AHC: Turn India Communist After Independence

[Flocculencio]

Interesting explanation, Kishan. Why did so many Brahmins turn Communist anyway? Phrases like "you have nothing to lose but your chains" should appeal to the lower classes, not the priestly caste! Yes, I know Friedrich Engels was a businessman himself, but what you're describing sounds hilariously like a group of self-hating bourgeoisie. Did they associate Communism more with independence than with ideology (kind of like

Well it wasn't so many Brahmins- just a small percentage. And it's not like the leaders of most Communist parties worldwide were actually proletarian. Lenin was minor gentry, Stalin was a middle class seminary student, Mao's family would have been described as kulaks.

For a certain type of young upper middle class intellectual of the late 19th/early 20th century Communism was very attractive. With them in charge, of course.

 

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Well it wasn't so many Brahmins- just a small percentage. And it's not like the leaders of most Communist parties worldwide were actually proletarian. Lenin was minor gentry, Stalin was a middle class seminary student, Mao's family would have been described as kulaks.

For a certain type of young upper middle class intellectual of the late 19th/early 20th century Communism was very attractive. With them in charge, of course.

*Rereads Kishan's response*

Okay. I must have misread Kishan's post a bit. I thought he said "members" instead of "leaders" at first.

 

[Flocculencio]

*Rereads Kishan's response*

Okay. I must have misread Kishan's post a bit. I thought he said "members" instead of "leaders" at first.

Members of the Politburo. The rank and file, not necessarily.

 

[General Tirpitz]

Well I don't think I'd go that far, thought the JCP is unique in that it has almost from the start been an atypical Communist Party in that it's never followed alot of traditional Marxist-Leninist stuff, always been Democratic Communist (IE they eschew the idea of Revolution) and has generally focused on multiple issues rather than only ever fixating on ideological Communism and not caring about anything else like alot of Communist parties have normally done.

This isn't entirely true. While most of time since the war the JCP has supported parliamentary democracy, there was a period in the early 1950's when the party's line become more militant due to pressure from Moscow. Even after that it took few decades until they formally took a more independent line.

 

[UncleDynamite]

As said before, the avowed socialism of those in government from '47 on really pissed on communism's thunder and stole their cheerios.

If you want a more forceful, overtly anti-western (though still not communist) India, have Nehru get killed in the late 40s and replaced by V.K.K Menon.

 

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

As said before, the avowed socialism of those in government from '47 on really pissed on communism's thunder and stole their cheerios.

If you want a more forceful, overtly anti-western (though still not communist) India, have Nehru get killed in the late 40s and replaced by V.K.K Menon.

*Looks up Menon*

Nehru's "evil genius" has a nice ring to it. Last foreign visit to Stalin, supported admission of "Red China" to the U.N. early on. Yes, yes, YES!

This is about as close as I'm going to get. If the Soviet Union and/or China decide to "influence" (i.e. bully) India enough during Menon's tenure, then I could see commie India happening.

 

[Kishan]

V.K.Krishna Menon was not a mass leader but he was an intellectual type who became a national level leader and Cabinet Minister with the active and unreserved support of Nehru. Without the backing of Nehru, he would not have risen up in the Congress. After the demise of Nehru, Menon was sidelined and went out of the Congress. Nehru was so fond of him that it was very reluctantly that he dropped Menon as the Minister of Defence after the disastrous Sino-Indian war and that too only when his own chair of P.M. was under threat.
In 1961 when he was the Defence Minister, Menon had to contest a by-election to the Lok Sabha from Bombay. The local boss of the Congress, S.K.Patil was a bitter critic of Menon and Nehru came to know that the local Congressmen were conspiring to defeat Menon. It is said that Nehru carried out the military action in Goa to get Menon elected. The liberation of Goa from the Portuguese occupation by the Army made the Minister of Defence a hero, especially in Bombay, near Goa and Menon's victory was assured.
After the death of Nehru, Menon couldn't get on with his successors and had to leave the Congress Party. He won his last election to the Lok Sabha from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, his home state, with the support of the Communist Parties defeating a Congress candidate. Even when he was in the Congress Menon was hated by most of the conservative leaders of the Party who tolerated him only for the fear of Nehru.

 

[UncleDynamite]

*Looks up Menon*

Nehru's "evil genius" has a nice ring to it. Last foreign visit to Stalin, supported admission of "Red China" to the U.N. early on. Yes, yes, YES!

This is about as close as I'm going to get. If the Soviet Union and/or China decide to "influence" (i.e. bully) India enough during Menon's tenure, then I could see commie India happening.

I'm tinkering out a TL right now where the latter portions are set up against the backdrop of a US/authoritarian socialist UK Cold War.

Nehru gets killed by pro-Pakistani partisans in early '48, Menon takes the helm, and to make matters worse, the Nizam of Hyderbad is able to finagle US support for his regime under the Rickenbacker Doctrine.

I haven't figured out how things end in India yet, but I doubt it'll be good.

Also: By all means, feel free to work with an India under Menon, too.