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{{short description|Role and influence of socialism in India}}
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'''Socialism in India''' is a [[political movement]] founded early in the 20th century, as a part of the broader movement to gain [[Indian independence movement|Indian independence]] from [[British Raj|colonial rule]]. The movement grew quickly in popularity as it espoused the causes of India's farmers and labourers against the ''[[zamindars]]'', the princely class and the [[landed gentry]]. After independence and until the early 1990s, socialism shaped some economic and social policies of the Indian government, although they mostly followed the principles of [[dirigisme]].<ref name=":12">{{Citation|last=Chandrasekhar|first=C. P.|title=From Dirigisme to Neoliberalism: Aspects of the Political Economy of the Transition in India|date=2012|url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/29360/1/10731455.pdf|work=Developmental Politics in Transition: The Neoliberal Era and Beyond|pages=140–165|editor-last=Kyung-Sup|editor-first=Chang|series=International Political Economy Series|place=London|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK|language=en|doi=10.1057/9781137028303_8|isbn=978-1-137-02830-3|access-date=2020-09-04|editor2-last=Fine|editor2-first=Ben|editor3-last=Weiss|editor3-first=Linda}}</ref><ref name=":22">{{Cite web|last=Mazumdar|first=Surajit|date=2012|title=Industrialization, Dirigisme and Capitalists: Indian Big Business from Independence to Liberalization|url=https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/93158/|access-date=2020-09-04|website=mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de|language=en}}</ref> After this period, India moved towards a more [[market economy|market-based economy]], though, India is officially declared a [[socialist state]] as per the [[Constitution of India|constitution]].<ref name="India_777">{{cite constitution|article=Preamble|section=Preamble|country=the Republic of India|language=|ratified=26 November 1949|url=http://lawmin.nic.in/coi/coiason29july08.pdf|access-date=|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140909230437/http://lawmin.nic.in/coi/coiason29july08.pdf|archive-date=9 September 2014|df=}}</ref><ref name="India_888">{{cite web|url=http://indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/amend/amend42.htm|title=The Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976|publisher=India Code|access-date=14 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150328040620/http://indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/amend/amend42.htm|archive-date=28 March 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> 

==History==
In 1871 a group in [[Calcutta]] had contacted [[Karl Marx]] with the purpose of organizing an Indian section of the [[First International]].<ref>M.V.S. Koteswara Rao. ''Communist Parties and United Front – Experience in [[Kerala]] and [[West Bengal]]''. [[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad]]: Prajasakti Book House, 2003. p. 103</ref> The first article in an Indian publication (in English) that mentions the names of Marx & Engels printed in the ''[[Modern Review (Calcutta)|Modern Review]]'' in March 1912. The short biographical article titled ''Karl Marx – a modern Rishi'' was written by the German-based Indian revolutionary [[Lala Har Dayal]].<ref name="rao82">M.V.S. Koteswara Rao. ''Communist Parties and United Front – Experience in Kerala and West Bengal''. [[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad]]: Prajasakti Book House, 2003. p. 82, 103</ref> The first biography of Karl Marx in an Indian language was written by R. Rama Krishna Pillai in 1914.<ref>M.V.S. Koteswara Rao. ''Communist Parties and United Front – Experience in Kerala and West Bengal''. [[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad]]: Prajasakti Book House, 2003. p. 82</ref>

Marxism made a major impact in Indian media at the time of the [[Russian Revolution (1917)|Russian Revolution]].{{citation needed|date=May 2013}} Of particular interest to many Indian papers and magazines was the Bolshevik policy of right to [[self-determination]] of all nations. [[Bipin Chandra Pal]] and [[Bal Gangadhar Tilak]] were amongst the prominent Indians who expressed their admiration of [[Lenin]] and the new rulers in Russia. [[Abdul Sattar Khairi]] and [[Abdul Zabbar Khairi]] went to Moscow, immediately on hearing about the revolution. In Moscow, they met Lenin and conveyed their greetings to him. The Russian Revolution also affected émigré Indian revolutionaries, such as the [[Ghadar Party]] in North America.<ref name="rao82"/>

The [[Khilafat movement]] contributed to the emergence of early Indian communism. Many Indian Muslims left India to join the defense of the Caliphate. Several of them became communists whilst visiting Soviet territory. Some Hindus also joined the Muslim muhajirs in their travels to the Soviet areas.<ref>M.V.S. Koteswara Rao. ''Communist Parties and United Front – Experience in Kerala and West Bengal''. [[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad]]: Prajasakti Book House, 2003. p. 83</ref>

The colonial authorities were clearly disturbed by the growing influence of [[Bolshevik]] sympathies in India. A first counter-move was the issuing of a [[fatwa]], urging Muslims to reject communism. The Home Department established a special branch to monitor the communist influence. Customs was ordered to check the imports of [[Marxist]] literature to India. A great number of [[anticommunism|anti-communist]] [[propaganda]] publications were published.<ref>M.V.S. Koteswara Rao. ''Communist Parties and United Front – Experience in [[Kerala]] and [[West Bengal]]''. [[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad]]: Prajasakti Book House, 2003. p. 82-83</ref>

The [[World War I#Indian support for the Allies|First World War]] was accompanied by a rapid increase of industries in [[India]], resulting in a growth of an industrial proletariat. At the same time prices of essential commodities increased. These were factors that contributed to the buildup of the Indian trade union movement. Unions were formed in the urban centers across India, and strikes were organized. In 1920, the [[All India Trade Union Congress]] was founded.<ref>M.V.S. Koteswara Rao. ''Communist Parties and United Front – Experience in Kerala and West Bengal''. [[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad]]: Prajasakti Book House, 2003. p. 83-84</ref>

One Indian impressed with developments in Russia was [[S. A. Dange]] in [[Bombay]]. In 1921, he published a pamphlet titled ''Gandhi Vs. Lenin'', a comparative study of the approaches of both the leaders with Lenin coming out as better of the two. Together with Ranchoddas Bhavan Lotvala, a local mill-owner, a library of Marxist Literature was set up and publishing of translations of Marxist classics began.<ref>Riepe, Dale. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=3Um04zTdisEC&pg=PA41 Marxism in India]'' in Parsons, Howard Lee and Sommerville, John (ed.) ''Marxism, Revolution and Peace''. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 1977. p. 41.</ref> In 1922, with Lotvala's help, Dange launched the English weekly, ''Socialist'', the first Indian Marxist journal.<ref>Sen, Mohit. ''The Dange Centenary'' in Banerjee, Gopal (ed.) ''S.A. Dange – A Fruitful Life''. Kolkata: Progressive Publishers, 2002. p. 43.</ref>

Regarding the political situation in the colonised world, the 1920 second congress of the [[Communist International]] insisted that a united front should be formed between the proletariat, peasantry and national bourgeoisie in the colonised countries. Among the twenty-one conditions drafted by Lenin ahead of the congress was the 11th thesis, which stipulated that all communist parties must support the bourgeois-democratic liberation movements in the colonies. Some of the delegates opposed the idea of alliance with the bourgeoisie, and preferred support to communist movements of these countries instead. Their criticism was shared by the Indian revolutionary [[M.N. Roy]], who attended as a delegate of the [[Communist Party of Mexico]]. The congress removed the term 'bourgeois-democratic' in what became the 8th condition.<ref>M.V.S. Koteswara Rao. ''Communist Parties and United Front – Experience in Kerala and West Bengal''. [[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad]]: Prajasakti Book House, 2003. p. 48, 84–85</ref>

A Communist Group was founded in [[Tashkent]] on 17 October 1920, soon after the Second Congress of the [[Communist International]] by [[M.N. Roy]]. Roy made contacts with [[Anushilan]] and [[Jugantar]] groups in [[Bengal]]. Small communist groups were formed in Bengal (led by [[Muzaffar Ahmed (politician)|Muzaffar Ahmed]]), [[Bombay]] (led by [[S.A. Dange]]), [[Madras]] (led by [[Singaravelu Chettiar]]), [[United Provinces of British India|United Provinces]] (led by [[Shaukat Usmani]]) and [[Punjab (British India)|Punjab]] (led by [[Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah|Ghulam Hussain]]).<ref>M.V.S. Koteswara Rao. ''Communist Parties and United Front – Experience in Kerala and West Bengal''. [[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad]]: Prajasakti Book House, 2003. p. 89</ref>

On 1 May 1923 the [[Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan]] was founded in [[Madras]], by [[Singaravelu Chettiar]]. The LKPH organised the first May Day celebration in India, and this was also the first time the [[red flag (politics)|red flag]] was used in India.<ref>[http://www.singaravelar.com/achievements.htm :: Singaravelar – Achievements ::<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110421062618/http://www.singaravelar.com/achievements.htm|date=21 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="rao1">M.V.S. Koteswara Rao. ''Communist Parties and United Front – Experience in Kerala and West Bengal''. [[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad]]: Prajasakti Book House, 2003. p. 110</ref><ref>Report of May Day Celebrations 1923, and Formation of a New Party (''The Hindu'' quoted in Murugesan, K., Subramanyam, C. S. ''Singaravelu, First Communist in South India''. New Delhi: People's Publishing House, 1975. p.169</ref>

On 25 December 1925, the [[Communist Party of India]] formed at the [[1925 Kanpur Communist Conference|first Party Conference]] in [[Kanpur]], then ''Cawnpore''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article9916.html|title=Foundation of the Communist Party of India (CPI) in 1925: Product of (...) - Mainstream}}</ref> 
[[Sachchidanand Vishnu Ghate|S.V. Ghate]] was the first General Secretary of CPI. The conference held on 1925 December 25 to 28. Colonial authorities estimated that 500 persons took part in the conference. The conference was convened by a man called [[Satya Bhakta|Satyabhakta]], of whom little is known. Satyabhakta is said to have argued for a ‘national communism’ and against subordination under Comintern. Being outvoted by the other delegates, Satyabhakta left the conference venue and later the party in protest. Satyabhakta then formed a party called National Communist Party, which lasted until 1927. {{citation needed|date=January 2024}} The conference adopted the name ‘Communist Party of India’. Groups such as LKPH dissolved into the unified CPI.<ref>M.V.S. Koteswara Rao. ''Communist Parties and United Front – Experience in Kerala and West Bengal''. [[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad]]: Prajasakti Book House, 2003. p. 92-93</ref> The émigré CPI, which probably had little organic character anyway, was effectively substituted by the organisation now operating inside India.

[[File:Indian Marxist graffiti 2004.jpg|left|thumb|Communist electoral mural in [[Jadavpur]].]]
There are many smaller Marxist parties, including the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)]], [[Marxist Communist Party of India]], [[Marxist Coordination Committee]] in Jharkhand, [[Janathipathiya Samrakshana Samithy]], [[Communist Marxist Party]] and [[BTR-EMS-AKG Janakeeya Vedi]] in Kerala, Mazdoor Mukti (Workers' Emancipation) and [[Party of Democratic Socialism (India)|Party of Democratic Socialism]] in West Bengal, [[Janganotantrik Morcha]] in Tripura, the Ram Pasla group in [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], and the [[Orissa Communist Party]] in Orissa.

==Political parties==
At the 1931 Karachi session of the [[Indian National Congress]], socialist pattern of development was set as the goal for India. Through the 1955 Avadi Resolution of the Indian National Congress, a socialistic pattern of development was presented as the goal of the party. A year later, the Indian parliament adopted 'socialistic pattern of development' as official policy, a policy that came to include land reforms and regulations of industries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cid.harvard.edu/hiid/662.pdf|title=The Role of Law and Legal Institutions in Asian Economic Development: The Case of India : Patterns of Change in the Legal System and Socio-Economy|website=Cid.harvard.edu|access-date=2016-07-28}}</ref> The word [[Socialism|socialist]] was added to the Preamble of the [[Indian Constitution]] by the [[Forty-second Amendment of the Constitution of India|42nd amendment]] act of 1976, during [[The Emergency (India)|the Emergency]]. It implies social and economic equality. Social equality in this context means the absence of discrimination on the grounds only of [[caste]], colour, [[creed]], sex, religion, or [[language]]. Under social equality, everyone has equal status and opportunities. Economic equality in this context means that the [[Government of India|government]] will endeavour to make the distribution of wealth more equal and provide a decent standard of living for all.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/amend/amend42.htm |title=The Constitution (Amendment) |website=Indiacode.nic.in |access-date=2016-07-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150328040620/http://indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/amend/amend42.htm |archive-date=28 March 2015 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Communists were also active in the Indian independence movement and have played a significant role in India's political life, although they are fragmented into a multitude of different parties. Communist parties represented in parliament are: (statistics from 2024 General Elections) [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]] (4 seats in the [[Lok Sabha]]), the [[Communist Party of India]] (2 seats), the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation]] (2 seats), the [[Revolutionary Socialist Party (India)|Revolutionary Socialist Party]] (1 seat).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Members : Lok Sabha|url=https://loksabha.nic.in/members/PartyWiseStatisticalList.aspx|access-date=2021-06-11|website=loksabha.nic.in}}</ref>

Aside from the Congress and the Left Front, there are other socialist parties active in India, notably the [[Samajwadi Party]], which emerged from the [[Janata Dal]], formed by [[Mulayam Singh Yadav]], former Chief Minister of [[Uttar Pradesh]] and Union Defence Minister and now led by his son [[Akhilesh Yadav]], also a former Chief Minister of [[Uttar Pradesh]]. It has 37 seats in the 18th [[Lok Sabha]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://old.eci.gov.in/files/file/13597-4-list-of-successful-candidate/ |title=List Of Successful Candidate |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210724174750/https://eci.gov.in/files/file/13597-4-list-of-successful-candidate/ |archive-date=Jul 24, 2021}}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|India|Politics|Communism|Socialism|Organized Labour}} 
*[[Anarchism in India]]
*[[Communism in India]]  
*[[Communism in Kerala]]
*[[Fabian Society]]
*[[List of political parties in India]]
*[[Marxist historiography]]
*[[Politics of India]]
*[[Secularism in India]]
*[[Licence Raj]]
*[[List of communist parties in India]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Socialism by state}}
{{Asia in topic|Socialism in}}
{{Indian independence movement}}
{{Indian Revolutionary Movement}}
{{Socialism}}
{{Communism}} 
{{Marxism–Leninism}}

[[Category:Socialism in India| ]]
[[Category:History of socialism]]
[[Category:Political movements in India]]
[[Category:Left-wing politics in India]]
[[Category:Far-left politics in India]]
[[Category:Socialist movements by country|India]]