To WV:
In my letter of November 18 I wrote, "Since its inception the communist movement in India has not only ignored the caste question but has treated it as a taboo subject."
I would like to change that to: "Since its inception the communist movement in India has not only ignored the caste question, except for occasional token references, but has treated it as a taboo subject."
Here is a relevant passage from Dalits and the Democratic Revolution: Dr. Ambedkar and the Dalit Movement in Colonial India by Gail Omvedt (Sage Publications, New Delhi, 1994), pages 181-183:
"...neither the communists nor other leftists considered having a 'front' of their own on caste issues, or felt the need to establish relations with any existing Dalit organizations. This might be considered out of the question, but it should be remembered that the other two major political trends (Gandhian and Hindu fundamentalist) did have these...
"The communists (and other leftists within the Congress) had nothing like this, nor did they seek to relate to any of the existing organisations by having cadres work within them (as for instance Communist women worked within the All-India Women's Congress). At local levels many communist cadres were of course involved in anti-untouchability campaigns, the most famous example being the Kerala communists, and many communists in their personal lives transcended and ignored caste distinctions. But there was never a programmatic involvement in 'social struggle'; rather, joining the party lessened whatever involvement had previously existed.
"Finally, what did communist political organizations have to say on caste? 'Protection of Untouchables by legislation' found a mention in Singaravelu's proposed action programme for the 1923 Labour Kisan Party (notably, he was a non-Brahman) but was not included in the programmes of the Labour Swaraj Party or the Workers' and Peasants' parties formed after this. [See G. Adhikari (ed.), Documents of the History of the Communist Party of India, Volume 2, pp. 97-166, 591, 689; Volume 3A, pp. 1535-83; Volume 3B, pp. 31-44, 165-80.] Not until the second congress of the CPI in 1948 was the issue taken up in any kind of detail. Then the 'Political Thesis' included a 'Programme of the Democratic Revolution' of which point (5) was as follows:
"'Just and democratic rights of minorities to be embodied in the constitution: Equality and protection to the language and culture of minorities; all liabilities, privileges and discriminations based on caste, race and community to be abolished by law and their infringement to be punishable by law.' [M. B. Rao (ed.), Documents of the History of the Communist Party of India, p. 85.]"