Congress Socialist Party
Encyclopedia
The Congress Socialist Party (CSP) was founded in 1934 as a socialist caucus within the Indian National Congress
. Its members rejected what they saw as the anti-rational mysticism of Mohandas Gandhi as well as the sectarian attitude of the Communist Party of India
towards the Congress Party. Influenced by Fabianism as well as Marxism-Leninism
, the CSP included advocates of armed struggle or sabotage (such as Jai Prakash Narayan and Basawon Singh (Sinha)
as well as those who insisted upon ahimsa
or nonviolent resistance (such as Acharya Narendra Deva
). The CSP advocated decentralized socialism in which co-operatives, trade union
s, independent farmers, and local authorities would hold a substantial share of the economic power. As secularists, they hoped to transcend communal divisions through class solidarity. Some, such as Narendra Deva or Basawon Singh (Sinha)
, advocated a democratic socialism
distinct from both Marxism
and reformist social democracy
. During the Popular Front
period, the communists worked within CSP. Basawon Singh (Sinha)
along with Yogendra Shukla
were among the founder members of Congress Socialist Party from Bihar
.
JP Narayan and Minoo Masani were released from jail in April 1934. Narayan convened a meeting in Patna
on May 17, 1934, which founded the Bihar Congress Socialist Party. Narayan became general secretary of the party and Acharya Narendra Deva became president. The Patna meeting gave a call for a socialist conference which would be held in connection to the Congress Annual Conference. At this conference, held in Bombay October 22-October 23, 1934, they formed a new All India party, the Congress Socialist Party. Narayan became general secretary of the party, and Masani joint secretary. The conference venue was decorated by Congress flags and a portrait of Karl Marx
. In the new party the greeting 'comrade
' was used. Masani mobilised the party in Bombay, whereas Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya and Puroshottam Trikamdas organised the party in other parts of Maharashtra
. Ganga Sharan Singh (Sinha)
was among the prominent leaders of the Indian National Congress
Party as among the founders of the Congress Socialist Party. The constitution of the CSP defined that the members of CSP were the members of the Provisional Congress Socialist Parties and that they were all required to be members of the Indian National Congress. Members of communal
organizations or political organizations whose goals were incompatible with the ones of CSP, were barred from CSP membership. The Bombay conference raised the slogan of mobilising the masses for a Constituent Assembly.
In 1936 the Communists
joined CSP, as part of the Popular Front
strategy of the ComIntern
. In some states, like Kerala
and Orissa
, communists came to dominate CSP. In fact communists dominated the entire Congress in Kerala through its hold of CSP at one point.
In 1936, the CSP began fraternal relations with the Lanka Sama Samaja Party
of Ceylon. In 1937 the CSP sent Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya on a speaking tour of the island.
The CSP had adopted Marxism in 1936 and their third conference in Faizpur
they had formulated a thesis that directed the party to work to transform the Indian National Congress into an anti-imperialist front.
During the summer of 1938 a meeting took place between the Marxist sector of the Anushilan
movement and the CSP. Present in the meeting were Jai Prakash Narayan (leader of CSP), Jogesh Chandra Chatterji, Tribid Kumar Chaudhuri and Keshav Prasad Sharma. The Anushilan marxists then held talks with Acharya Narendra Deva, a former Anushilan militant. The Anushilan marxists decided to join CSP, but keeping a separate identity within the party. With them came the Anushilan Samiti, not only the Marxist sector. The non-Marxists (who constituted about a half of the membership of the Samiti), although not ideologically attracted to the CSP, felt loyalty towards the Marxist sector. Moreover, around 25% of the membership of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association
joined the CSP. This group was led by Jogesh Chandra Chatterji. The Anushilan marxists were however soon to be disappointed by developments inside the CSP. The party, at that the time Anushilan marxists had joined it, was not a homogeneous entity. There was the Marxist trend led by J.P. Narayan and Narendra Deva, the Fabian socialist trend led by Minoo Masani and Asoka Mehta
and a Gandhian socialist trend led by Ram Manohar Lohia
and Achyut Patwardan. To the Anushilan marxists differences emerged between the ideological stands of the party and its politics in practice. These differences surfaced at the 1939 annual session of the Indian National Congress at Tripuri. At Tripuri, in the eyes of the Anushlian marxists, the CSP had failed to consistently defend Subhas Chandra Bose. Jogesh Chandra Chatterji renounced his CSP membership in protest against the action by the party leadership.
Soon after the Tripuri session, Bose resigned as Congress president and formed the Forward Bloc. The Forward Bloc was intended to function as a unifying force for all leftwing elements. The Forward Bloc held its first conference on June 22–23, 1939, and at the same time a Left Consolidation Committee consisting of the Forward Bloc, CPI, CSP, the Kisan Sabha, League of Radical Congressmen
, Labour Party and the Anushilan marxists. At this moment, in October 1939, J.P. Narayan tried to stretch out an olive branch to the Anushilan marxists. He proposed the formation of a 'War Council' consisting of himself, Pratul Ganguly, Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee and Acharya Narendra Deva. But few days later, at a session of the All India Congress Committee, J.P. Narayan and the other CSP leaders pledged not to start any other movements parallel to those initiated by Gandhi. The Left Consolidation Committee soon fell into pieces, as the CPI, the CSP and the Royists deserted it. The Anushlian marxists left the CSP soon thereafter, forming the Revolutionary Socialist Party
.
Narayan organized the CSP relief work in Kutch in 1939.
On the occasion of the 1940 Ramgarh Congress Conference CPI released a declaration called Proletarian Path, which sought to utilize the weakened state of the British Empire in the time of war and gave a call for general strike
, no-tax, no-rent policies and mobilising for an armed revolution uprising. The National Executive of the CSP assembled at Ramgarh took a decision that all communists were expelled from CSP.
Members of the CSP were particularly active in the Quit India movement of August 1942. Although a socialist, Jawaharlal Nehru
did not join the CSP, which created some rancour among CSP members who saw Nehru as unwilling to put his socialist slogans into action. After independence, the CSP broke away from Congress
, under the influence of JP Narayan and Basawon Singh (Sinha)
, to form the Socialist Party of India. Basawon Singh (Sinha)
went on to become the first leader of opposition in the state of Bihar (and assembly as well) and Acharya Narendra Deva
became the first leader of opposition in U.P. state and assembly.
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
. Its members rejected what they saw as the anti-rational mysticism of Mohandas Gandhi as well as the sectarian attitude of the Communist Party of India
Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...
towards the Congress Party. Influenced by Fabianism as well as Marxism-Leninism
Marxism-Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology, officially based upon the theories of Marxism and Vladimir Lenin, that promotes the development and creation of a international communist society through the leadership of a vanguard party over a revolutionary socialist state that represents a dictatorship...
, the CSP included advocates of armed struggle or sabotage (such as Jai Prakash Narayan and Basawon Singh (Sinha)
Basawon Singh (Sinha)
Basawon Singh has been among the greatest nationalists who joined into the freedom struggle at a tender age of 13 and kept on his struggle for the independence of the country from the colonial yoke and fighting for the rights of the underprivileged, industrial labours and agricultural workers all...
as well as those who insisted upon ahimsa
Ahimsa
Ahimsa is a term meaning to do no harm . The word is derived from the Sanskrit root hims – to strike; himsa is injury or harm, a-himsa is the opposite of this, i.e. non harming or nonviolence. It is an important tenet of the Indian religions...
or nonviolent resistance (such as Acharya Narendra Deva
Narendra Deva
Acharya Narendra Deva was one of the leading theorists of the Congress Socialist Party in India. His democratic socialism renounced violent means as a matter of principle and embraced the satyagraha as a revolutionary tactic....
). The CSP advocated decentralized socialism in which co-operatives, trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s, independent farmers, and local authorities would hold a substantial share of the economic power. As secularists, they hoped to transcend communal divisions through class solidarity. Some, such as Narendra Deva or Basawon Singh (Sinha)
Basawon Singh (Sinha)
Basawon Singh has been among the greatest nationalists who joined into the freedom struggle at a tender age of 13 and kept on his struggle for the independence of the country from the colonial yoke and fighting for the rights of the underprivileged, industrial labours and agricultural workers all...
, advocated a democratic socialism
Democratic socialism
Democratic socialism is a description used by various socialist movements and organizations to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation...
distinct from both Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
and reformist social democracy
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
. During the Popular Front
Popular front
A popular front is a broad coalition of different political groupings, often made up of leftists and centrists. Being very broad, they can sometimes include centrist and liberal forces as well as socialist and communist groups...
period, the communists worked within CSP. Basawon Singh (Sinha)
Basawon Singh (Sinha)
Basawon Singh has been among the greatest nationalists who joined into the freedom struggle at a tender age of 13 and kept on his struggle for the independence of the country from the colonial yoke and fighting for the rights of the underprivileged, industrial labours and agricultural workers all...
along with Yogendra Shukla
Yogendra Shukla
Yogendra Shukla was an Indian nationalist born in Bihar. He served in the Cellular Jail , and he was among the founders of Hindustan Socialist Republican Association...
were among the founder members of Congress Socialist Party from Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
.
JP Narayan and Minoo Masani were released from jail in April 1934. Narayan convened a meeting in Patna
Patna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
on May 17, 1934, which founded the Bihar Congress Socialist Party. Narayan became general secretary of the party and Acharya Narendra Deva became president. The Patna meeting gave a call for a socialist conference which would be held in connection to the Congress Annual Conference. At this conference, held in Bombay October 22-October 23, 1934, they formed a new All India party, the Congress Socialist Party. Narayan became general secretary of the party, and Masani joint secretary. The conference venue was decorated by Congress flags and a portrait of Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
. In the new party the greeting 'comrade
Comrade
Comrade means "friend", "colleague", or "ally". The word comes from French camarade. The term is frequently used by left-wing organizations around the globe. "Comrade" has often become a stock phrase and form of address. This word has its regional equivalents available in many...
' was used. Masani mobilised the party in Bombay, whereas Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya and Puroshottam Trikamdas organised the party in other parts of Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
. Ganga Sharan Singh (Sinha)
Ganga Sharan Singh (Sinha)
Eminent nationalist, freedom fighter and litterateur Ganga Sharan Singh was a member of the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of Parliament for three terms .. He was among the prominent leaders of the Indian National Congress Party as among the founders of the Congress Socialist Party...
was among the prominent leaders of the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
Party as among the founders of the Congress Socialist Party. The constitution of the CSP defined that the members of CSP were the members of the Provisional Congress Socialist Parties and that they were all required to be members of the Indian National Congress. Members of communal
Communalism (South Asia)
This article deals with the use of the word communalism in South Asia, as a name for a force separating different communities based on some form of social or sectarian discrimination...
organizations or political organizations whose goals were incompatible with the ones of CSP, were barred from CSP membership. The Bombay conference raised the slogan of mobilising the masses for a Constituent Assembly.
In 1936 the Communists
Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...
joined CSP, as part of the Popular Front
Popular front
A popular front is a broad coalition of different political groupings, often made up of leftists and centrists. Being very broad, they can sometimes include centrist and liberal forces as well as socialist and communist groups...
strategy of the ComIntern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
. In some states, like Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
and Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
, communists came to dominate CSP. In fact communists dominated the entire Congress in Kerala through its hold of CSP at one point.
In 1936, the CSP began fraternal relations with the Lanka Sama Samaja Party
Lanka Sama Samaja Party
The Lanka Sama Samaja Party is a Trotskyist political party in Sri Lanka....
of Ceylon. In 1937 the CSP sent Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya on a speaking tour of the island.
The CSP had adopted Marxism in 1936 and their third conference in Faizpur
Faizpur
Faizpur is a city and a municipal council in Jalgaon district in the state of Maharashtra, India.- Geography :Faizpur is located at . It has an average elevation of 226 metres .-History:...
they had formulated a thesis that directed the party to work to transform the Indian National Congress into an anti-imperialist front.
During the summer of 1938 a meeting took place between the Marxist sector of the Anushilan
Anushilan Samiti
Anushilan Samiti was an armed anti-British organisation in Bengal and the principal secret revolutionary organisation operating in the region in the opening years of the 20th century. This association, like its offshoot the Jugantar, operated under the guise of suburban fitness club...
movement and the CSP. Present in the meeting were Jai Prakash Narayan (leader of CSP), Jogesh Chandra Chatterji, Tribid Kumar Chaudhuri and Keshav Prasad Sharma. The Anushilan marxists then held talks with Acharya Narendra Deva, a former Anushilan militant. The Anushilan marxists decided to join CSP, but keeping a separate identity within the party. With them came the Anushilan Samiti, not only the Marxist sector. The non-Marxists (who constituted about a half of the membership of the Samiti), although not ideologically attracted to the CSP, felt loyalty towards the Marxist sector. Moreover, around 25% of the membership of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association
Hindustan Socialist Republican Association
Hindustan Socialist Republican Association was a revolutionary organisation established in 1928 at Feroz Shah Kotla New Delhi by Chandrasekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and others...
joined the CSP. This group was led by Jogesh Chandra Chatterji. The Anushilan marxists were however soon to be disappointed by developments inside the CSP. The party, at that the time Anushilan marxists had joined it, was not a homogeneous entity. There was the Marxist trend led by J.P. Narayan and Narendra Deva, the Fabian socialist trend led by Minoo Masani and Asoka Mehta
Asoka Mehta
Asoka Mehta was an Indian freedom fighter and socialist politician. He helped organize the socialist wing of the Indian National Congress, along with Jaya Prakash Narayan, and was heavily involved in the politics and government of the western city of Bombay.Mehta was arrested during the Quit India...
and a Gandhian socialist trend led by Ram Manohar Lohia
Ram Manohar Lohia
Rammanohar Lohia was an Indian freedom fighter and a socialist political leader.-Early life:Lohia was born in a village Akbarpur in Ambedkar Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh, in India to Hira Lal, a nationalist and Chanda,a teacher. He was born to Marwari Maheshwari family. His mother died when he...
and Achyut Patwardan. To the Anushilan marxists differences emerged between the ideological stands of the party and its politics in practice. These differences surfaced at the 1939 annual session of the Indian National Congress at Tripuri. At Tripuri, in the eyes of the Anushlian marxists, the CSP had failed to consistently defend Subhas Chandra Bose. Jogesh Chandra Chatterji renounced his CSP membership in protest against the action by the party leadership.
Soon after the Tripuri session, Bose resigned as Congress president and formed the Forward Bloc. The Forward Bloc was intended to function as a unifying force for all leftwing elements. The Forward Bloc held its first conference on June 22–23, 1939, and at the same time a Left Consolidation Committee consisting of the Forward Bloc, CPI, CSP, the Kisan Sabha, League of Radical Congressmen
Radical Democratic Party (India)
Radical Democratic Party, political party in India which existed at the time of the Second World War. RDP evolved out of the League of Radical Congressmen, which had been founded in 1939 by former Communist International leader M.N. Roy. Roy founded RDP in 1940 with the purpose of engaging India in...
, Labour Party and the Anushilan marxists. At this moment, in October 1939, J.P. Narayan tried to stretch out an olive branch to the Anushilan marxists. He proposed the formation of a 'War Council' consisting of himself, Pratul Ganguly, Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee and Acharya Narendra Deva. But few days later, at a session of the All India Congress Committee, J.P. Narayan and the other CSP leaders pledged not to start any other movements parallel to those initiated by Gandhi. The Left Consolidation Committee soon fell into pieces, as the CPI, the CSP and the Royists deserted it. The Anushlian marxists left the CSP soon thereafter, forming the Revolutionary Socialist Party
Revolutionary Socialist Party (India)
Revolutionary Socialist Party is a Marxist-Leninist political party in India. The party was founded on March 19, 1940 and has its roots in the Bengali liberation movement Anushilan Samiti and the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army. The party got around 0,4% of the votes and three seats in the Lok...
.
Narayan organized the CSP relief work in Kutch in 1939.
On the occasion of the 1940 Ramgarh Congress Conference CPI released a declaration called Proletarian Path, which sought to utilize the weakened state of the British Empire in the time of war and gave a call for general strike
General strike
A general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
, no-tax, no-rent policies and mobilising for an armed revolution uprising. The National Executive of the CSP assembled at Ramgarh took a decision that all communists were expelled from CSP.
Members of the CSP were particularly active in the Quit India movement of August 1942. Although a socialist, Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
did not join the CSP, which created some rancour among CSP members who saw Nehru as unwilling to put his socialist slogans into action. After independence, the CSP broke away from Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
, under the influence of JP Narayan and Basawon Singh (Sinha)
Basawon Singh (Sinha)
Basawon Singh has been among the greatest nationalists who joined into the freedom struggle at a tender age of 13 and kept on his struggle for the independence of the country from the colonial yoke and fighting for the rights of the underprivileged, industrial labours and agricultural workers all...
, to form the Socialist Party of India. Basawon Singh (Sinha)
Basawon Singh (Sinha)
Basawon Singh has been among the greatest nationalists who joined into the freedom struggle at a tender age of 13 and kept on his struggle for the independence of the country from the colonial yoke and fighting for the rights of the underprivileged, industrial labours and agricultural workers all...
went on to become the first leader of opposition in the state of Bihar (and assembly as well) and Acharya Narendra Deva
Narendra Deva
Acharya Narendra Deva was one of the leading theorists of the Congress Socialist Party in India. His democratic socialism renounced violent means as a matter of principle and embraced the satyagraha as a revolutionary tactic....
became the first leader of opposition in U.P. state and assembly.