The Archives on Contemporary History was created on 1 December 1970 with the collection of documents, pamphlets, newspapers and other sources on the left movement in India received by Jawaharlal Nehru University from Puran Chandra Joshi. Building on this rich collection, the Archives is today a major resource centre for the study of the Socialist and Communist movements in India.
Born on 14 April, 1907 in Almora and educated in Allahabad, Joshi was an activist and leader of the Communist movement for about fifty years. At the time of his death on 9 November, 1980, he along with K. Damodaran, was engaged in preparing a documentary history of the Communist movement in India.
In his memory, Jawaharlal Nehru University has instituted an annual lecture. The First Memorial Lecture was delivered by Professor Irfan Habib, Professor of Medieval History, Aligarh Muslim University, on 4 November 1993.
This year’s memorial lecture- “P.C.Joshi Birth Centenary Memorial Lecture”- was delivered by the well known historian Professor Bipan Chandra on 17 August 2007. The topic of the lecture was: P.C .Joshi: A Political Journey.
Professor Chandra gave some interesting details about P C Joshi when he was a youngman with leftwing leanings and worked in Workers and Peasants Party in Uttar Pradesh. This was the time when Joshi came into contact with Jawaharlal Nehru who had just returned from Soviet Union. Everywhere, in his speeches, he was explaining socialist ideas to the youth. For Joshi this was a period of imbibing Marxism. During this period apart from organizing students in Allahabad University, Joshi also worked among the mill workers of Kanpur. Joshi formally joined the Communist Party in 1929. Soon after, along with 31 other Communist workers and Trade Unionists he was arrested in the famous Meerut Conspiracy Case. He was released form Jail in 1933, Communists once again became actively involved in the organization of strikes in various industrial centers of India. There were the years of intense colonial repression. On 23 July, 1934, the Government of India declared the CPI, its sub-committees and branches to be unlawful associations. Joshi was leading the strike of the Muir Mills’ Cawnpore (Kanpur) workers and was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment.
The scattered Communist group met in Surat in late 1935 and chose P.C. Joshi, when he was just 28 years old, as the General Secretary of the Communist Party. Meanwhile, the Comintern had once again changed its political line because of the rise of Fascism in Europe and advanced the political line of “United Front.” This kind of politics suited Joshi’s ideological temperament as he had the experience of working in close Collaboration with Congressmen and non-communist left groupings. Within months the party was reorganized to work in a coordinated manner, In 1936-37, Joshi toured all provinces and formed actually functioning provincial party committees. Despite repression the party was increasing its strength. In 1943, when the first Party Congress was held, there were 17000 full or candidate members.
His passionate hard work and enthusiasm instilled an immense pride in the Party among its members and sympathizers. From 1939 onwards, he was the editor of the Party weekly National Front and used this magazine to organize communist activities and propagate anti-colonial socialist views. Various organizations like All India Kisan Sabha, All India Trade Union Congress, Progressive Writers Association and All India Students Federation were either formed or revitalized during Joshi period . Joshi inspired hundreds of intellectuals, poets and artists in different professions. Many of them dedicated their entire life to the party’s work and lived a Gandhian life-style.
As a result of his efforts, the All India People’s Theatre (IPTA) movement was born and foundations of a progressive new culture were laid in India for the first time. This was Indian Communists’ unique and durable contribution to Indian social life. Later on, many of these cultural workers joined the new movement in Hindustani cinema which evolved a new genre of combining entertainment with a strong social message, of hope and faith in India’s future. As a result of Joshi’s vision and multi-dimensional activities, the CPI though a numerically small party, came to occupy the vast intellectual ground in the life of the nation. Poets and writers like Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Sardar Jaafri, Sahir Ludhianvi, Jan Nissar Akhtar, Kaifi Azmi, Majaj, Krishan Chander, Makhdoom Mohiuddin, Yashpal Dinkar and many others came to be associated with the activities of the Party.
From 1945 onwards, a strong group with adventurist ideas of Revolution began to emerge within the CPI under the leadership of B.T. Ranadhive. By 1947, this group had come to acquire a position of dominance within the party. Joshi’s pragmatism, based on an intuitive grasp of the unity of nationalism and socialism under conditions of colonialism, could not confront the infantile Marxist bookish discourse of Ranadhive. Joshi could not theoretically defend his new vision of hegemonic politics, even when successful, against the sectarian onslaught of the received Marxist wisdom. Partly, the reason for this was that Joshi himself shared some of the dogmas of his tormentors. In fact, till today, on intellectual group or an individual has ever courageously and convincingly confronted this powerful foundational current of sectarianism within the Communist movement.
Soon, Joshi was first isolated and then unceremoniously thrown out of the Party. Those who were better educated and could brandish the weapon of Marxist quotations had managed to hijack the entire Party. Their slogan was: “ Yeh Azadi Jhooti hai.” In order to break his resistance and loosen his grip over the Party rank and file, Joshi was viciously attacked. After Joshi’s exit from the Party leadership in 1948, a large number of artists, writers and other intellectuals felt stifled and left the party in hordes. The Party itself came down from a membership of about 90,000 to barely 18,000. Later on, in the Sixities, Joshi was taken back into the Party. By that time, Stalinist methods of the leadership had destroyed his spirit and he was on longer Joshi of old days. He was even allowed to edit the Party Weekly, New Age, but on certain terms which reduced him to the status of a “Political prisoner.” Despite his opposition he could not stop factionalism, and ultimately, the split within the Communist movement. Up to the end, Joshi remained loyal to the cause of socialist, secular and democratic India.
Bhagawan Josh, Professor,
Archives on Contemporary History, SSS
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