From the Foreword by Bipan Chandra: "Being put in charge of the fledgling the Communist Party of India in 1935 at the young age of 28, P C Joshi succeeded in raising its strength from about 50 members to about 90,000 members in 1947. More importantly, he made the CPI an important force in national politics and in the peasants’ and workers’ movements. Joshi was a rare Communist who was aware of the role of artists, writers, scientists and other intellectuals in society."