A century of Left in India, built on enterprise and cooperative strength

As the CPI turns 100 next month, Shine Jacob looks at how the evolution of Left parties in the country has been fuelled by cooperatives, media ventures and unconventional business model

Communism took early root in India in the 1920s, spurred by the October Revolution in Russia and a generation of young idealists. Yet many mark December 26, 1925, when a Kanpur conference gave birth to the Communist Party of India (CPI), as the true beginning. 

After the 1964 split, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M), emerged as the biggest party among Left formations. As the communist movement prepares to mark its centenary, it carries the weight of class struggles, legal prohibitions, electoral highs and lows, and moments of political drama — most famously Jyoti Basu’s refusal of the prime ministership in 1996, declined in the name of principle. 

Despite championing worker control and state ownership, the Left has, over the decades, built an unexpected record in “business” — from collective enterprises and cooperatives to party media outfits. Movie production, amusement parks, hotels, hospitals, educational institutions, FMCG units, beedi factories, umbrella makers: The list is long and eclectic. 

By 2025, these ventures span new terrain: AI-supported camera systems, drone-pilot training and apparel exports.  Some drew criticism initially but later stabilised or turned profitable, besides doubling as propaganda platforms. 

Beyond cultural outfits such as the Kerala People’s Arts Club (KPAC), co-operative banks and newspapers, the CPI largely stayed cautious on commercial ventures. The CPI(M), however, moved far more assertively, creating enterprises either explicitly as propaganda vehicles or as cooperatives infused with party ideology. A cooperative is, by definition, a voluntary association meeting shared economic or social needs through a democratic enterprise. Members own and control the institution; service is the stated objective, not profit. 

While Bengal, Kerala and Tripura formed the traditional base of Indian communism, it was Kerala where collective commercial ventures took deepest root. The best-known example is Malayalam Communications Ltd, founded in 2000 under CPI(M) patronage with investments gathered from supporters. Its channels — Kairali TV, Kairali News and Kairali We —began under a cloud of criticism, but by 2025 the network is both commercially stable and politically potent, helped by Pinarayi Vijayan’s government to back-to-back victories. Infomerics Ratings pegs Malayalam Communications’ revenue at ₹50.69 crore, with earnings of ₹2.5 crore and total debt of around ₹67 crore. 

“Maybe the CPI lacks the same will as the CPI(M) in running such ventures. Also, the change has helped the Left parties to sustain in Kerala, while it struggled to adapt with time in other states like West Bengal,” said a party member. The CPI did, however, make occasional forays beyond cooperatives: KPAC Films, for instance, produced Enippadikal in 1973, and the party still backs newspapers such as Kalantar in West Bengal and Janayugam in Kerala, alongside publishing houses, coir cooperatives and consumer-fed outlets. 

The CPI(M), meanwhile, built a formidable media reach through Deshabhimani, Ganashakti, Chintha and Leftword Books. It ventured into realty and even operated the Vismaya Water Theme Park in Kannur.  “There were even discussions around a five-star hotel, though it didn’t materialise,” said political analyst and CPI member A Jayashankar. 

A turning point for the Left’s cooperative model arrived in 1957, when dismissed Coffee Board workers, reorganised by CPI leader A K Gopalan, launched the Indian Coffee House (ICH) under the Indian Coffee Workers’ Cooperative Society. Today, ICH has over 500 outlets. 

ICH’s success spurred a cooperative wave across Malabar and Travancore regions, and later in West Bengal. In 1969, after major private beedi companies shut down in Kerala, CPI(M)-linked unions helped set up Dinesh Beedi, which soon became one of the state’s most recognisable worker collectives. “At one point we had over 40,000 employees. Now we have around 1,700 beedi workers and another 700 in other departments. Our aim is service, not profit,” said M K Dinesh Babu, chairman of the Kerala Dinesh Beedi Workers’ Central Co-op Society. 

After tough regulatory changes in the 1990s, the society diversified into food, IT, apparel, umbrellas, tea, hotels and supermarkets. It now exports products such as coconut milk to European markets. The society is currently showing a loss of around ₹6 crore owing to a gratuity provision of ₹26 crore. “Without that provision, we would have been in profit,” Babu said.

Dinesh Beedi is now installing solar-powered AI cameras in forest areas to monitor wildlife and issue alerts to nearby communities. Talks are underway with universities to launch AI-based courses and drone-training programmes. 

According to media reports, and assessments by platforms like MyNeta and NGOs like ADR and Election Watch, the CPI’s assets had risen from ₹5.56 crore in 2004-05 to around ₹109 crore in 2023-24, while the CPI(M)’s grew from ₹90 crore to ₹766 crore. These figures exclude cooperatives. Arguments continue over the politics and purpose of these ventures, but many economists cite Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping’s dictum to explain the Left’s evolution in India: “It does not matter whether the cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice”.