With new-look flag, Forward Blocs tiger takes the leap: Communism to Subhasism – The Indian Express
The All India Forward Bloc (AIFB), which was founded by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in 1939, recently decided to drop hammer and sickle from its flag, while retaining the iconic image of leaping tiger against a red background on it.
The decision has been taken as part of the AIFBs proposed move to return to its roots, marking an ideological shift from communism to Subhasism the party founders ideology of socialism according to the party leadership.
Netaji had himself selected the design of the AIFBs flag with a leaping tiger on a background of tricolour which was also the flag of the Azad Hind government. Subsequently, reflecting the influence of the communist ideology over it, the party inserted hammer and sickle and red background to its flag in 1949.
Subscribe Now: Get Express Premium to access the best Election reporting and analysis
Nearly 82 years after that event, the AIFB leadership has now decided to effect a change in the partys ideology, dispensing with globally-known icons of communism hammer and sickle while retaining the elements of leaping tiger and red backdrop on the flag.
The AIFBs West Bengal state secretary Naren Chatterjee said that the new party flag will be hoisted on July 22 the day 82 years ago, in 1939, when the partys first all-India session was held in Mumbai, where its constitution and programme were adopted. Subhas Chandra had resigned from the Congress presidentship on April 29, 1939, and on May 3, 1939, he declared the formation of the Forward Bloc.
Our National Council had a meeting at Bhubaneswar last week, where more than three hundred delegates were present and 46 delegates participated in the discussions. During the conclave, the
National Council decided to make these changes to our flag, Chatterjee told The Indian Express.
Asked why the party felt the need to redesign its flag now, Chatterjee said, A majority of our party leaders think that the concept of communist international has gone. Communists are moving towards a socialist position. Hammer and sickle have also become obsolete. Farmers now use cutter machines instead of sickles and workers also do not use hammers. So, we decided to shift towards the socialist approach from our communist position.
He said the party flag will retain the leaping tiger and red background since red colour symbolises the sacrifice of our martyrs and leaping tiger is the symbol of courage that was introduced by Netaji.
A section of the AIFB leaders, however, said there are some other reasons behind the move as well.
A senior party leader said, Forward Bloc has been part of the Left Front under the CPI(M) leadership for about four decades. This increased its dependence on the communist party. Hammer and sickle were introduced to the party flag at the Puri Congress in 1949. The upsurge of Soviet Union and other communist countries and the concept of communist international had probably driven our leadership towards it.
Chatterjee made it clear that Our party will now also shift from the communist ideology and grow only with the ideology of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
A section of the AIFB leaders believe that the move would help the party to gain a firmer footing in some states at a time when the Left parties have been losing their ground virtually everywhere across the country.
The AIFB has also shrunk in the country over the decades. Currently, the party does not have any legislator in West Bengal, with its vote share in various recent elections plummeting to barely 1-2 per cent in the state.
Read the rest here:
With new-look flag, Forward Blocs tiger takes the leap: Communism to Subhasism - The Indian Express
- Christian training center in northern China amid communism, Islam, and poverty - Mission Network News - February 27th, 2025 [February 27th, 2025]
- Gulys: Remembering victims of communism is both a task and a duty - Budapest Times - February 27th, 2025 [February 27th, 2025]
- Love and Torture The Stories of Russian Women Who Married Albanians During Communism - Euronews Albania - February 27th, 2025 [February 27th, 2025]
- Communist Knesset member Cassif: "They are trying to silence us, theres a fascist atmosphere in Israel" - In Defense of Communism - February 27th, 2025 [February 27th, 2025]
- It allowed us to survive, to not go mad: the CIA book smuggling operation that helped bring down communism - The Guardian - February 23rd, 2025 [February 23rd, 2025]
- Nazism, Fascism, And Communism: Warring Sons To A Common Father OpEd - Eurasia Review - February 23rd, 2025 [February 23rd, 2025]
- State Capitol news in brief: Communism lesson bill goes to Sanders | Senate to convene despite icy weather - Arkansas Online - February 23rd, 2025 [February 23rd, 2025]
- USAID was created to counter communism, but came to a nearly opposite agenda - The Times and Democrat - February 23rd, 2025 [February 23rd, 2025]
- My Dear Mother, The Last Divorce of Communism, Von Fock Tease New Chapter for Baltic TV Shows: Culturally Specific and Universally Relevant - AOL - February 23rd, 2025 [February 23rd, 2025]
- Canada: Marxist School 2025 studying the pillars of communism to prepare for turbulent times - In Defence of Marxism - February 23rd, 2025 [February 23rd, 2025]
- Cottons new book on China aims to ring the alarm bell on Taiwan and communism - coloradopolitics.com - February 23rd, 2025 [February 23rd, 2025]
- Sean McMeekin: Don't Whitewash the History of Communism - Reason - February 14th, 2025 [February 14th, 2025]
- Don't Whitewash the History of Communism - RealClearPolicy - February 14th, 2025 [February 14th, 2025]
- The Socialist State in Latvia: From the revolutionary triumph to the drama of dissolution - In Defense of Communism - February 14th, 2025 [February 14th, 2025]
- Nothing says 'communism' like this $165 poverty-chic plastic bag based on Disco Elysium, aka 'the level of greed that they talk about in the Bible' -... - February 7th, 2025 [February 7th, 2025]
- Texas Audience Delighted to See Universal Beliefs in China Before Communism Through Shen Yun - NTD - February 7th, 2025 [February 7th, 2025]
- Communist Workers Platform USA: The Class Struggle in America and the Communist Strategy - In Defense of Communism - February 7th, 2025 [February 7th, 2025]
- Communist Party of Turkey: Ahmed Al-Shara is an ISIS remnant and a war criminal - In Defense of Communism - February 7th, 2025 [February 7th, 2025]
- Vietnam's Communist Party marks 95th anniversary - In Defense of Communism - February 7th, 2025 [February 7th, 2025]
- The Beauty of China Before Communism Was Eye-Opening, Says Houston Theatergoer - NTD - February 3rd, 2025 [February 3rd, 2025]
- Pastor Delighted to See Shen Yun Express Love for Traditional Ways Before Communism - NTD - January 27th, 2025 [January 27th, 2025]
- KKE's leader Koutsoumbas on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by the Red Army - In Defense of Communism - January 27th, 2025 [January 27th, 2025]
- Elon Musk and the Dictatorship of the Capital - In Defense of Communism - January 27th, 2025 [January 27th, 2025]
- Another shameful anticommunist resolution of the European Parliament, full of unhistorical references - In Defense of Communism - January 27th, 2025 [January 27th, 2025]
- Education panel backs expansion of tuition waivers for guardsmen, voices concern over bill to teach perils of communism - Northwest Arkansas... - January 26th, 2025 [January 26th, 2025]
- Gaza: By whatever name you call It Is Genocide! - In Defense of Communism - January 26th, 2025 [January 26th, 2025]
- Eduard Kuznetsov, Soviet dissident whose death sentence exposed the plight of Jews under communism - Yahoo! Voices - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- The International Communist Movement at a critical crossroads: The necessity of revolutionary regroupment - In Defense of Communism - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- 66th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution: Statement by the European Communist Action - In Defense of Communism - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- Celebrating the Centenary of Communist Movement in India: Uphold the Banner of Communism in the Struggle against Fascism - Communist Party of India... - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- Eduard Kuznetsov, Soviet dissident whose death sentence exposed the plight of Jews under communism - The Telegraph - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- Book Review: Marx in the Anthropocene: Towards the Idea of Degrowth Communism - Information Technology and Innovation Foundation - December 22nd, 2024 [December 22nd, 2024]
- Hoover Acquires Oral Histories on the Fall of Communism - Hoover Institution - December 22nd, 2024 [December 22nd, 2024]
- Dusty Johnson believes TikTok ban necessary to fight communism - KOTA - December 22nd, 2024 [December 22nd, 2024]
- Communism, Despite Its Defeat in the Cold War, Is Having a Moment in America Right Now - The New York Sun - December 22nd, 2024 [December 22nd, 2024]
- The 22nd Congress of the Portuguese Communist Party concludes successfully - In Defense of Communism - December 22nd, 2024 [December 22nd, 2024]
- Russians honor Stalin's 145th birth anniversary - In Defense of Communism - December 22nd, 2024 [December 22nd, 2024]
- Names to be added to controversial Victims of Communism memorial next year, says organizer - Ottawa Citizen - December 16th, 2024 [December 16th, 2024]
- Sweden: Communism & Revolution the Revolutionary Communist Party has never been stronger! - In Defence of Marxism - December 16th, 2024 [December 16th, 2024]
- The history of communism in Romania will be studied in high school - Romania Journal - December 16th, 2024 [December 16th, 2024]
- Communist Party of Venezuela denounces PSUVs dirty war to criminalize the struggle for constitutional rights - In Defense of Communism - December 16th, 2024 [December 16th, 2024]
- How the Virgin Mary sparked a conflict between communism and Catholicism - MSN - December 16th, 2024 [December 16th, 2024]
- Education bill on communism history moves forward in US Congress - Ukrainian World Congress - December 12th, 2024 [December 12th, 2024]
- Arkansas House bill would require teaching of the perils of communism in schools - KNWA - December 12th, 2024 [December 12th, 2024]
- Johnson Votes to Educate Students on the Dangers of Communism - Mitchell Now - - December 12th, 2024 [December 12th, 2024]
- House GOP Passes Bill to Help Educate High Schoolers on the Evils of Communism - The Maine Wire - December 12th, 2024 [December 12th, 2024]
- Kolga: Victims of Communism memorial those who suffered won't be forgotten - Ottawa Citizen - December 12th, 2024 [December 12th, 2024]
- House Overwhelmingly Passes Crucial Communism Teaching Act - NTD - December 12th, 2024 [December 12th, 2024]
- U.S. House of Representatives Passes Companion Legislation to U.S. Senator John Kennedys Crucial Communism Teaching Act Says, The Bill Would Help... - December 12th, 2024 [December 12th, 2024]
- Its a Major Failing That the Horrors of Communism Are Not Taught in Schools: James Bartholomew - NTD - December 12th, 2024 [December 12th, 2024]
- Kolga: Victims of Communism memorial those who suffered won't be forgotten - MSN - December 12th, 2024 [December 12th, 2024]
- Media Advisory - Inauguration of the Memorial to the Victims of Communism - Canada, a Land of Refuge - Barchart - December 12th, 2024 [December 12th, 2024]
- Communist Parties react to the developments in Syria and the fall of al-Assad Government - In Defense of Communism - December 12th, 2024 [December 12th, 2024]
- European Communist Action marks one year of activity - In Defense of Communism - December 12th, 2024 [December 12th, 2024]
- What the People Say: Should Schools Teach the Dark History of Communism? - NTD - December 4th, 2024 [December 4th, 2024]
- Expert Discusses Next Steps and the Threat of Communism After South Korea Lifts Martial Law - NTD - December 4th, 2024 [December 4th, 2024]
- Bill Would Add Teaching Dangers of Communism in High Schools - NTD - December 4th, 2024 [December 4th, 2024]
- PCV analyzed political crisis in Venezuela with more than 100 communist and trade union leaders of the world - In Defense of Communism - December 4th, 2024 [December 4th, 2024]
- Rtvri: Victims of communism remind us that sovereignty is our greatest treasure - Budapest Times - November 28th, 2024 [November 28th, 2024]
- The Bank for Moving On From Communism Questions Rise of Industrial Policy - The Wall Street Journal - November 26th, 2024 [November 26th, 2024]
- Revolution Festival 2024: A landmark for the forces of communism - The Communist - November 24th, 2024 [November 24th, 2024]
- Belgium: the Revolutionary Communist Organisation is here For our generation, communism is no longer taboo - In Defence of Marxism - November 19th, 2024 [November 19th, 2024]
- Communist Party of Ireland: Statement on the Irish General Election 2024 - In Defense of Communism - November 19th, 2024 [November 19th, 2024]
- Czechia celebrates 35 years since the Velvet Revolution and the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia - Radio Prague International - November 19th, 2024 [November 19th, 2024]
- Communism, Canada and Cuba: new exhibition showcasing photographer Helena Wilson opens in Prague - Radio Prague International - November 16th, 2024 [November 16th, 2024]
- The truth behind the infamous "Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation" - In Defense of Communism - November 16th, 2024 [November 16th, 2024]
- John Ivison: They came fleeing communism. Now Ottawas expropriating and redistributing their property - National Post - November 14th, 2024 [November 14th, 2024]
- Nehru in the age of the RSS-BJP, anti-communism and alignment of chakras - The Leaflet - November 14th, 2024 [November 14th, 2024]
- Ahoo Daryaei and the hijab of capitalism - In Defense of Communism - November 8th, 2024 [November 8th, 2024]
- KKE's General Secretary D. Koutsoumbas on the result of the US elections and its impact on Greece - In Defense of Communism - November 8th, 2024 [November 8th, 2024]
- European Communist Action: Statement on the 107th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution - In Defense of Communism - November 8th, 2024 [November 8th, 2024]
- Letters: What an uneducated world we live in. MAGA is better than communism. - The Columbus Dispatch - October 21st, 2024 [October 21st, 2024]
- Neal Stephenson's 'Polostan' is a compact epic about communism, science, and the dawn of the atomic age - Reason - October 21st, 2024 [October 21st, 2024]
- Documenting Communism: The Hoover Project to Microfilm and Publish the Soviet Archives - Hoover Institution - October 21st, 2024 [October 21st, 2024]
- Communist Party of Sweden brings back the sickle and hammer on its logo - In Defense of Communism - October 21st, 2024 [October 21st, 2024]
- Imperialism: The Example of the Russian Federation - In Defense of Communism - October 21st, 2024 [October 21st, 2024]
- To Overthrow the World: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Communism (Guest: Sean McMeekin) - The Heartland Institute - October 3rd, 2024 [October 3rd, 2024]
- Echoes of communism: Study finds Germans who lived in the former GDR value free speech less than West Germans - Phys.org - October 3rd, 2024 [October 3rd, 2024]
- Echoes of communism: Study finds Germans who lived in the former GDR value free speech less than West Germans - Phys.org - October 3rd, 2024 [October 3rd, 2024]
- Meeting of Communist Parties scheduled to be held in Beirut has been postponed until further notice - In Defense of Communism - October 3rd, 2024 [October 3rd, 2024]