n 1957, the people of the Indian state of Kerala became the first group in the world to democratically elect a communist government. The Communist Party of India (Marxist), also known as CPI(M), maintained power in the state for 50 years, finally losing control of its majority coalition in 2011. A big reason for the communist party’s survival in Kerala has been its ability to adapt to the demands of electoral politics and accommodate different and even contradictory views. As a result, the very meaning of communism in Kerala has become a subject of debate.For many, especially the young, communism today is more about the ideal of equal opportunity than the ideology of Marx or Lenin. Ultimately, communism in Kerala has remained Indian. At a time of rising Hindu nationalism, the party’s classes for young children — a communist version of Sunday school — emphasize a secular Indian identity. “We are not Christians or Muslims or Hindus,” sang a group of barefoot boys and girls in Kerala’s capital of Thiruvananthapuram, near the southern tip of India. “Hunger is the same for us all; pain is the same for us all. Our blood has the same color; our tears the same taste.”