Subhash Jang in his memoirs, the character of Mahboob Rajhil has been considered an important voice in the struggle against the caste system.

According to some observers, Jang’s contribution to the Communist movement in China may have been significant. As the Communist Party (CCP) grew stronger it adopted the policy of “three worlds” wherein the “north”, the “south” and the “East” form into an independent unified country. That was a revolution in strategy, but it was not enough to produce a proletarian class that could take power from the imperialists and bourgeois ruling classes. Jang was its principal theorist.

He saw “Great Man” Lenin as a “Great Leader”. He was instrumental in forging the first united front of India against the British in 1930 and the two-sided war of the “Tiger and Tiger” which took place in the East. In 1939, he became the first Communist party office bearers of India to visit China. He also led the fight against the Japanese invasion and the subsequent Indian independence movement.

Jang, also known as “Red” because of his black colour, was a keen student of Leninism and the theories of the founder of Comintern, Comrade Stalin, and was very popular with the Stalinist party comrades.

The first Communist party office bearers of India to visit China in 1939. (Photo courtesy: CPI-M)

During his life Jang also had a close encounter with Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri who was closely associated with the Communist Party. These two Stalinists (Tadoorji in 1927 and Togliatti in 1933), made a pact to bring Jang back to India who had been an exile at that time. However, the Congress backed Chandrashekhar Azad who was the head of the Indian Communist Party, though Jang did not approve.

Thus, despite his role in the development of CPI-M, Jang remained an outside observer. His book India-China in the 1930s is one of the few sources available on the Communist movement in India. Another important and widely quoted work, which shows Jang’s involvement, is the book “Barefoot in Tibet: The People’s Rebellion in Tibet, 1928-1936” by David Bohn, which has been translated into over 30 languages.

He was also well-acquainted with the activities of the various Chinese