Communicating Communism: Social Spaces and the Creation of a “Progressive” Public Sphere in Kerala, India
Communism arrived in the south Indian state of Kerala in the early twentieth century at a time when the matrilineal systems that governed caste-Hindu relations were crumbling quickly. For a large part of the twentieth century, the Communist Party – specifically the Communist Party of India (Marxist...
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Paderborn University: Media Systems and Media Organisation Research Group
2020-01-01
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| Series: | tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique |
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| Online Access: | https://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/1134 |
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| author | S Harikrishnan |
| author_facet | S Harikrishnan |
| author_sort | S Harikrishnan |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Communism arrived in the south Indian state of Kerala in the early twentieth century at a time when the matrilineal systems that governed caste-Hindu relations were crumbling quickly. For a large part of the twentieth century, the Communist Party – specifically the Communist Party of India (Marxist) – played a major role in navigating Kerala society through a developmental path based on equality, justice and solidarity. Following Lefebvre’s conceptualisation of (social) space, this paper explores how informal social spaces played an important role in communicating ideas of communism and socialism to the masses. Early communists used rural libraries and reading rooms, tea-shops, public grounds and wall-art to engage with and communicate communism to the masses. What can the efforts of the early communists in Kerala tell us about the potential for communicative socialism? How can we adapt these experiences in the twenty-first century? Using autobiographies, memoirs, and personal interviews, this paper addresses these questions.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c8291f60b0b749408237e070f425c57c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1726-670X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | Paderborn University: Media Systems and Media Organisation Research Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique |
| spelling | doaj-art-c8291f60b0b749408237e070f425c57c2025-08-20T03:59:36ZengPaderborn University: Media Systems and Media Organisation Research GrouptripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique1726-670X2020-01-0118110.31269/triplec.v18i1.11341134Communicating Communism: Social Spaces and the Creation of a “Progressive” Public Sphere in Kerala, IndiaS Harikrishnan Communism arrived in the south Indian state of Kerala in the early twentieth century at a time when the matrilineal systems that governed caste-Hindu relations were crumbling quickly. For a large part of the twentieth century, the Communist Party – specifically the Communist Party of India (Marxist) – played a major role in navigating Kerala society through a developmental path based on equality, justice and solidarity. Following Lefebvre’s conceptualisation of (social) space, this paper explores how informal social spaces played an important role in communicating ideas of communism and socialism to the masses. Early communists used rural libraries and reading rooms, tea-shops, public grounds and wall-art to engage with and communicate communism to the masses. What can the efforts of the early communists in Kerala tell us about the potential for communicative socialism? How can we adapt these experiences in the twenty-first century? Using autobiographies, memoirs, and personal interviews, this paper addresses these questions. https://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/1134social spacescommunismKeralamodernityautogestionHenri Lefebvre |
| spellingShingle | S Harikrishnan Communicating Communism: Social Spaces and the Creation of a “Progressive” Public Sphere in Kerala, India tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique social spaces communism Kerala modernity autogestion Henri Lefebvre |
| title | Communicating Communism: Social Spaces and the Creation of a “Progressive” Public Sphere in Kerala, India |
| title_full | Communicating Communism: Social Spaces and the Creation of a “Progressive” Public Sphere in Kerala, India |
| title_fullStr | Communicating Communism: Social Spaces and the Creation of a “Progressive” Public Sphere in Kerala, India |
| title_full_unstemmed | Communicating Communism: Social Spaces and the Creation of a “Progressive” Public Sphere in Kerala, India |
| title_short | Communicating Communism: Social Spaces and the Creation of a “Progressive” Public Sphere in Kerala, India |
| title_sort | communicating communism social spaces and the creation of a progressive public sphere in kerala india |
| topic | social spaces communism Kerala modernity autogestion Henri Lefebvre |
| url | https://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/1134 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sharikrishnan communicatingcommunismsocialspacesandthecreationofaprogressivepublicsphereinkeralaindia |