Communist Party of India (CPI) State secretary Binoy Viswam has said that the country has been under the rule of a full-fledged fascist regime.

Speaking at the inauguration of the CPI’s birth centenary celebrations and a communist family gathering held at the Thrissur Town Hall on Tuesday, Mr. Viswam accused the ruling Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of embracing foreign fascist ideologies while attempting to label communists with the same brush.

“The RSS and the BJP are rooted in foreign ideologies. Now they are trying to place that label on the head of the communist party,” he said. “The first RSS Sarsanghchalak, Hedgewar, was a former Congressman who sent his follower Dr. Moonje to Italy to meet Mussolini. Inspired by that meeting, he imported fascist ideas to India. Later, the second Sarsanghchalak, M.S. Golwalkar, drew from Nazi ideology, and came up with a book propagating those views under the name Bunch of Thoughts. So, if any organisation’s head fits the fascist hat, that’s the RSS’s.”

Mr. Viswam added that what the country saw today was not just a drift toward fascism, but full-fledged fascism. “The regime is marked by shameful racial supremacy and unashamed corporate servitude.”

Full freedom

He reminded the audience that the communist party was the first to unequivocally demand ‘Poorna Swaraj’ for India, even before the Congress. He referred to the 1921 Ahmedabad Congress session where Maulana Hasrat Mohani presented the Poorna Swaraj resolution, and credited the communist party for being ahead in its call for full freedom.

“The CPI is not a party that can, or should, change to fit the times. We exist only as long as we stay true to our foundational values,” Mr. Viswam said. “Historical events like the 1964 split were unfortunate, but the split will not change the history. We are not interested in creating any controversy.”

He recalled the contribution of CPI leader and former Chief Minister C. Achutha Menon, who tried to create a modern Kerala. Mr. Viswam warned against allowing narrow political interests to erase that transformative period.

On current political realities, Mr. Viswam stressed that Left unity was essential and warned against alliances that weakened progressive politics. “Victory is possible only if we stand together. We must resist and defeat the unholy alliances that undermine leftist strength.”

CPI district secretary K.K. Valsaraj presided. Revenue Minister K. Rajan, CPI leaders K.P. Rajendran, C.N. Jayadevan, A.K. Chandran, P. Balachandran, MLA, and V.S. Sunil Kumar addressed the gathering.

Fascism thrived where human struggle faded, and it should be countered not just politically, but culturally as well, said poet Alankode Leelakrishnan. He was speaking at a seminar titled ‘Progressive Art and Literary Movement: A Legacy of Resistance,’ organised in Thrissur as part of the CPI birth centenary celebrations.

Cultural vigilance

“Wherever people stop resisting, fascism begins to settle in. In today’s India, where fascist shadows are spreading, we cannot afford to overlook this reality,” Mr. Leelakrishnan warned. “Cultural vigilance is essential to confront and dismantle the filth of fascism.”

Reflecting on Kerala’s legacy of social reformations, he said that it was the power of progressive cultural interventions—plays, literature, and social narratives—that fuelled the State’s renaissance. “It was the fire lit by art and literature that powered social reformations. The responsibility to keep that fire alive rests with the communists,” he said.

Karivellur Murali, secretary of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, said those trying to rewrite India’s history today were devoid of any historical grounding. “They are rewriting a past they were never part of,” he said in his address.

The seminar also featured writer Valsalan Vathussery and screenplay writer K.R. Sunil, who spoke on the need to defend and deepen Kerala’s progressive cultural legacy.