| AdminHistory | The Association of Indian Communists was formed in around 1966 by Indian members of the Communist Party of Great Britain, many of whom were also Indian Workers Association members or office holders. According to research by De Witt John, Indian members of the Communist Party of Great Britain formed their own branches, and elected their own officers. English party officials may also have attended these meetings, but they were largely conducted in Punjabi. Although these Indian branches of the Communist Party of Great Britain took part in some of the campaigns led by the organisation, they were also very active in organising Indian migrants on the basis of class interests, and as such, had close links with local Indian Workers Associations. De Witt John suggests that Indian communists became active in many local Indian Workers Association branches, and were also instrumental in founding new branches during the 1960s. This may partly explain why the same people feature in the leadership of the national Indian Workers Association and of the Association of Indian Communists during this period.
The Association appears to have been organised on similar lines to those of the Indian Workers Association, with a Central Executive Committee and branch committees elected annually, and meeting taking place on a regular basis. National Conferences were also held, and the decisions of the Central Executive Committee disseminated to members through circular letters and notices to branches in the same way that the agendas and minutes of meetings were. The Association seems to have supported Indian Workers Association campaigns, and its journal 'Lalkar', launched in 1967, was read by members of the Indian Workers Association; indeed, many members of the editorial board also held office in the Indian Workers Association, and were later involved in the establishment of the Indian Workers Association magazine 'Lalkar' in 1979.
Sources: De Witt John, Indian Workers Associations in Britain, Institute of Race Relations, London, Oxford University Press, London, 1969: 66-70 |