From the red flag to the written word: Brinda Karat’s memoir of a movement

At a recent session titled ‘On Being Brinda’, political leader and activist Brinda Karat joined Subhashini Ali in a compelling conversation about her memoir An Education for Rita: A Memoir, 1975–1985. The dialogue offered a deeply reflective journey into the decade that shaped Karat’s political identity, women’s movements, and India’s social consciousness.

The discussion revisited the years between 1975 and 1985 — a turbulent yet formative period marked by ideological conviction and grassroots struggle. Karat traced her own transformation during this time, from her life in Kolkata to her immersion in trade union work among textile workers in Delhi. “It was the easiest thing,” she said of that decisive shift, underscoring how purpose made transition effortless. She recalled moments of familial concern — like collecting funds on Kolkata’s streets with a red flag and box in hand — and how her father’s unease stemmed not from her politics, but from the social visibility of her activism.

Through her memoir, Karat seeks to preserve what she called “the human potential and intellectual brilliance of working-class people,” too often dismissed by society. “Much of society’s talent is wasted due to structural inequality,” she said, recalling workers who memorised legal codes, displayed profound generosity, and embodied patience and dignity. The conversation also turned to the feminist movements of the 1970s, a time of global resistance that found distinct expression in India’s dual strands of autonomous and left-aligned feminism.

In dialogue, Subhashini Ali — herself a veteran activist — reflected on the spirit of collective engagement that defined those years. Together, the two explored writing as testimony: how memoirs record not only political events but also interior emotions — fear, resolve, hope, endurance. The session underscored An Education for Rita as more than autobiography; it is a chronicle of political becoming, documenting how consciousness evolves through solidarity, shared struggle, and reflection.

In closing, audience questions opened a wider meditation on courage, women in public life, and the feminist imagination. Both speakers affirmed that feminism, at its core, is neither narrow nor elitist — it is rooted in class struggle, collective joy, and an unrelenting commitment to justice. The memoir, they suggested, stands as both record and reminder: that transformation begins in lived experience and endures through collective memory.