central CPI(ML)PCC CPI(ML) Central
Democracy centrist
Committee Team split off in 1978. In 1980 the C. P. Reddy
Group
split off. Active in Bihar, etc.
CPI (M-L) Formed around 1972 in northern West Bengal. Also
CPI (M-L) Shantipal Santi Pal active
Group in Bihar, etc.
Communist Party of the Engaged Split from CPI(ML) Janashakti in 1997. Wanted
United CPUSI in armed more attention
States of India struggle. to caste issues.
Formed in 1994 by merger of 4 groups: the Punjab
unit of CPI(ML)
Advocates
Communist Party Central Team; Centre of Communist
Surkh Rekha, the "revolu-
Reorganization CPRCI(ML) Revolutionaries of India;
The Comrade tionary mass
Centre of India (M-L) Communist Unity Centre of India; and the Marxist-
line".
Leninist
Organising Centre.
2
Communist
Communist Revolutionary
Biplabi
Centre
Kendra
Small party in West Bengal. Founded and led by
Communist Revolutionary
former CPI(ML) student
League CRLI
leader Ashim Chatterjee. May now lean towards
of India
social democracy.
Seems to be a small middle of the road group (i.e.,
Marxist-Leninist ML not engaging
Committee Committee in guerrilla warfare) in the eastern part of Andhra
Pradesh.
Revolutionary Communist This may be a separate organization from
Centre, RCCI(Maoist) which merged
RCCI(MLM)
India (Marxist-Leninist- with MCCI in Jan. 2003. It is also affiliated with
Maoist) CCOMPOSA.
Revolutionary Socialist
Party RSPI/ML Formed in 1969.
of India (M-L)
Formed in 1975 and led by T. Nagi Reddy (who
Unity Centre of
"Mass died in 1976) and
Communist
UCCRI(ML) Proletarian Path revolutionary D.V. Rao. The Punjab Coordination Committee of
Revolutionaries of India
line." Communist
(M-L)
Revolutionaries merged with UCCRI in 1976.
3
Counter-revolutionary splitoff from PWG in
Tritiya Prastuti Committee TPC
2002.
Left nationalist tendency which may be
influenced by
United Liberation Front of
ULFA WWW Mao, but is not part of any communist tradition.
Assam
Formed
in 1979.
5
name CPI(ML).
Formed in the summer of 2003 as a merger of
the Communist
Organization of India (M-L) led by Kanu
Sanyal, and the
CPI(ML) Unity Initiative group. It attempted
CPI(ML) Right-center
CPI (M-L) [Sanyal Group] Class Struggle to
[Sanyal] formation.
reclaim the CPI(ML) name for itself. This
group in turn
merged with CPI(ML) Red Flag in January
2005 under the
CPI(ML) name.
Was formed in 1971 after S. N. Singh broke
with Charu
Mazumdar and set up his own CPI(ML)
CPI (M-L) [Satyanarayan
CPI(ML) [SNS] central committee.
Singh]
Merged with the CPI(ML) Unity Committee in
1977 to form
the CPI(ML) Provisional Central Committee.
Formed in 1972 by Mahadeo Mukerjee, who
CPI (M-L) Second Central nd was later expelled.
CPI(ML) 2 CC
Committee Was active in Bihar, etc. Merged into MCC(I)
in 2003.
Leader was K.P.R. Gopalan. Merged with the
Communist Party of Indian
CPIU (ML) CPI(ML)
Union (M-L)
[Sanyal Group] in November 2003.
Formed in 1969. Never part of CPI(ML).
Maoist Communist Centre MCC Merged with
RCCI (Maoist) in 2003 to form MCC(I).
Renamed upon merger of MCC and RCCI
(Maoist) in 2003.
Affiliated with CCOMPOSA and RIM. After
Engaged in
CPI(ML) PW,
armed
the most powerful group engaged in armed
Maoist Communist Centre Dakshindesh, struggle,
MCC(I) struggle in India.
(India) Lal Pataka mainly in
Formed the People’s Liberation Guerrilla
Bihar
Army in mid-2003.
& Jharkhand.
Merged with CPI(ML) People’s War in Sept.
2004 to form the
CPI (Maoist).
MCPI was a splinter group from the revisionist
CPI(Marxist). Although
Marxist Communist Party of People’s its Maoist credentials were weak, it worked
MCPI
India Democracy with some center-right
MLM groups. Merged with other forces to
form the MCPI(United) in 2005.
Punjab Coordination One of the state units of the AICCCR that did
Committee not join the original CPI(ML) when it was
PCCCR
of Communist formed
Revolutionaries in 1969. Merged with UCCRI(ML) in 1976.
Affiliated with CCOMPOSA and RIM.
Revolutionary Communist
Centered in Punjab
Centre, RCCI(Maoist)
state. Merged with MCC in Jan. 2003 to form
India (Maoist)
MCC(I).
CPI (M-L) Unity Initiative Formed in 2000 by CPI(ML) New Initiative
and CPI(ML)
Janashakti COC. Active in Bihar, etc. Merged
with
COI-ML in summer 2003 to form the
6
CPI(ML) [Sanyal Group].
National/International Associations:
Coordination Committee of Maoist Parties and Organizations of South Asia
(CCOMPOSA)
Formed in June 2001. Members as of its Second Annual Conference on September 15, 2002:
o Bangladesh Samyabadi Dal (M-L)
o Ceylon Communist Party (Maoist) [Sri Lanka]
o Communist Party of East Bengal (M-L) [Bangladesh]
o Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)
o Communist Party of India (M-L) People’s War
o Communist Party of India (M-L) Naxalbari
o Maobadi Punorgathan Kendro of PBSP [Bangladesh]
o Maoist Communist Centre (India)
o Purba Bangla Sarbohara Party, PBSP CC [Bangladesh]
o Revolutionary Communist Centre India (Marxist-Leninist-Maoist)
o Revolutionary Communist Centre India (Maoist) [Merged into MCC(I) in 2003.]
Note: The CPI(ML) People’s War and MCC(I) merged in Sept. 2004 to form the CPI
(Maoist).
7
CPI (Maoist), formed in Sept. 2004 by the merger of CPI(ML) People’s War and the Maoist
Communist Centre (India).
CPI (M-L) Janashakti (Rajanna Group)
CPI (M-L) Naxalbari
Several more smaller groups.
The CPI (Maoist) is by far the largest of these, incorporating as it does the two largest pre-merger groups
engaged in guerrilla warfare. However, the Rajanna group of Janashkti is also apparently quite active.
According to an article in the Hindustan Times (May 9, 2002], "Of various radical leftists, People’s War
Group and Maoist Communist Centre are most ferociously pursuing the Marx-Lenin and Mao-inspired
protracted people’s war in at least seven states of India." The article went on to say that their connections
with the developing revolution in Nepal, and "reports of their bid to carve out a corridor from some areas of
MP [Madhya Pradesh], AP [Andhra Pradesh], Bihar and UP [Uttar Pradesh] up to Nepal have alarmed [the]
Indian government."
An article from "A World to Win News Service" (July 28, 2003) states:
A recent report on the Naxalite movement (as the Maoists are commonly called) by the Indian Home Ministry said that MCCI and
PW have "strongholds" in 23 districts in half of India’s 26 states, with a population of hundreds of millions of people. The Maoist
movement has been solidly entrenched among peasants and the rural poor since the Naxalbari uprising of 1967, but the report
argues that the threat to India’s central government is unprecedented.
At the other end of the spectrum are the groups that seem to have effectively abandoned the whole idea of
people’s war and/or armed revolution, and now focus on reformist struggle and the electoral path. The most
prominent organization in this group is:
CPI (M-L) Liberation
And in between these two extremes there is a whole large middle ground. Many of the organizations here
favor what they call the "mass revolutionary line" or "Mao’s mass line". I believe that most of these groups
favor people’s war (and/or mass insurrection) at some point, but they think the ground is not yet prepared for
it, at least in most places in India. Among the "mass revolutionary line" groups are:
CPI (ML) [A new party formed with the merger of CPI(ML) Red Flag and CPI(ML) [Sanyal
Group] in January 2005.
Unity Centre of Communist Revolutionaries of India (M-L)
CPI (M-L) New Democracy [But this group seems to be leaning more to the left and toward
guerrilla warfare now.]
Communist Party Reorganization Centre of India (M-L)
Many more smaller groups.
Many of the revolutionary groups in India have diverse currents of political opinion within them, and it has
been a frequent occurance for a section of a party in one of these three main groups to split off and join up
with a party in one of the other three main groups. It seems that no party or group has yet been able to
demonstrate to a majority of the communist revolutionaries of India that it has figured out the best path to
revolution.
10
Organizationally the largest faction, operates in Delhi, Gujarat, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and
Uttar Pradesh. "This faction is trying to understand the problems of 20th century socialism
from critical perspectives." Publishes many books, including Globalisation of Capital.
A faction which also calls itself the CPI(ML) Re-organizing Committee. Publishes a party
organ called Lal Salaam every six months and maintains a web sites at www.cli-ml.org and
www.cli-ml.blogspot.com. This faction is mainly engaged in organizing industrial workers in
nothern India.
11
Communist Party of India (M-L) [Original party]
[Much of the information here has been taken from the historical information pages prepared by various
CPI(ML) groups on the Web, and especially from "A Saga of Revolutionary Heroism, Supreme Sacrifice
and Absolute Determination".]
This is the original CPI(ML) party, which was formally launched on April 22nd, 1969, Lenin’s birthday. [See
AICCCR for some background information on the creation of the party.]
The two most prominent leaders were Charu Mazumdar (or Majumdar) and Kanu Sanyal. Mazumdar was
elected General Secretary of the Central Organizing Committee at the time the party was formed. He and
Sanyal were the leaders of the famous Naxalbari uprising in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal in 1967.
Mazumdar remained the top leader of the new party until his murder (after 12 days of torture) by the
Calcutta police on July 28, 1972.
The early party history was anything but smooth. The Naxalbari uprising was suppressed by the
CPI(Marxist) party which was already in power in a united front government in West Bengal in 1967. Many
revolutionaries bolted from the CPI(M) after this treachery, but the hostility of the CPI(M) leaders toward
the revolutionaries increased.
On May 1st, 1969, one week after the CPI(ML) was formed, the CPI(M) tried to disrupt a massive CPI(ML)
May Day meeting in Calcutta, and this led to armed clashes. Over the next few years the CPI(M) would be
responsible for the death of over a thousand CPI(ML) members.
The revolutionaries who formed the CPI(ML) had already begun setting up guerrilla zones in West Bengal,
Uttar Pradesh, and especially at Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh. But severe repression from the government
came down on all these areas, especially Srikakulam. Seven top members of the party were murdered by the
government on May 26-27, 1969, and several other top leaders were murdered at the end of that year. This
led to an unprecedented uprising of students and youth in Calcutta and throughout West Bengal.
After the Deshabrati publication offices were raided by the government on April 27, 1970, the party was
forced to go underground. On July 10-11, two top leaders of the Srikakulam uprising were captured and
murdered by the police while in captivity. The Srikakulam guerrilla zone began to suffer reversals.
In 1971 the national government deployed the army to crush the movement in West Bengal, and thousands
of people were killed. Over 50,000 people were imprisoned, and more party leaders were murdered.
The crackdown of the government forces and the collapse of the initial attempts at people’s war, led to
considerable ideological discord and chaos in the early party. This in turn led to numerous splits beginning
in 1971. All of this intensified tremendously after Charu Mazumdar was murdered in 1972. As one party
history comments, "With his martyrdom, the last vestige of the Party’s central authority collapses."
12
Communist Party of India (M-L) Bhaijee Group
The Hindustan Times claimed (May 9, 2002) that this group was formed in 1990 by S. R. Bhaijee, that it is
active in Bihar, and specifically in West and East Champaran.
13
Central Team signed a boycott call together with the CPI(ML) People’s War and the Revolutionary
Communist Centre of India (Maoist).
14
Then onwards, although the process of correction started, but the line that appeared in the name of ‘mass line’ has so far been
unable to solve the main problem concerning developing the class struggle into the level of regular guerrilla warfare.
‘Left’ hangovers are still very much there in different forms like making the tactics of participation in the elections or boycotting
the same as a matter of standard or dividing line between revolutionaries and revisionists. But the main problem in our movement
is not the continuation of the ‘left’ mistakes; rather the right-deviation in different forms is [the] main danger.
The big and massive peasant struggle which was developed in the vast region of Andhra Pradesh in the decade[s] of the 70’s and
80’s and which was finally defined as ‘resistance struggle’ by the main leader of this movement, Com. C. P. Reddy, and was
adopted by us, CPI (M-L) Janashakti, as a step towards guerrilla struggle, is under review now.
We could have been in a much better situation now to answer some of the major problems, including the main one. But for the
internal problems of groupism, splittism and rightist orientation of a section of us we lost some valuable time. CPI (M-L)
Janashakti is on its way to come out with a solution not only in theory but also in practice as well. We are confident that we will
be able to do so.
As mentioned, CPI(ML) Janashakti has gone through a long period of internal confusion, factionalism and
splits. And one of the top leaders and spokesman for one important faction apparently turned out to be in
cahoots with the police.
According to The Hindu [11/04/2004], in October/November 2004 one of the Janashakti groups, the "South
Regional Provincial Committee" in Andhra Pradesh, merged into the CPI(M-L) Chandra Pulla Reddy group.
One of the central committee members of this combined group is identified as "Radhakka". Apparently this
combined group is now known as the CPI(M-L) Janashakti (Chandra Pulla Reddy Group). At least this is
how it is identified in another article in The Hindu on Oct. 27, 2004. Sometimes, however, the "Janashakti"
part of the name seems to be omitted.
The official spokesman for this group is identified by The Hindu as M. V. Prasad, and one of the Andhra
Pradesh state party leaders for the group is N. V. Khrishnaiah. On Oct. 26, 2004 M. V. Prasad told The
Hindu that the peace talks between this group and the state government would likely not be successful, since
the revolutionaries refused to give up their arms, and the government insisted that they do so.
One of the strongest Janashakti groups is that led by K. Rajanna, which is centered in Andhra Pradesh but
operates in other states as well. Under his leadership this faction of Janashakti has announced that it is
switching from the strategic defensive to the tactical offensive in the the armed struggle. An article in the
national Indian newspaper, The Hindu (Feb. 8, 2003) reports a portion of an interview with Rajanna as
follows (excerpts):
Rajanna said [that] though there were some setbacks for the party in the recent times, the conditions prevailing in the country due
to liberalisation and globalisation could easily be exploited in favour of revolution....
Rajanna admitted that the armed struggle of the ML groups was still in [its] primary stage (since it began in 1968) due to
limitations of the ‘step approach.’ The approach was to build mass movements first and then hold on to passive resistance and
believe in the grand finale of armed resistance. It was wrong, he said.
Armed resistance was inevitable in guerrilla warfare and a regular army must be built, he said. Opportunities like [the] movement
for a separate Telengana [state] should lead to [the] creation of youth groups in every village to spread the message of the
revolution. The party would fight the degenerative tendencies with greater commitment and would concentrate on disarming [the]
enemy and arming the people, he said.
The situation was conducive for building armed resistance in the country as reforms would not come with a human face. The
forces of new economic revolution were bestowing extreme identities on people and the result was visible in India in the form of
‘Hindu fascism,’ he said.
16
have some organizational presence in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Andaman Nicobar Islands, West Bengal and
New Delhi. It holds rallies and mass meetings only in the Naxalbari and Siliguri regions of West Bengal.
Web site: http://www.cpiml.s4u.org
17
Among the organizations rejecting Deng revisionism, two trends are more or less clearly defined—those upholding the
revolutionary mass line and those undertaking anarchist-terrorist activities. The latter organizations propagate that they are
conducting civil war against the Indian Government. They also claim to have established the liberated areas and guerilla zones.
However, their concept of the liberated areas and guerilla zones differs sharply from the teachings of Comrade Mao about the
liberated areas and guerilla zones. Activities conducted by them do not correspond to the level of the mass movement nor are they
trying to develop the mass movement systematically.
Our party—CPI (ML) New Democracy—follows revolutionary mass line. Some other organizations too are practicing broadly
similar line. We consider that there are no liberated areas in India. It is also not correct that there is ongoing civil war in India
being conducted by any one or more of the communist revolutionary organizations.
Ours is a semi-feudal, semi-colonial country at the stage of New Democratic Revolution with agrarian revolution as its axis. The
agrarian revolution is the primary task before the communist revolutionary forces. [The] agrarian revolutionary movement faces
armed attacks from the feudal forces, their henchmen and security forces. In the state of Bihar feudal-criminal gangs have been
organized as private armies to attack and massacre the poor peasants and agricultural laborers to crush the revolutionary forces
and the movement. Hence the revolutionary forces have to face the task of countering these attacks from the beginning of the
agrarian struggle. Revolutionary forces resist these attacks by organizing all forms of struggle including open democratic
movement[s] and self-defense squads and militant groups.
In some areas of [the] agrarian revolutionary the communist revolutionary organizations, including our party, are conducting
resistance struggle, i.e. building, developing and extending [the] agrarian revolutionary movement facing the repression and
attacks of the feudal-criminal-police forces. CPI (ML) New Democracy is implementing the line of developing the agrarian
movement under its leadership in the direction of building areas of sustained resistance….
Our Party is taking building [the] agrarian revolutionary movement as its primary task. On the other hand we are developing joint
struggles particularly on the impact of the new economic policies and subservience of the ruling classes to the imperialists. We are
trying to build joint movement[s] along with other revolutionary and struggling forces against the increasing loot and plunder of
our country by the imperialists as well as against the attacks of feudal criminal gangs against poor peasants. We are also
undertaking joint movement[s] with other forces on the issues of the people.
Despite the statements above, the New Democracy Group seems to be leaning more towards supporting
guerrilla warfare recently. It says it "totally rejects the path of parliamentarism". Whereas it was once a
staunch opponent of the PWG, it later joined hands with them to form the joint mass organization, Forum
Against Imperialist Globalisation (FAIG).
Other mass organizations that New Democracy participates in (as of the fall of 2007) include:
All India Kisan Mazdoor Sabha (AIKMS), a peasant organization founded Dec. 12-14, 2000
at a conference in Andhra Pradesh.
Indian Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU)
Progressive Youth League (PYL)
Naujawan Bharat Sabha (NBS)
Progressive Organization of Women (POW)
Pragatisheel Mahila Sangathan (PMS)
Publications of New Democracy includ New Democracy in English, and other publications in Marathi,
Hindi, Punjabi, Telugu, Bengali and Oriya.
New Democracy web site: http://cpimlnd.org
18
This group was also known as the Bihar-Bengal Committee, CPI(ML), and was led by B. N. Sharma. At one
time it worked in close cooperation with the UCCRI(ML) in trade union and other work. In 1988 the
CPI(ML)OC merged with four other groups to form the Centre of Communist Revolutionaries of India.
However, confusingly, there are some suggestions that the group (or a part of it) may still exist as an
independent organization. The Hindustan Times claimed (May 9, 2002) that this group is active in Bihar, and
specifically in Kaimur, under the leadership of B. N. Sharma. But perhaps the newspaper was just not up to
date on the latest organizational adjustments.
19
lives besides destroying property worth crores. It has "links" with Pakistan’s ISI,
Nepal Maoists and CCOMPOSA. [A ‘crore’ is 10 million. The claim about links to ISI, the
Pakistan government’s spy organization, was almost certainly a government lie, and was
vociferously denied by PW itself. —S.H.]
Area of operation: Andhra Pradesh remains its main area of operation where they hold
sway in 12 of the 23 districts. These include Warangal, Khammam, Nizamabad, Midak,
Nalgonda, MahaBubhagar, Adilabad, East Godawari and Karimnagar.
Cadres: According to police it has 1,100 full time "underground cadres" besides "over
5000 over-ground militants". Women constitute 30 per cent of PWG. Each of the 54 dalams
in AP comprises 9-12 members. AP police say it had 74 dalams at its height in 1997. It
has raised at least four military platoons comprising 25-30 cadres each.
Skill and Firepower: Like any military organisation it conducts periodic military
training that includes jungle warfare skills. Over the years its cadres have gained
expertise in techniques of insurgency like mine laying and ambush. It has an awesome
arsenal that include AK-47 rifles, revolvers, DBBL (double barrel) and SBBL guns, which
count in thousands.
Hit List: Its hit list includes almost all the key political leaders of the state. Over
700 people of Telengana region, including MLAs, MPs, Zilla Parishad chairmen and Mandal
Presidents and landlords, are provided round the clock security in view of Naxal
threat. More than 225 political leaders, including those of the ruling Telugu Desam
Party, Congress, BJP, CPI and CPM besides rich traders have been killed by PWG in the
last 10 years. During the last one year, Naxalites have attacked 19 government
buildings (including police stations) and 4,000 RTC buses besides causing extensive
damage to railways.
Sources of Income: As per the state sources, extortion remains the main source of PWG
funds. An amount of more than Rs 10 crores is collected from contractors, traders,
businessmen, professionals like doctors, lawyers, accountants and even government
officials, informed sources say. From HT Archives) [A ‘crore’ is 10,000,000. —S.H.]
People’s Guerrilla Army: It was launched by PWG on Dec 2, 2000, reportedly on the
pattern of [the] New People’s [Army] of [the] Philippines and [the] People’s Liberation
Army of Peru with an objective of countering security forces offensive against
Naxalites. PGA has started its separate branches in parts of Bihar, Jharkhand, North
Telangana (AP) and in [the] tribal belt of Dandkaranya which includes parts of AP,
Maharashtra, MP and Orissa. It aims to establish a strong network across India.
20
The PCC, CPI(ML) evolved out of the group loyal to Satyanarayan Singh from the original Communist Party of India (Marxist-
Leninist). Singh rebelled against the party leader Charu Majumdar in 1971, provoking a split. In April 1973 Singh’s party was
reorganised.
Santosh Rana had broken with Charu Majumdar in 1971, and later joined Singh’s group. During the period 1975-80 the
Chandrapulla Reddy group (which in 1971 had broken away from the Andhra Pradesh Committee of Communist Revolutionaries)
based in Andhra Pradesh formed a part of Singh’s CPI(ML).
Singh’s CPI(ML) was amongst the first of the ML-factions that started participating in elections. The party gave some sort of
support to the attempt of the Janata Party-movement to bring down the regime of Indira Gandhi, something that the more orthodox
ML-factions saw as treachery. In 1977 Santosh Rana was elected to the West Bengal state assembly from the Gopiballavpur
constituency (one of the areas where the CPI(ML) had started armed struggle following the model of the Naxalbari uprising).
Rana got 13,401 votes (25.67%), which was enough to defeat the CPI(M), Indian National Congress and Janata Party candidates.
Singh’s CPI(ML) were also able to register the party name Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) with the Election
Commission of India, but the registration was later lost.
Around 1980 Singh’s group appeared as the strongest ML-faction, but with the exit of Chandrapulla Reddy and other splits the
party shrunk. In 1984 a severe split occurred, with the loyalists of Singh opposed to the group of Santosh Rana and Vaskar Nandy.
The Singh faction levelled the following accusation: "In our organisation also, Nandy’s close associates established contacts with
a foreign voluntary agency and a native voluntary agency financed by Wester monopoly capital, keeping it secret from the POC
and the general secretary of the party, S N Singh. They established contact with Rural Aid Consortium of Tagore Society which is
financed by West European countries and the USA and with one Danish Organisation on the Plea of providing relief to the people
of Gobiballabpur in West Bengal and some areas in Bihar. Lakhs of rupees were received for digging tanks, constructing school
building opening a sewing training center and distributing chickens and cattle to the needy. It also came to our notice that money
was being received by some of our leaders from the Lutheran Church. When it came to light to the PCC members, an intense
ideological struggle burst forth in the party on this issue." (Our differences with Nandy-Rana group, PCC-CPI(ML), p. 29.)
The group of Rana came to win a majority in the leadership (the provisional central committee) and Singh’s followers formed a
new committee (and de facto a new party). Singh died shortly afterwards.
Rana’s group differeniates themselves from other ML-factions through their emphasis on antifascism. Rana considers the Hindu
nationalist BJP as a fascist danger for India. PCC, CPI(ML) gives the advice to their followers to vote for parties like CPI(M) or
even the Indian National Congress in constituencies where no revolutionary communist candidate is available.
Ahead of the 2004 Lok Sabha elections the party participated in the united front of revolutionary communists initiated by [the]
Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Red Flag and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist).
In the Bodo-dominated areas in Assam, the party works through a mass organization called United Reservation Movement
Council of Assam. PCC, CPI(ML) and URMCA are opponents of the Bodo nationalist movements. In the Lok Sabha elections in
2004 the URMCA candidate in Kokrajhar got 205,491 votes (21.25%). In the 1999 election the URMCA condidate had gotten
246,942 votes (27.75%) in the same constituency.
PCC, CPI(ML) publishes For a New Democracy as its central organ. The editor-in-chief is Vaskar Nandy.
The Hindustan Times claimed (May 9, 2002) that this group was formed in 1977, is active in Bihar, and
specifically in Bokaro and Dhanbad.
I don’t think that this group is engaged in any form of armed struggle.
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This, however led to some new issues coming to the fore in the Party. As a Party supporter explained to me
at the time:
The spontaneous people’s movements against globalisation have given a new life to revolutionary movements and a process of
regrouping among various ML groups has already been initiated. Keeping aloof from this process is not wise, some comrades
argue. But trying to join with oblivious, futureless, astray groups will result in liquidating our line, others say....
Another question is this: The National Platform of Mass Organisation (NPMO) is the biggest, broad based, national level anti-
globalisation united front in India. Many of the major trade unions and peasant organizations are members in it. It is mainly under
the social democratic, revisionist leadership. From 1992 onwards when the new economic policies were started to be
implemented, NPMO called for All India Strikes several times. On the one hand, keeping away from these struggles means
keeping away from the workers and peasants, but on the other hand joining with NPMO is compromising with class
collaborationist, revisionist, and reformist demands.
Those questions facing the Red Flag group were apparently resolved by shifting a bit to the right.
In 2003 a large section of Red Flag in Kerala, including the majority of the Kerala State Committee, broke
away, and began running a separate group under the same name. This split was led by the Kerala state
secretary, P. C. Unnichekan. This party is referred to as "CPI(ML) Red Flag (Unnichekan Group)".
The main mass organization of the party was the Trade Union Centre of India (TUCI). Regional mass
organizations included Yuvajanavedi, Kerala Vidyarthi Sanghatana [Keral Students Organization], and
Janakeeya Kala Sahitya Vedi [a cultural front] in Kerala, and Adivasi Democratic Front in Madhya Pradesh.
The CPI(ML) Red Flag published Red Star in English, Iykya Horatta in Kannada, Saghavu in Malayalam,
and had an active web site.
In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections the CPI(ML) Red Flag and the CPI(ML) [Sanyal Group] formed an
electoral front together with the Centre of Communist Revolutionaries (West Bengal), Lal Nishan Party
(Leninvadi), Marxist Communist Party of India, Marxist-Leninist Committee, New Socialist Movement,
Gujarat, the CPI(ML) Provisional Central Committee, and Bhagat Singh Vichar Manch. In Kerala a Left
Front was formed for the elections together with BTR-EMS-AKG Janakeeya Samskarika Vedi of V. B.
Cheriyan.
In January 2005 a unity conference was held in Vijayawada which merged together the CPI(ML) Red Flag
with the CPI(ML) [Sanyal Group] to form a new party using the old name CPI(ML).
24
This was a party in Kerala led by K. P. R. Gopalan. It contested the 1970 elections without success. It was
however significant since this was the first group coming from the AICCCR tradition which tried to use
elections for revolutionary purposes.
25
The party was led by Ashok Manohar until his death in 2003. It publishes the monthly Leninwadi Lalnishan
from Pune.
28
Led by Harbhajan Sohi. When the AICCCR decided to create the original CPI(ML) in 1969 several state
units of the AICCCR refused to go along. One of these was the PCCCR which existed as an independent,
centrist MLM organization until it merged with the UCCRI(ML) in June 1976.
30
of its opposition to immediate armed struggle and to the boycott of all elections.) [Some of the information
below is taken from the Wikipedia.]
The UCCRI(ML) itself was formed in April 1975 through the merger of the following organizations:
APCCCR/APRCC
Northern Zonal Committee of the Revolutionary Communist Unity Centre (ML)
West Bengal Communist Unity Centre
WBCCR
The unity conference adopted resolutions on martyrs, programme, path, methods of work, constitution and a
statement on unification. Its ambition was to eventually unite all the communist revolutionary forces in
India. It elected a Central Committee with Devullapali Venkatewra Rao ("DV") as its Secretary, and
established the Spark as its central organ.
Shortly after the formation of the UCCRI(ML) Indira Gandhi proclaimed an Emergency. As part of this the
UCCRI(ML) and proscribed and forced underground.
The Kerala Communist Unity Centre decided to merge with the UCCRI(ML) in June 1975, but that group
suffered internal splits before the merger could take place and so it was called off.
The UCCRI(ML) was originally based in Andhra Pradesh, and led by T. Nagi Reddy (until his death) and D.
V. Rao. Nagi Reddy was actually the most important leader of the party, and his death in July 1976 was a
severe setback for the UCCRI(ML). In August 1976 the organization had a split. A conflict emerged in the
CC and DV was removed from the post of Secretary. DV accused three other CC members (led by a CC
member from the NZC) of having formed a "rival centre", and suspended them unilaterally. In the split the
Northern Zone Committee (Rajasthan) and Bengal Committee broke away, along with the "rival centre". The
break-away group later developed a pro-Albanian line.
DV returned to Andhra Pradesh and rallied the Andhra organization around him. He pushed through a
merger of the Punjab Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries into UCCRI(ML) in June
1976. He resurrected a provisional Central Committee including himself, the PCRC secretary (Harbhajan
Sohi) and two leaders from Andhra Pradesh (Madhu and Anand) until a regular party conference could be
held.
The UCCRI(ML) advocated the "mass revolutionary line".
Branches were started in Orissa and Kerala. In 1978 a group from the Debra area of Midnapore, West
Bengal, joined UCCRI(ML). The convenor of the erstwhile Maharashtra State Committee of Communist
Revolutionaries (which had left the AICCCR after the expulsion of APCCCR) joined the UCCRI(ML)
which led to the formation of a unit in Maharashtra.
When the UCCRI(ML) under D. V. Rao accepted the "Three Worlds" theory and supported the Deng regime
in China, a second split occurred. One section of the organization under the leadership of Harbhajan Sohi
split off in 1979. (See next entry below.) Yet another section of the group, led by Anand, split off for much
the same reasons later on (1988). (Those two factions, together with 3 other groups, went on to form the
Centre of Communist Revolutionaries of India in 1988, and the CCRI itself was one of the groups that
merged to form the CPRCI(ML) in August 1994.)
In the period before the 1980 elections, the UCCRI(ML) reviewed their stand towards participation. The
UCCRI(ML) always saw elections as a tactical issue. Initially the party had adopted the policy of non-
participation. But in 1980 they came out with an appeal to "defeat pro-superpower reactionary forces in
elections". (See the Wikipedia entry for more on this.) In the actual electoral campaign the new policy was
not consistent. In Andhra Pradesh the party promoted non-participation, in reality a boycott, whereas the
party supported certain condidates in West Bengal and Orissa.
In the aftermath of the elections, a split occurred with DV leaving the party with a group of followers in
Andhra Pradesh. DV set up his own separate UCCRI(ML). After DV’s departure, Anand became the new
CC Secretary of hte remaining UCCRI(ML).
In 1988 Anand broke away from the UCCRI(ML) after a long period of dissent within the organization. The
rift between Anand and others surged during the preparations for holding a party conference. Anand was
able to win over the Maharashtra unit. He also opened relations with Sohi’s UCCRI(ML). After the split, the
Anand faction and the Sohi faction, along with three other groups, created the Centre of Communist
Revolutionaries of India that same year.
31
The remaining UCCRI(ML) faction, led by Viswam and Madhu, merged into the CPI(ML) Janashakti in
1992. Madhu signed the merger agreement on behalf of UCCRI(ML).
32