Second World War and the Left Response
This part is historically very important because it reveals the split within the Indian Left — especially between national priorities and international communist commitments.
Let’s now understand this step by step, in the clear, narrative style we’ve been maintaining.
🌏 The Outbreak of the Second World War (September 1939)
When World War II began in September 1939, Britain declared India to be a participant in the war — without consulting either the Congress or the elected Central Legislative Assembly.
This unilateral action by the British exposed the complete absence of Indian sovereignty.
It was like telling Indians, “You are good enough to fight for democracy in Europe, but not to have democracy in your own country.”
Congress Reaction
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) passed a resolution declaring:
“India cannot associate herself with a war which is claimed to be for the defence of democracy, while democratic freedom is denied to India herself.”
Thus, the Congress refused to support the war without a clear declaration of Indian independence.
The Ramgarh Session (March 1940)
At the Ramgarh Session, the Congress offered a conditional stance:
- It was willing to support the Allies — but only if Britain granted India national independence.
This resolution reflected a balanced position: the Congress was anti-fascist in principle, but also anti-imperialist in experience.
The Congress Socialists — though more radical — supported this official Congress line, recognising that the first duty of Indians was still to fight for India’s freedom, not someone else’s empire.
🔥 The Communist Party’s Response — Opposition to the War (1939–1941)
The Communist Party of India (CPI), however, took a completely different line — one that soon brought it into conflict with both the Congress and the British Government.
The “Proletarian Path” Declaration (1940)
At the time of the Ramgarh Congress Session, the CPI issued a statement called the “Proletarian Path.”
This declaration called for:
- Exploiting Britain’s wartime weakness,
- Launching a general strike,
- Following a No-Tax, No-Rent campaign, and
- Preparing for armed revolution.
In short, the CPI saw the war as an opportunity to intensify anti-imperialist struggle and overthrow British rule.
Immediate Consequence
This revolutionary line put the Communists in direct confrontation with the colonial government.
By February 1941, around 480 leading Communist activists were arrested, crippling the party’s organisation.
For a while, the CPI was completely paralysed.
⚖️ The Turning Point — Hitler’s Attack on the Soviet Union (June 1941)
A dramatic reversal occurred in June 1941, when Nazi Germany (under Hitler) invaded the Soviet Union.
This changed the entire ideological equation for Communists worldwide.
The Dilemma
For the Communists, the Soviet Union was not just another country — it was the “homeland of socialism.”
So, when the USSR came under attack, the Communist world now viewed the war not as an imperialist conflict between rival empires, but as a “People’s War” — a war to defend socialism and democracy.
Division Within the CPI
This development split the Indian Communists into two factions:
- P.C. Joshi’s Group (outside jail):
- Wanted to continue opposing British imperialism.
- Believed that India should use the war to weaken and overthrow colonial rule.
- Majority Faction (inside jail):
- Argued that the main enemy was now fascism, not Britain.
- Declared that defending the Soviet Union’s survival was more important than India’s immediate independence.
- Reinterpreted the war as a “People’s War.”
Eventually, this second line became the official CPI policy.
🤝 Communist Support to the British War Effort
Once the CPI officially declared the war a “People’s War,” its position shifted dramatically.
- It abandoned its earlier anti-war stance.
- It supported the British war effort, reasoning that a victory for the Allies (and the Soviet Union) was essential for the global socialist cause.
P.C. Joshi’s Role
- P.C. Joshi, now General Secretary of the CPI, met with colonial authorities and requested the release of Communist prisoners.
- The British, seeing an opportunity to use the CPI against other radicals, legalised the Communist Party and released most of its leaders in 1942.
For the first time in years, the CPI became a legal political organisation in British India.
🚫 The CPI and the Quit India Movement (1942)
The crucial test came in August 1942, when the Congress launched the Quit India Movement, demanding the immediate end of British rule.
However, the CPI refused to support it.
Why?
Because, under its “People’s War” policy:
- Britain and the Soviet Union were now on the same side,
- So opposing Britain at that moment was seen as helping fascism (Hitler), not India.
Therefore, the CPI:
- Stayed away from the Quit India Movement,
- Even criticised it as “ill-timed,”
- And in some cases, helped the government maintain “stability” to keep war production running.
This decision deeply alienated the CPI from the mainstream national movement — and for many nationalists, it appeared as a betrayal of the cause of freedom.
🧭 Summary of the Communist Shift During World War II
| Period | Communist Policy | Key Reason | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1939–41 | Oppose the War as an imperialist conflict | British imperialism oppressing India | CPI banned; leaders arrested |
| Post–June 1941 | Support the War as a “People’s War” | Hitler invaded USSR → defence of socialism | CPI legalised; regained freedom but lost nationalist support |
| 1942 (Quit India) | Opposed the movement | Saw anti-British struggle as helping fascists | CPI isolated from Congress and popular sympathy |
🪔 Historical and Ideological Significance
This phase highlights the fundamental tension within the Left movement in colonial India:
- The Congress Socialists had an Indian nationalist orientation — for them, India’s freedom came first.
- The Communists, in contrast, often had to follow Comintern directives — for them, international socialist priorities sometimes overrode national goals.
During the war, this difference became crystal clear.
The Congress and CSP stood for national independence,
while the CPI, guided by the Moscow line, prioritised the Soviet Union’s survival.
⚙️ Consequences of the War Years for the Indian Left
(a) Immediate
- CPI legalised, reorganised, and expanded its trade union and peasant base.
- But it lost popular legitimacy, as many viewed its war support as collaboration with the colonial government.
(b) Long-term
- By the time independence came in 1947, the CPI had regained strength through labour and peasant movements in Kerala, Bengal, Andhra, and Punjab.
- However, the ideological rift between national socialism (CSP tradition) and international communism (CPI tradition) remained unresolved — and shaped post-independence politics too.
🧠 Final Takeaway — Legacy of the Left up to 1942
| Stream | Key Figures | Orientation | Historical Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Communists (CPI) | M.N. Roy, P.C. Joshi, B.T. Ranadive | Internationalist; tied to Comintern | Organised labour/peasants; gave India class-conscious politics |
| Congress Socialists (CSP) | JP Narayan, Lohia, Narendra Dev, Patwardhan | Nationalist & democratic socialist | Brought socialist vision inside the Congress; moral & democratic socialism |
| Left Revolutionaries | Bhagat Singh, Bose, Chatterji | Radical nationalist-socialist | Merged patriotism with socialist idealism; inspired youth activism |
By the early 1940s, the Indian Left was mature but divided — socially powerful, yet politically fragmented.
Still, its contribution to India’s freedom struggle was immense:
- It deepened the freedom movement’s social content,
- It mobilised workers, peasants, and youth, and
- It laid the ideological groundwork for India’s post-independence commitment to planning, equality, and welfare.