Praxis of a Socialist

Essays

Edited by : Sudhanva Deshpande, Vijay Prashad

9789392018985

LeftWord Books 2025

Language: English

196 Pages

5.5 x 8.5 Inches

In Stock!

Price INR 350.0 Not Available

About the Book

At the heart of Sitaram Yechury’s worldview was Marxism as shaped by the Indian Communist movement. This is a Marxism that is not purely theoretical. It seeks to not only understand the Indian reality, but also, through struggles on the ground, to transform this reality in a democratic and progressive direction. It is rooted in centuries of struggles in India to enhance sovereignty not only of the territory but also of the people themselves.


Sitaram Yechury’s commitment to a secular and socialist ‘idea of India’ is not driven by a desire to create an alternative to neoliberal Hindutva within the confines of the faltering republic. His entire praxis is shaped by his belief in the need to transcend the grotesque contradictions of neoliberal Hindutva and move to a deeper democratic dispensation that would open the door to socialism. It came out of his deep conviction in socialism and Marxism, and his unshaken commitment to bettering the lives of the Indian working classes. His critique of Hindutva and neoliberalism is not, therefore, from the standpoint of liberalism, but from a Communist perspective.


Praxis of a Socialist is an exploration of the Marxism of Sitaram Yechury. It collects his key texts about Marxism, about the struggles in India, and about the necessity for a socialist transformation from the grip of capitalism.

Sudhanva Deshpande
Sudhanva Deshpande is a theatre director and theatre and film actor. He has been a member of Jana Natya Manch since 1987. He has co-directed two films on the theatre legend Habib Tanvir and his company Naya Theatre. He is the author of Halla Bol: The Death and Life of Safdar Hashmi (LeftWord 2020), editor of Theatre of the Streets: The Jana Natya Manch Experience (Janam 2007), and co-editor of Our Stage: Pleasures and Perils of Theatre Practice in India (Tulika 2008). He has held teaching positions at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, and AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. Since 1998, he has been Managing Editor, LeftWord Books.

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Vijay Prashad
Vijay Prashad is director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, editor at LeftWord Books, and chief correspondent for Globetrotter. He is the author of forty books, including Untouchable Freedom: A Social History of a Dalit Community, Washington Bullets, Red Star Over the Third World, The Darker Nations: A People’s History of the Third World and The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South. The Darker Nations won the Muzaffar Ahmad Book Prize. He lives in Santiago, Chile.

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