The second congress of the Communist Party of India (CPI), held at Mohammad Ali Park in Kolkata, started on this day and continued till March 4. The party line changed radically from this congress under the new general secretary, B.T. Ranadive, who took over from P.C. Joshi, and the party would engage in revolutionary activities across the country following this congress.
The CPI faced two choices: whether to function from within the parliamentary democracy of the new nation or to stage revolutionary struggles and challenge the state. Joshi supported the former position and Ranadive the latter.
Ranadive questioned India’s independence and said that strikes, rallies and armed struggles were to be used to challenge the false sense of freedom.
The Indian National Congress was denounced as a bourgeois party.
The second CPI congress decided to establish a separate Communist Party in Pakistan. The party in East Pakistan would stay under the supervision of the West Bengal committee for some time.
Following the second congress and the new line, the party faced resistance and repression in many parts of India.
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