Three Indians Influenced by Marxism Who Never Joined the Communist Party

There were three notable Indians who were strongly influenced by Marxism or the ideology of socialism but never joined the Communist Party. They are E.V. Ramasamy Naicker (1879–1973), generally known as Thanthai Periyar, or just Periyar; Bhupendranath Datta (4 September 1880–25 December 1961); and Bhagat Singh (28 September 1907–23 March 1931). Of the three, Periyar, the oldest and longest lived, had the greatest influence on contemporary politics; he founded a movement that has ever since the foundation of his party, Dravidar Kazhagam (DK), dominated the politics of Tamil Nadu, later as the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna DMK (AIADMK). But that movement has remained confined to Tamil Nadu, although Periyar’s advocacy of total equality between men and women has reverberated through the women’s movement. He may be considered the first male feminist in India.