Puran Chand Joshi

Puran Chand Joshi (14 April 1907 – 9 November 1980) was one of the early leaders of the communist movement in India. He was the general secretary of the Communist Party of India from 1935 to 1947.

Early years (From left to right) Muzaffar Ahmed, Bankim Mukherjee, P. C. Joshi, and Somnath Lahiri in Calcutta, 1937

Joshi was born on 14 April 1907, in a Kumaoni Hindu Brahmin family of Almora, in Uttarakhand. His father Harinandan Joshi was a teacher. In 1928, he passed his Master of Arts examination from the Allahabad University. He was arrested soon after completion of post-graduation. He became a leading organizer of the Youth Leagues during 1928–1929, along with Jawaharlal Nehru, Yusuf Meherally, and others. Soon, he became the General secretary of the Workers and Peasants Party of Uttar Pradesh, formed at Meerut in October 1928.