National Democratic Front (French India)

The National Democratic Front (French: Front national démocratique) was a political coalition in French India. The movement dominated the political scene in the colony for a brief period until the emergence of a split between the socialists and communists in the coalition.

The National Democratic Front was founded in January 1946.^[1] The front consisted of communists, socialists, the Mahajan Sabha and the Combat group (led by Julien Adiceam, who had arrived in French India from Algeria).^[2][3]

The National Democratic Front contested the 1946 municipal, Representative Assembly and French National Assembly elections.^[4] The 1946 election manifesto of the National Democratic Front called for French India to become a fully autonomous unit within the French Union.^[5] The National Democratic Front won 30 out of the 44 seats in the 1946 French India Representative Assembly election.^[6] Communist leader V. Subbiah was amongst the National Democratic Front candidates elected.^[7] In the June 23, 1946 municipal elections the National Democratic Front captured all 22 municipalities of French India, winning 101 out of 122 municipal seats up for election.^[5][8] Kamal Ghosh, a National Democratic Front leader, became mayor of Chandernagore.^[9] The candidate of the National Democratic Front, Lambert Saravane, won the French India seat in the November 1946 election to the French National Assembly.^[10]

In July 1947 Edouard Goubert and his followers broke away from the National Democratic Front and formed the French India Socialist Party.^[5] Goubert's new party quickly gained the support of the French colonial administration.^[11] What remained of the National Democratic Front became dominated by the Communist Party of French India.^[9]

References

1. Subbiah, Varadarajulu. Saga of Freedom of French India: Testament of My Life. Madras: New Century Book House, 1990. p. 230
2. Antony, Francis Cyril (1982). Union Territory of Pondicherry. Vol. 1. Pondicherry: Administration of the Union Territory of Pondicherry. p. 246. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
3. Das, Manoj. Pondicherry. New Delhi: Gov. Pr, 1976. p. 11
4. Marxist Miscellany, Volume 1-4. New Delhi: People's Publishing House, 1970. p. 18
5. Antony, Francis Cyril (1982). Union Territory of Pondicherry. Vol. 1. Pondicherry: Administration of the Union Territory of Pondicherry. p. 248. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
6. Moutoussamy, Ernest. Les députés de l'Inde française à l'Assemblée Nationale sous la VIe République. Paris [u.a.]: Harmattan, 2003. p. 28
7. New Age. Paying Homage to Comrade V. Subbaiah Archived 25 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
8. More, J. B. Prashant (2001). Freedom movement in French India: the Mahe revolt of 1948. Tellicherry: Institute for Research in Social Sciences and Humanities, MESHAR. p. 93. ISBN 9788190016698.
9. Neogy, Ajit K. Decolonization of French India: Liberation Movement and Indo-French Relations, 1947-1954. Pondichéry: Institut français de Pondichéry, 1997. p. 24
10. More, J. B. Prashant (2001). Freedom movement in French India: the Mahe revolt of 1948. Tellicherry: Institute for Research in Social Sciences and Humanities, MESHAR. p. 96. ISBN 9788190016698.
11. Markovits, Claude. A history of modern India, 1480-1950. London: Anthem, 2004. p. 518