Communist Party of India (Marxist)

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is presented through its organizing precedent in Kerala and its political association with a human-chain demonstration in Mumbai. The party’s role connects organized public protest to a contest over communal politics and, after the demonstration, to a struggle over which political actions receive public visibility.

Political setting

As communal violence escalates, George Miranda argues that a human chain in Mumbai would face a different climate from the one the Communist Party of India (Marxist) had organized successfully in Kerala. In Mumbai, he warns, the Shiv Sena’s control could mean police obstruction and assaults by mobs, particularly where the chain passed through Shiv Sena strongholds such as Mazagaon.

The organizers regard the demonstration as necessary despite those risks. Zeeny Vakil explains that the aim is to show that forces opposing social disintegration are also at work. The party’s Kerala initiative thus serves as a practical precedent, while the proposed Mumbai action is framed as a response to the city’s own political tensions.

The Mumbai human chain

The demonstration links the Gateway of India with the city’s northern suburbs. At eight in the morning, Swatilekha, riding on a jeep with a megaphone, gives the order for participants to join hands. An hour later, as rush-hour traffic reaches its peak, the crowd begins to disperse. Communist Party of India (Marxist) observers report an unbroken chain of men and women stretching from one end of the city to the other. Although a few minor skirmishes occur in Mazagaon, the event is described as generally orderly; many participants are moved to tears by the sight of the linked crowd.

The party’s connection to the action is also apparent in how the demonstration is politically categorized. Zeeny calls it a Communist Party of India (Marxist) event when explaining why its peaceful conduct and national-integration message do not secure it broad coverage. The account places this label alongside the organizers’ wider purpose, rather than treating the chain simply as a party gathering.

Publicity and political significance

The demonstration receives little attention from major outlets. Doordarshan does not report it, All India Radio carries no account, and most government-supporting language newspapers omit it. Only one English-language daily and one Sunday paper publish reports. Zeeny explains the silence as a consequence of the event being considered a Communist show and therefore, officially, a non-event.

The contrast between the visible chain and its near-absence from the news makes political recognition part of the episode’s stakes. The Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s Kerala precedent and observers’ account establish the scale and peaceful character of the Mumbai demonstration, while the limited reporting exposes how a public appeal for national integration can be rendered officially marginal.