Impact of Bolshevik Revolution on British Indian Politics (1917-1947)

Abstract

This paper analyses the impact of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 on British India from 1917 to 1947. A qualitative method was used to understand the complex interaction between global revolutionary movements and Indian political thought. The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, which led to the establishment of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) in Czarist Russia, served as a significant model for propagating Marxist ideologies in colonial India. The revolution's success inspired Indian revolutionaries, intellectuals, and political leaders to grapple with the challenges of anti-colonial struggle and socioeconomic inequalities. The research addresses two primary questions: the effects of the Bolshevik Revolution on the Indian political situation and how the Bolshevik Revolution affected the propagation of communism and socialism in India. The Communist Party of India (CPI) was established in 1925, formally reflecting communism's influence on Indian politics. Indian leftist scholars and politicians following the Bolshevik example demanded land reforms in the later part of the 1920s, workers' liberation, and the formation of a socialist state. Although the leftist scholars and political figures did not get mass popularity, it left, they left a valuable impact on Indian politics later on.