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Journalism of Courage
The Communist Party of India (CPI) is celebrating a century of its existence, but the story of its Punjab unit starts two decades before the CPI was founded and a decade before the Russian Revolution.
Movements like the Pagri Sambhal Jatta and Ghadar were already underway in Punjab, followed by the Gurdwara Reform movement, non-violent Akali movement, militant Babbar Akali movement, and the Praja Mandal movement, all of which profoundly influenced Sikh culture and tradition.
Rattan Singh and Santokh Singh were among the first from Punjab to go to the Soviet Union and meet Comrade Lenin on December 5, 1922. On their return journey, they stayed in Kabul, Afghanistan, where they met Ghadaris like Gurmukh Singh, Udham Singh Kasel, and others. During the meeting, they decided to send more men to Russia to learn about Marxism.
Santokh Singh was arrested while attempting to re-enter British territory and was confined to his village Dhardeo in Amritsar district. Later, he connected with Baba Karam Singh Cheema, Baba Bhag Singh ‘Canadian’, Sohan Singh Josh, and many other Ghadaris.
Many jailed Ghadarite revolutionaries were released, such as Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna, Jawala Singh, Kesar Singh, Pishori Singh, and others, and they began working with the Kirti Kisan Party.
Between 1922 and 1935, more than 80 activists from Punjab went to Russia to receive training in Marxist and Leninist ideology. This group included Teja Singh Sutantar, Vasdev Singh, Bhuja Singh Chack, Bhagat Singh Bilga, Bawa Singh Chak, and Jaswant Singh Kairon (brother of Partap Singh Karion, who later became Punjab chief minister after Independence).
In February 1926, the Punjabi monthly newspaper Kirti was launched to support Communist activities. Its first meeting was organised, and the red flag unfurled at Sikh Missionary College, Amritsar, on May 1, 1926. The tallest Sikh leader, Master Tara Singh, allowed Communist activities to be carried out at the Sikh Missionary College. Out of these efforts, the Kirti Kisan Party was founded in September 1928 as the first organisational structure for the beginning of the Communist movement in Punjab. The focal point of its agenda was the struggle of peasants. Comrade Harkishan Singh Surjeet joined the activities of the Kirti Party in 1930 at the age of 14 in his village Bundala.
Many Gurdwara Reform movement leaders later joined the freedom struggle and worked alongside Communists, including Comrades Teja Singh Sutantar and Sohan Singh Josh. The Kirti Party often held its programmes at the Sikh Missionary College in Amritsar.
Besides the Akali and Gurdwara Reform movements, a large part of the Communist leadership came from the militant Babbar Akali movement against the British. This movement was not happy with the non-violent movement of the Akalis and the cordial relations of a section of the Sikh leadership with the British. The Ghadar movement and the Kirti Kisan Party were sympathetic to the Babbar Akali movement.
Lehmbar Singh Taggar, who authored The Brief History of the Birth, Development and Rise-Fall of the Communist Movement in Punjab, noted in his book that many Ghadar leaders joined the Babbar Akali movement or remained in touch and even provided weapons for armed struggle.
“Just like the Ghadar party, a big section of the Babar Akali movement joined the Communist party,” said Taggar. The tussle between the Babbars and the Akalis also provoked the former to join the Communists.
Another important figure in pre-Independence Punjab, Sardar Sewa Singh Thikriwala, associated with the Praja Mandal Lehar, strongly opposed feudal repression in Patiala state. However, he was arrested by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, imprisoned for over three years, and died in jail on January 20, 1935. His death weakened the Praja Mandal movement, but many of its workers and leaders shifted towards Communism. Among those who took this path were Bhagwan Singh Longowalia, Jagar Singh, Joga Singh Hanam, Chamak Singh, Harnarayan Singh Pathak, and many others.
Initially, the Akali leadership stood with Thikriwala. However, it reached a compromise with Maharaja Bhupinder Singh after his death. This also pushed Praja Mandal activists closer to the Communist movement.
In 1934, nine years after the CPI was formed in Kanpur in 1925, Comrade Sohan Singh Josh convened a significant meeting at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, attended by Communists from all over Punjab. This was the first major step toward organising the CPI in the state.
The British government had officially banned the outfit, but organisations like the Kirti Party, Punjab Kisan Sabha, and the Congress Socialist Party were allowed to function.
In 1937, the Punjab Kisan Sabha was founded to mobilise peasants against exploitation by landlords and British authorities. By October 1938, over 73,000 members had joined it, with 2 lakh primary units and 385 delegates. Harkishan Singh Surjeet, who was 22 then, was appointed its secretary. In the 1937 elections, at least seven Communist leaders entered the Punjab Assembly. The first office of the Punjab Kisan Sabha was opened at the Golden Temple Complex in Amritsar.
In July 1942, the ban on CPI was lifted, and in 1943 the Kirti Party was merged with the CPI.
A 100 years later, however, the CPI has hardly any presence in Punjab in terms of electoral performance.
The rise of CPI in Punjab was greatly influenced by Sikh movements, including the armed Babbar Akali movement. However, Lehmbar Singh Taggar blamed another armed Sikh movement of the 1980s for dealing a big blow to the Communists in the state. Many Naxalites and Communists had joined the armed Sikh movement after the 1978 clash of Sikhs and the Nirankari sect in Amritsar.
In the early 1940s, Harkrishan Singh Surjit had written a booklet supporting a separate Sikh homeland after the CPI approved the idea of Pakistan.
“The Khalistan movement was not a Sikh movement. It killed many of our prominent leaders, leaving a major dent in the Communist movement in Punjab,” said Taggar, adding that movements are meant to rise and fall, while hoping that the CPI would rise up to fight inflation in the state.
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