Maia Ramnath - Decolonizing Anarchism.pdf - Libcom

Echoes and Intersections I 93
"International-Radical- Communist Anarchist Club;' and
the intelligence officers keeping an eye on it, "an assemblage
of 'Russians, Poles, and Socialists"') met monthly
for dinner-often at one of San Francisco's many excellent
Italian restaurants, noted Govind Behari Lal-and to
discuss a variety of subjects, led by distinguished experts
on topics in the natural or social sciences. Here was a platform
for "dissenters from the establishment in any social,
political, or intellectual area" to "work off steam" or "vent
[their J fe elings."32 The club had no formal political affiliation
or party line, but each week Har Dayal produced some
notable speaker (on one occasion, John Reed), after which
"there were questions and discussions, and everybody ate
and drank and called each other 'comrade' [as the J burning
themes of the changing human relationships and ideologies
of the first decade of the 20th century were tossed about;'
from the "equality of women, equality of races, equality of
nations, equality of labour etc." to free love, or the desirability
of political bombings and assassinations.33
Har Dayal's other enterprise as entrepreneur of radicalism
and inventor of religion was the Fraternity of the Red
Flag. A month after resigning from Stanford, he published
an invitation to "all Radical Comrades" over the age of
twenty to join this group, whose stated object was "the service
of the Radical ideal oflife." The rules fo r achieving this
required that aspirants sign up for a one-year "novitiate" of
"moral and intellectual preparation" under the guidance of
an existing member, after which they would vow poverty
and homelessness, humility, "purity (but not celibacy);' service
and propaganda. The vow meant specifically that the