P.C._Joshi,_the_first_General_Secretary_of_the_Communist_Party_of_India,_was_one_of_the_leading_figures_of_the_communist_movement_in_India._Born_in_Almora_in_1907,_Joshi_joined_the_Communist_Party_in_1929,_and_rose_to_prominence_thereafter._He_was_soon_thereafter_arrested_in_connection_with_the_Meerut_Conspiracy_Case._Despite_an_official_ban_on_the_C.P.I.,_Joshi_continued_to_play_a_leading_role_in_the_activities_of_the_party,_and_emerged_as_one_of_its_most_influential_members._He_was_therefore_chosen_as_the_party's_first_General_Secretary_in_late_1935,_a_capacity_in_which_he_served_until_his_removal_from_the_post_twelve_years_later.
Under_his_leadership,_the_Communist_Party_established_new_organizations_and_breathed_new_life_into_existing_ones:_the_All_India_Kisan_Sabha,_All_India_Trade_Union_Congress,_Progressive_Writer’s_Association_and_the_All_India_Student’s_Federation_were_actively_encouraged_by_Joshi._He_also_played_an_instrumental_role_in_the_launch_of_the_party_weekly,_National_Front,_which_he_edited,_and_helped_found_the_Indian_People’s_Theatre_Association_(I.P.T.A)_in_1942.
In_1949,_Joshi_was_expelled_from_the_party_for_his_perceived_closeness_to_the_leadership_of_the_Indian_National_Congress._Though_he_was_reinstated_two_years_later,_and_ultimately_made_the_editor_of_the_party_weekly,_New_Age,_Joshi_ceased_to_be_as_actively_involved_in_party_affairs_as_he_was_prior_to_his_expulsion._Instead,_towards_the_end_of_his_life,_P.C_Joshi_began_to_devote_himself_to_the_task_of_writing_the_history_of_the_Communist_Party_of_India_as_a_way_of_understanding_why_a_party_which_enjoyed_a_heritage_of_selfless_work_had_run_into_contradictions._The_collection_of_documents_he_had_begun_in_his_lifetime_became_the_basis_for_the_Archives_on_Contemporary_History_at_J.N.U,_which_was_established_on_1st_December_1970,_although_when_he_died_in_1980,_the_task_he_had_taken_on_himself_remained_unfinished.
The_Archives_on_Contemporary_History_invites_donations_of_personal_papers,_diaries,_books,_collections,_memorabilia_and_photographs_from_members_of_communist_and_socialist_parties,_people_broadly_on_the_Indian_Left,_unions,_workers,_women's_groups,_members_of_cultural_troupes_etc._The_archive_is_committed_to_archiving_and_preserving_the_history_of_the_entire_spectrum_of_the_Indian_left_from_about_the_beginning_of_the_20th_century._It_has_no_party_affiliation_and_will_preserve_and_use_these_materials_for_bonafide_scholarly_purposes.