Left radicalism in India was rooted in the nationalist movement and was set in motion in the 1920s with the formation of the communist party. The communist movement manifested itself differently in each phase of India’s political history and Communism continues to remain a meaningful alternative ideological discourse in India. This book examines left politics in India focusing on its rise, consolidation and relative decline in the present century. Left radicalism in India is a distinct ideological phenomenon which is articulated in two complementary ways: while the parliamentary left remains social democratic in character, its bête noire, the left wing extremists, continue to uphold the classical Marxist, Leninist and Maoist notion of violent revolution. By concentrating on the nature and also activities of these two versions of left radicalism, this book is a thorough study of the phenomenon. The author analyses the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura and presents a variety of case studies of communist movements. He argues that the political power of the left parties depends on the degree to which they have built organizational strength, political hegemony and a broad social base through legal and extra-parliamentary struggles. An in-depth study of socio-economic circumstances that remain critical in conceptualizing radical extremism, Left Radicalism in India will be of interest to those studying Indian Politics, South Asian History, Development Studies and Global Politics.

This book makes a critical analysis of West Bengal's Left Front regime (1977-2011) and explores the causes of its collapse under three sgments; inquiry into issues of political management; evaluation of various policy initiatives; and examination of development in civil society. Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in South Asia.

This book closely analyzes the shift in the nature of political processes as well as the current political dynamics in West Bengal.

This book presents a reappraisal of the political economic history of the CPIM/Left Front regime against the backdrop of the Indian reform experience. It examines two distinct areas: the conditions that necessitated the regime to engineer a transition from an erstwhile agricultural-based growth model to a more pro-market economic agenda post-199

Everywhere, as the author states, capitalism is triumphant and Marxism seems irrelevant. Yet, not that long ago, many had thought that capitalism would collapse, owing to its own inherent contradictions, and be replaced by a just and egalitarian world order, following the ideals of Marxism. Anuradha Roy argues that it is important to understand this failure at the very roots, which were responsible for a huge gap between Marxisms promise and practice, leading to its downfall. A communist party, the CPI (M) had been elected in Bengal and ruled for 34 years until it came to an abrupt end in 2011, now on its way to disappearing from the public space all over India. Yet India has much poverty and deprivation still; remaining fertile ground for ideas of equality and social justice. This book, on Marxian thought in Bengal rather than a history of the Marxist movement, discusses the different shades of Bengal Marxism, also including oppositional views. The Marxists believed that the revolution would take place in the realm of culture, narrowly defined, creating an unbridgeable distance from the masses. Many of the sources have been taken from well-known Bengali journals, not available in English, earlier. Roy points out that it was the non-Marxist intellectuals who did justice to Marxism by acknowledging its possibilities and questioning its inadequacies. The author discusses how many scholars have reinvented Marxism as a modifier to disciplines like literature, history, sociology and political science, often combining Marxism with postmodernism. Roy argues that if we think of Marxism as a tradition, not as a doctrine offering an all-embracing explanation of the past and the present and capable of predicting the future, we shall derive much valuable inspiration from it.

The democratic Left in India is in crisis. During the first decade of this century it slid from its highest parliamentary presence to virtual irrelevance. A key to its retrieval, this book argues, lies in its ability to imagine a new popular politics for reinventing its democratic credentials beyond electoral posturing. In this respect, much can be learnt from the Left's governmental practices as they have evolved since the late 1960s, crafting a unique blend of politics, policy, idealism, practicality, vision and delivery. By looking at the problematics of government from the days of deft land reforms to messy land acquisition, this book situates 'government as practice' as a prism for critical thinking on democratic politics in postcolonial India. Grounded in empirical and archival research, the book will be useful for those who are passionate as well as sceptical about the revival potentials of a new Left in India's fast-changing political economy.

Over the past decade India has witnessed a number of land wars that have centred crucially on the often forcible transfer of land from small farmers or indigenous groups to private companies. Among these, the land war that erupted in Singur, West Bengal, in 2006, went on to make national headlines and become paradigmatic of many of the challenges and social conflicts that arise when a state-led policy of swiftly transferring land to private sector companies encounters resistance on the ground. Land Dispossession and Everyday Politics in Rural Eastern India analyses the movement by Singur’s so-called unwilling farmers to retain and reclaim their farmland. By foregrounding the everyday politics of popular mobilization, the book sheds new light on the movement’s internal politics as well as on contentious issues rooted in everyday caste, class and gender relations.