Renu Chakravartty, a Lifelong Communist in India's Women's Movement

This article is part of a series by The Wire titled ‘The Early Parliamentarians’, exploring the lives and work of post-independence MPs who have largely been forgotten. The series looks at the institutions they helped create, the enduring ideas they left behind and the contributions they made to nation building.

Renu Chakravartty was a communist leader, organiser, noted parliamentarian and educationist, who left an indelible mark on the communist and women’s movements in India.

In 1948, when the Communist Party of India was declared illegal, she went into hiding until 1951. Later, when the party decided to participate in the general elections of 1951, Chakravartty contested for the first Lok Sabha from Basirhat and won, becoming the only woman MP elected from West Bengal. She was re-elected from Basirhat in 1957. In 1962, she contested from Barrackpore and received the highest number of votes for the third Lok Sabha in the entire country.

After the split in the CPI in 1964, Chakravartty chose to remain with the older organisation. However, in the subsequent elections of 1967 and 1971, she was defeated in the same constituency by a CPI(M) candidate. Yet she never neglected her constituency, and people continued to admire her dedication. In 1969, she served briefly as minister of cooperatives in the second United Front ministry in West Bengal.

She was also elected to the national council of the CPI at its Amritsar Congress in 1958.

Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty

Born on October 21, 1917 in Calcutta, into a Brahmo family, Renu (then Roy) was educated at Loreto House and Victoria Institution in Kolkata, and later at Newnham College, Cambridge. After earning her graduation with honours in Kolkata, she completed a Tripos in English Literature at Cambridge (1937–1939). A niece of Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy, she was inspired by him to take an interest in political affairs.

While in Europe, Chakravartty witnessed first hand the rise of fascism: she saw fascist youth "goose-stepping" down Unter den Linden in Berlin, observed the Nazi invasion of Austria, and followed the events of Czechoslovakia’s dismemberment. She strongly opposed fascism and despised Hitler’s dictum, Kinder, Küche, Kirche — suggesting that women belonged only in childbearing, the kitchen, and church.

Chakravartty attended lectures by renowned Marxist John Strachey and became the founding general secretary of FEDIND (Federation of Indian Students Societies in England and Ireland). She also participated in the International Youth Congress in the US in 1938.

Veteran parliamentarian Hiren Mukherjee recalled hearing of her in 1939 when she attended the International Students’ Conference in Cambridge, where the rallying cry was “No Flag but the Red Flag!”

In 1938, she came in contact with Rajani Palme Dutt, a prominent British communist. That same year, she joined the Communist Party of Great Britain. Upon returning to India, she became a member of the then-illegal Communist Party of India and threw herself into active left-wing politics. As she wrote, “I had returned to India, fired with the thoughts of fighting for my country’s liberation.”

While in Britain, Renu Roy met and later married the eminent communist intellectual and journalist Nikhil Chakravartty on January 3, 1942 in India. Their son, Sumit Chakravartty, is the editor of Mainstream weekly, founded by his father.

During World War II, Renu Chakravartty and others collected signatures for a memorandum to the Viceroy protesting atrocities committed against women by British and American soldiers along the Indo-Burma border. She travelled to villages to prevent their destruction by British forces, even as Japanese troops advanced. She also responded to the emerging famine situation.

She attended the AISF national conference in Delhi in early 1940. In Bengal, a Girl Students’ Committee was established, with Chakravartty, Kanak Dasgupta, and others organising the girls.

In 1940, the Chhatri Sangh (women students’ organisation) held its first-ever conference in Lucknow. Chakravartty was one of its main organisers. Sarojini Naidu was the chief guest and presided over the event, where young women students laid the foundation of the women’s movement.

In April 1942, Chakravartty, along with Rani Mitra Dasgupta and Manikuntala Sen, played a key role in forming the Mahila Atma Raksha Samiti (MARS — Women’s Self-Defence Committee), with Ela Bhattacharya as organising secretary. MARS became a widespread and effective mass organisation with thousands of members.

Following the Japanese bombings on Calcutta in December 1942 and the subsequent bombings in Vizag, Chittagong, and elsewhere, MARS became a lifeline for women and children affected by mass migrations. Chakravartty was active in relief efforts. MARS also played a significant role in the Tebhaga movement (1946–47).

Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty

Simultaneously, Nari Seva Sangh was established to rehabilitate destitute women, with Chakravartty’s mother Brahma Kumari Roy — also a member of the AIWC (All India Women’s Conference) — at its centre. Sailaja Chakravartty, Nikhil’s mother, also worked for women’s empowerment.

The first MARS conference was held on April 27–28, 1943, where Chakravartty spoke. The first provincial MARS conference was held on 8 May 1943 in Calcutta, which she described vividly. MARS also organised a 5,000-strong women’s march to the Assembly, demanding famine relief. Chakravartty further organised civil defence units, first aid centres and relief kitchens.

She was active during the communal riots of 1946–47, especially in Noakhali. She wrote, “My little child (Sumit) was just one year old. But although I felt the wrench, the call of Noakhali’s suffering sisters would not let me sit back at home.”

Her book Communists in Indian Women’s Movement provides a comprehensive history of the movement from 1940 to 1950, supported by her extensive research.

Over four decades of political life, she was deeply involved in the workers’ movement, organised numerous strikes, and faced imprisonment on several occasions. She also contributed significantly to the women’s movement and served on the executive committees of many organisations, including the Women’s International Democratic Federation (WIDF), to which she was elected in 1953.

The WIDF’s Constituent Congress was held in Paris in 1945, with MARS affiliated to it. WIDF later invited Indian representatives to its World Congress in Copenhagen in June 1953. Chakravartty carried the invitation on her return from abroad and helped form a delegation of 30 women.

A preparatory meeting was held in Delhi on March 10, 1953, and the WIDF appeal was signed by Chakravartty, Aruna Asaf Ali, and representatives from 12 states.

The National Preparatory Conference was held on May 9, 1953 in Delhi, forming the National Coordinating Committee. The founding congress of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) began on June 4, 1954, where Chakravartty was elected vice-president and drafted the organisation’s Constitution. At the NFIW’s 1962 conference, she was elected general secretary, a position she held until 1970.

She was also active in the 1950s workers’ movement in Jamshedpur and other places, and endured further imprisonment. A member of the Executive Committee of AIWC, she worked alongside other Communist and Left-leaning women, although ideological differences eventually surfaced.

From 1940 to 1947, she worked as a lecturer of English Literature at Calcutta University, while also dedicating herself to mass and party work. She was also a talented singer and painter. According to her Lok Sabha profile, her hobbies include reading and writing articles. Her educational, social and political work focused on the emancipation of women.

After 1970, she was affected by a congenital heart defect and underwent open-heart surgery. Despite this, she remained active until she suffered a cerebral haemorrhage.

Renu Chakravartty passed away on April 16, 1994.

Qurban Ali is a trilingual journalist who has covered some of modern India’s major political, social and economic developments. He has a keen interest in India’s freedom struggle and is now documenting the history of the socialist movement in the country.

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