LONDON: Communist Party headquarters in London are seriously perturbed by the action of the Indian Congress against the Indian Communist Party. “We have to admit the situation is ugly,” a Communist spokesman told Globe at the Communist Party’s London offices.

“We are getting cables reporting manhunts and Communist baiting from Bombay and the United Provinces. This is a most unfortunate development, though not entirely unexpected.

“The differences seem to revolve on two points. The first concerns the attitude of the Communist Party to the war effort. We felt that the war effort must be sustained. Certain influential circles within the Indian Congress, and Pandit Nehru himself, presumably believe that by so doing the Communists took ‘the other side’. We consider this nothing more than a misunderstanding.

“The second point concerns the attitude of the Communist Party towards the Indian Muslims, and particularly the Muslim League in relation to Pakistan. For some time now, the Indian Communists have supported the Muslims in their demands for self-determination. It is true that five or six years ago the Communists regarded the Muslim League as a reactionary organisation, but since then the League has become Nationalist in outlook… .”

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2020