ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the genesis of the communist movement in Tripura in the historical context in which Congress nationalism was nearly non-existent. Communism came very late to Tripura. The communist movement was founded in Tripura in 1938 by a group of former nationalist 'terrorists' of Tripura. As the first 'modern' radical political organization, the Jana Mongal Samity (JMS) was formed in September 1938. The Jana Shiksha Samity (JSS) played an important role in the development of Tripura communism. The communist influence in the formation of the non-political JSS was powerful. Soon after the withdrawal of the legal ban on political activities in January 1946, the Tripura Rajya Proja Mondal was formed in May 1946. The chapter offers an early indication that the radical Left, small in strength and organization, was already adapting itself to the local environment and worked through associations and movements that were not neither revolutionary nor very challenging to established authority.
