Sharma : What were the reasons for your not joining the Communist Party? Was it simply because your friends were not with you?
Chavan : No, because my attraction towards it was temporary. As my party was not giving any programme of fight and had taken completely a different view, I became rather impatient. And this party was giving a programme. That was some sort of temporary attraction. But, I must say, that at that time it was a very poweful attraction. The Marxist analysis hasd its own influence on my mind in those days and even today. It explained many historical developments more logically than any other thought or philosophy could do.
Sharma : But this somersault must have come to you as a great shock?
Chavan : The somersault came as a great shock to me, but, there also was one very pleasant surpirise. This was what Roy was suggesting in his discussions, that this war would develop into a people's war. His approach was somewhat vindicated intellectually so far as hi analysis on the war was concerned, that these fascist forces would ultimately turn against the Communists and there would be a major war between the Communist forces on the one side and the Fascist forces on the other. According to Roy the main aim and objective of fascism was to deestroy Soviet russia in the European was so that it would not become the centre of ) New political progressive socialist force. So it came true. In June 1941, the Communists started saying what Roy was saying from 1939 onwards.
Sharma : But althrough the Communists had been acting as agents of the Communist International.
Chavan : The Communist Party was a Part of the Communist International movement and, therefore, they normally took instructions from the Third International. I would not say that they were not patriotic, but sometimes it looked as if they were taking instructions form outside.
