An Indian Prince and His Tryst with Marxism: A ‘Rags to Riches’ Story from Mexico

Naman Anand
Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law

Volume III, Issue III, 2020

Narendranath Bhattacharjee, better known as M.N. Roy has been a name who has confounded Communists and Socialists alike all over the world. While many consider him to be the father of the Mexican and the Indian Communist movements and a man deeply devoted to public service and the welfare of the proletariat, others saw in him a school-boy communist turned Right-Wing renegade who embezzled money via opportunism and his rosy image of his efforts towards a Communist revolution, and was eventually chucked out of the Comintern in 1928. This project aims to delve into a very important chapter in the mysterious life of MN Roy, specifically on his meteoric rise to the pinnacle of Mexican politics and how his views on Marxist Theory changed during the process. It also seeks to provide background information about the Socialist scenario in India and for Indian Revolutionaries abroad in order to set the narrative tone of the Article. It is careful in not to give any of the two aforementioned narratives on Roy’s life any advantage on the outset, but seeks to collect and analyse various sources and accounts on the life of a man who has constantly split public opinion. The Article is divided into two concise segments- Indian Revolutionaries prior to the emergence of MN Roy and The Rise of MN Roy in Mexico.

 

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