Born on March 21, 1887, the internationally well-known philosopher - revolutionary Manabendranath Roy joined the revolutionary underground movement for national liberation at the age of 18. From that time till his death on January 25, 1954, his entire life was devoted to the pursuit of freedom, truth and justice.

His persistent efforts - resulted in an attempted insurrection in 1915 which was crushed by the British. During the next two years, he moved in search of armed assistance for Indian revolution in Indonesia, the Phillipines, Japan, Korea, the USA and Mexico.

In Mexico he absorbed the teachings of Karl Marx and founded the Communist Party of Mexico in 1919;and realized that India's struggle for freedom was part of the global struggle of the oppressed  and the exploited.

On Lenin's personal invitation, he went to Moscow. His supplementary Theses on the National and Colonial Question were unanimously adopted by the Second Congress of the Communist International (1920) together with Lenin Theses. He founded the Emigre Communist Party of India in Tashkent. His book on India in Transition (1922) established him as a major revolutionary theorist. He was elected to the Presidium, Executive, and Secretariat of the  Communist International and became one of its topmost leaders.

He disagreed with the extremely sectarian line adopted by the Communist International at its Sixth  Congress  and  broke  with  C.l. He returned to India in 1931, was arrested and sentenced to 12 years of rigorous imprisonment, which was reduced in appeal to 6 years. He devoted his jail years to a careful study of philosophy, and wrote extensively.

After his release in 1936 he joined the Indian National Congress. He announced a programme of agrarian revolution for India and undertook a campaign along with his associates for the radicalisation  of  the Indian  nationalist movement. For India's purposeful participation in the anti-fascist war, he launched the political party 'The Radical Democratic Party.' When the war turned in favour of the Allied Powers; he prepared a Draft Constitution of free India (1944) in which a picture of a decentralised and participatory democracy was presented. He also prepared a People's Plan of economic development (1943) in which primacy was given to employment generation through improvement in agriculture arid development of small-scale industry.

In  1946 he clarified his differences with orthodox Marxism and formulated the  basic tenets of  Radical Humanism in Twenty-Two Theses. In the same year he founded the Indian Renaissance  Institute. He  developed a theory of Partyless democracy wherein  power would be vested in People's Committees instead of in a political party. The RDP was dissolved and in its place, the Radical Humanist Movement was started. He visualised a new way revolution "revolution from below" instead of the conventional concept of revolution from above by the capture of State power.

All his life Roy fought for human freedom and justice in various countries besides India­-Indonesia, Mexico, China, Russia and Europe. A true cosmopolitan, he mastered and wrote in several languages- Spanish, German, French, Russian and of course English. His more than hundred titles include India in Transition, Revolution and Counter-Revolution in China, Fascism, Historical Role of Islam, Russian Revolution, New Humanism, People Parties Power and Reason Romanticism Revolution. His selected works edited by Sibnarayan Ray in Six Volumes are being published by Oxford University Press.

The Deptt. of Posts is privileged to issue a commemorative stamp on M.N. Roy in the series 'Freedom struggle of India'.

Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India