Kolkata event marks 100 years since first Communist conference in India

By Harsh Thakor*

A public assembly was held in Kolkata on December 24, 2025, to mark the centenary of the , originally convened in Kanpur from December 26 to 28, 1925. The programme was organised by at on Lenin Sarani. According to the organisers, around 2,000 people attended the assembly.

Participants came from various districts of West Bengal and from several other states, including Bihar, Telangana, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Assam, Delhi, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra. Representatives from other communist revolutionary organisations were also present. Women and youth formed a visible section of the gathering. The programme began around 11:30 am and included speeches, cultural performances, and an exhibition.

The venue was decorated with party flags and photographs of communist leaders , Satya Narain Singh, and C.P. Reddy. Display boards carried photographs of martyrs and departed leaders associated with the communist movement. Another banner presented photographs and brief descriptions of several historical struggles in which communists were involved, including the Solapur events of 1930, the revolt of INA sailors, the Worli tribal movement, the , the Tebhaga movement, the Punappra–Vayalar movement, food movements in Bengal, and peasant struggles in regions such as Naxalbari, Srikakulam, Mushahari, Debra–Gopiballabhpur, Lakhimpur Kheri, and the Godavari Valley. A bookstall selling political literature and a medical camp operated by Shramjivi Swastho Udyog were also set up at the site.

The programme formally commenced with the unfurling of the red flag by Sushanta Jha, Secretary of the West Bengal State Committee of CPI (ML) New Democracy. The presidium included Sushanta Jha, Central Committee member Sailen Bhattacharyya, West Bengal State Committee leader Chandan Paramanik, and Central Committee member J.V. Chalapati Rao. The proceedings were conducted by Chandan Paramanik and Sumit Sinha.

A minute’s silence was observed in memory of those who had died in the course of the communist movement. This was followed by a cultural presentation by Sphulinga, a West Bengal-based student cultural group. Speakers who addressed the gathering included V.K. Patole (Central Committee), P. Prasad (Andhra Pradesh), Bhala Chandra Shadangi (Odisha), Jogesh Bhatta (Assam), S.V. Rao (Telangana), Kulwinder Singh Warraich (Punjab), and Mrigank (Delhi).

In their addresses, speakers referred to different phases of the communist movement in India, the role of international communist organisations in its early years, and the involvement of communists in workers’, peasants’, and adivasi struggles across various regions. Several speakers spoke about historical movements such as the Telangana armed struggle, the Godavari Valley resistance, the Debra–Gopiballabhpur movement, and peasant and tenant struggles in Punjab and Assam. Contemporary political developments, state policies, and security operations were also discussed from the speakers’ respective perspectives.

Piyasa Das Gupta, associated with the Debra–Gopiballabhpur movement and editor of the women’s magazine , read out a poem during the programme. Two publications brought out by Biplabi Ganaline were released on the occasion: a special magazine issue marking 100 years of the First Communist Conference and a booklet on the early phase of the communist movement in India.

Cultural performances were interspersed with the speeches. These included songs and performances by groups and individuals from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu. The programme concluded with the singing of the “”.

The event marked the first major programme organised in Kolkata following the merger of CPI (ML) New Democracy and PCC CPI (ML). The meeting concluded in the evening, with participants dispersing after the completion of the scheduled programme.

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Harsh Thakor is a freelance journalist who attended the conference

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