Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) was founded on 22 April, 1969. The proclamation of its birth was made on 1 May, 1969 at a mass meeting at Shaheed Minar, Calcutta. 

Following Naxalbari, a peasant revolt in the north Bengal led by local revolutionary cadres within CPI(M) under the guidance of Comrade Charu Majumdar, the communist revolutionaries within the CPI(M) rebelled against the social-democratic and bureaucratic leadership of the party and came out in several states of India to form All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries with Comrade Sushital Roy Chaudhury as its convenor. Apart from West Bengal, particularly in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, U.P. and J&K considerable sections of CPI(M) came out and joined the new revolutionary centre. Shortly more and more communist revolutionaries in almost all states joined it and significantly, thousands upon thousands of student-youth with new revolutionary energy came out to work under its banner. As it was urgently felt to form a revolutionary party to carry the people’s democratic revolution forward in the country, the Coordination Committee decided in 1969 to form the new party in the name of Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist). Comrade Charu Majumdar became the first General Secretary of the Central Organising Committee.

Working in underground conditions, the new Party held its first congress in Calcutta in 1970 and elected Com. Charu Majumdar as its General Secretary. Apart from electing a Central Committee, it adopted a programme of new democratic revolution in India and formulated a new tactical line. Changes in the tactical line were made in 1979 special conference which were incorpoted in third congress held in 1982. The Party decided to function openly in its 5th congress held in 1992 in Calcutta. In November 1997 the Party has held its 6th Congress at Varanasi.