LEFT CULTURAL MOVEMENT 117 reality. The then establishment guaranteed &^t^s md moiney abd the intellectuals started flocking towairds them. The disintegration of thie IPTA started in the 1960's when the CPI failed to clearly demarcate the stage of the Indian revolution and its effect was felt on cultural activity. An instructive example would be Ajoy Ghose's statement that, "whatever is not reactionary is progressive." This explicitly points to the confusion intheCPI of that time. The IPTA thus started losing its direction and obviously its strength too. This continued ^ill the early 60's when the inner straggle in the CPI came to the fore and the party split in two. At the same time, the tndo*Cbina war of 1962 roused national chauvinistic sentiments and a large section of intellectuals, swept away by these emotionis, joined the chorus of anti-corinmunist propaganda. A couple of years later (he CPI (M) came into existence with a programme of People's Democratic Revolution. Under its guidance there were attempts to reorganise, the IPTA and the list Conference was held under its auspices in 1967. This "was the beginning of the third stage in the history of the IPTA. Present Position Ttbe first stage in the growth of the IPTA which was also its most fertile period, lasted upto the late 40's. The 50's marked the beginning of the second stage when the IPTA ^?as in a state of disarray though still in the leadership of the left cultural movement. Tte third stage saw the enwg^ncc of two types in the field of ^progresjdve* theatre. On the one hand., was the IPTA which was attempting to mn}ce its presence felt and on the other, heterogeneous combinations of groups which foi?-mod Bengal's so-called ^Other Theatre". Both were anti-establishment in character but differences existed in their attitudes regarding the purpose behind and the method of functioning of a progressive theatre movement. The main question before any cultural worker is whom to serve. To any Marxist the answer is clear—he has to "serve .., the millions aiBtd tens of millions of workiBsg people"8. To the groups comprismg the