Outstanding Chronicle of the Left in India Book review The Phoenix Moment: Challenges Confronting the Indian Left by Praful Bidwai

These were the queries, which both Praful Bidwai and Achin Vanaik (the inseparable friends), and me, along with a few other companions who occasionally joined them, tried to pursue often, during seminars (which Praful indefatigably organised in Delhi and other places), or over cups of coffee and glasses of drinks at the India International Centre.

Praful left us on 23 June 2015. But we are thankful to him for leaving behind for us this wonderful intellectually stimulating book that traces not only the history of the Indian communist movement, but also suggests an alternative courageous strategy for the left in the coming future.

Almost ever since its birth in the 1920s, the Indian communist movement had attracted a long list of archivists—starting from British intelligence agents to nationalist historians and foreign scholars. Praful adds a comprehensive bibliography of this literature at the end of his book, which will help young researchers discover the sources of much of the hitherto unknown nuggets of information, as well as spur them on to follow them up. Among all such books published so far, his The Phoenix Moment stands out as the most outstanding chronicle of the fascinating twists and turns of the communist movement and the tides and ebbs that it experienced spanning almost a century.

Praful updates the history till the present times, and most importantly, he pinpoints the political, social and economic challenges that the left is facing today, and outlines a programme of action (both ideological and based on grass-roots praxis) in his last chapter entitled “Towards a New Left.” This, I am sure, will inspire a new generation of members of leftist and social movements, Dalit and tribal activists, liberal and humanist scholars and researchers to come together on a common platform, to put up resistance against the approaching tanks of Hindu fascism.

Read the full review at Economic & Political Weekly