On Congress Socialist Party

(3 April 1903 – 29 October 1988)

Kamla Devi Chattopadhyay

I came out late 1933 just when the Congress was assembling in Bombay. There was only two events that i considered of note at that session: Gandhiji's dramatic announcement that he was going to resign from the congress membership and he was leaving Sabarmati Ashram vowing to return there only after Swaraj came. Though Swaraj did come, to him it was a shattered one, and he never did go back again. The other was a resolution to demand a Constituent Assembly for framing the future National Constitution for India.

At this period Marxism was in the air. Some practical reality to it had been provided by the triumphant rise of Soviet Russia overcoming the combined onslaught of the capitalist countries. This had been capped by Pandit Nehru's account of this trip to the new Workers Republic. Communism was yet a ripple in the vast mass of India. One also felt the need for a more precise objective of freedom in clearer pragmatic terms. True Gandhiji had outlined the Swaraj of his dream, which was however far from our practising goals, nor was our immediate path marked by such typical landmarks as he indicated.

In this context Marxism seemed to provide the precise and clear cut economic and social analysis, the idea of an integrated classless society, to a feudal-stricken, caste - ridden country. To the youth it held keen allure.

When I came out of prison the Socialist Party had already beed formed. It is said to have emerged in the prison cells with Jayaprakash, Minoo Masani, Yusuf Meharally, etc. Later Narendra Dev, Purshoottam Tricumdas and other intellectuals joined, as also large numbers of young people who were excited by Marxism, and eager for action. Before the first Socialist conference, Minoo Masani as Party Secretry, discussed the proposed move with Pandit Nehru who recorded in a letter his pleasure that a Socialist group would function in the Congress and influence the ideology of that body and country. Neharu's reaction was sought as in his political writings Nehru depicted the Indian struggle in a world perspective, stressing the clash of class interests as part of a global phenomenon. But at no stage did he instigate, encourage or support the party as such nor did the party seek his patronage.

The Socialist Party declared its ideology as Marxist which would determine its programme so as to fulfill its task. At the same time it made it clear that the party as such did not represent any single class. On the country it would unite on its platform all anti-imperialist elements to overthrow it and establish real Swaraj. It acknowledge the National Congress as the rightful vehicle of the Indian people's freedom struggle and therefore to stay within it.

The task within the Congress would be to help prepare the congress for mass struggle. To ensure this, membership of the congress was made obligatory for anyone who wished to join the party, which was now appropriately titled the Congress Socialist Party. The members were also enjoined to show respect to the national leaders and maintain good relations with them.

Unexpectedly enough Gandhiji welcomed the Party within the Congress wanting to bring various streams of thought into the broad national movement. He however expressed that class was not the right path. I could assume thar this was an expression of his acceptance of our bona-fides whatever the ideological differences may be with his habitual liberalism.

With the elder leaders who called themselves Gandhi-ites' it was a different story. They took the formation of the Socialist Party as a challenge to Gandhiji's leadership and therefore his ideas. They passed a resolution in two successive working committee meetings, dissociating the congress from class war, appropriation of private property and the like, as these posed a threat to non-violence.

I Joined the Party and settled down in Mangalore where in the rural areas I could create base for sound grass-root work and organise social and economic group for full participation in community service. The Seva Dal was still under a ban, do its activities were at a standstill, and I could give undivided attention to this.

Labour and peasant unions were unknown in my region at the time. I could concentrate more effectively on the former though industrial and processing establishment were small. A number of unions were soon humming through the districts.

The Worker's Unions lent a piquancy to the situation, particularly in the women-labour unions. The districts had large concentrations of women labour, cashew nut and coffee curing. Very Soon a crisis rose in the cashew nut factories. The product were all for export and greatest emphasis was on the neat, clean look of each nut. For this, the thin skin clinging to the nut used to be scraped out by the workers with their nails. This naturally bruised the fingers. Repeated request for extra sharp knives were ignored. So a strike was called. It was quite an event and stirred up the entire district, especially women, whose sympathies were roused. This was my first taste of conducting a labour strike and prove quite an experience. We had however a resounding victory.

The Socialist Party grew rapidly, attracting the younger elements from all walks of life, also some maturer ones. A fresh spirit seemed injected into our otherwise humdrum life, since Satyagraha had been called off by Gandhiji after his release in 1933, after which the ban on the congress had been lifted. The political tempo had therefore been a low key.

In 1936 Pandit Nehru took over as Congress President. This created great expectations among the youth. It was also hoped that the working relations between the Congress and the Congress Socialist Party would become congenial. This hope was accentuated when Pandit Nehru took three members of the Socialist Party into his working committee, which seemed like a break through, a concrete sign that socialist were acceptable, not just tolerated. They were Shri Jayaprakash Narayan, Acharya Narendra Dev and Achyuth Patwardhan. Apart from this gesture, Panditji had not indicated any further leanings towards, or visible sympathy with the Socialist Party.