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www.GOALias.blogspot.comEra of One-party Dominance 37The Communist Party of IndiaIn the early 1920s communist groups emergedin different parts of India taking inspirationfrom the Bolshevik revolution in Russiaand advocating socialism as the solution toproblems affecting the country. From 1935,the Communists worked mainly from withinthe fold of the Indian National Congress.A parting of ways took place in December1941, when the Communists decided tosupport the British in their war against NaziGermany. Unlike other non-Congress partiesthe CPI had a well-oiled party machinery anddedicated cadre at the time of Independence.However, Independence raised differentvoices in the party. The basic question thattroubled the party was the nature of Indianindependence. Was Indiareally free or was freedoma sham?Soon after Independence,the party thought thatthe transfer of powerin 1947 was not trueindependence and encouraged violent uprisingsin Telangana. The Communists failed to generatepopular support for their position and were crushedby the armed forces. This forced them to rethink theirposition. In 1951 the Communist Party abandoned thepath of violent revolution and decided to participatein the approaching general elections. In the firstgeneral election, CPI won 16 seats and emerged asthe largest opposition party. The party’s support wasmore concentrated in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal,Bihar and Kerala.A. K. Gopalan, S.A. Dange, E.M.S. Namboodiripad,P.C. Joshi, Ajay Ghosh and P. Sundarraya wereamong the notable leaders of the CPI. The Party wentthrough a major split in 1964 following the ideologicalrift between Soviet Union and China. The pro-Sovietfaction remained as the CPI, while the opponentsformed the CPI(M). Both these parties continue toexist to this day.A.K. Gopalan(1904-1977): Communistleader from Kerala,worked as a Congressworker initially; joinedthe Communist Party in1939; after the split inthe Communist Partyin 1964, joined theCPI (M) and workedfor strengthening theparty; respected as aparliamentarian; Memberof Parliament from 1952.