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Meet Vijay Prashad: The Neville Roy Singham-Funded Marxist Who Cheers Anarchy From Paris To Delhi

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The Commune
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A Fox News investigation has identified 54 organisations in France’s October protest ecosystem, highlighting the role of international communist and socialist groups—and the network associated with Shanghai-based tycoon Neville Roy Singham. At the centre of its report is Vijay Prashad, the Indian-American Marxist intellectual who heads the Singham-funded Tricontinental Institute for Social Research.

But Who Is This Vijay Prashad?

Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian, journalist, author and Marxist intellectual whose work spans political commentary, publishing and international activism. He is the executive director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, editor of LeftWord Books and chief correspondent for Globetrotter. He has authored more than 40 books on Marxism, imperialism, communism and the politics of the Global South.

But beyond his academic and publishing career, Prashad is a key figure in Neville Roy Singham’s global network of communist and pro-China organisations, with Tricontinental among the organisations linked to Singham’s funding.

The questions surrounding Prashad have gained renewed attention following US congressional investigations into Singham-linked nonprofit organisations and reports about international networks amplifying protests in different countries.

Let’s start from the most recent news.

Fox News Exposes Neville Singham Network Amplifying Protests Across The World

On October 19, 2026, Fox News Digital published an investigation into the organisations involved in France’s student protests and the wider cost-of-living demonstrations, identifying 54 groups spanning communist and socialist parties, student organisations, trade unions, advocacy groups and international media platforms.

The report opened with Vijay Prashad, an Indian-American Marxist intellectual who celebrated the protests with a message linking political unrest across three continents.

“Paris-New Delhi-Buenos Aires,” Prashad posted on X, borrowing a line from British punk band The Clash: “Let fury have the hour, anger can be power.”

Additionally, when Albania is also burning from the protests, he seemed to encourage it with the below post.

He did something similar for the Jantar Mantar protests too.

He also posted a picture of commie Aishe Ghosh, popular from the JNU protests.

And said he stood with the students in Paris!

Prashad is not simply another commentator reacting to the protests. He is the executive director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, an organisation whose original funding endowment he has publicly attributed to Neville Roy Singham, the American-born technology entrepreneur now based in Shanghai.

Fox News described a transnational ecosystem of communist and socialist organisations, activists, labour unions and media outlets that supported or amplified the French protests. Sixteen of the 54 organisations identified were student or youth groups, while the other 38 included adult-led political parties, unions, revolutionary-left organisations, advocacy groups and media platforms.

The report highlighted Tricontinental, CodePink and BreakThrough News among the international amplifiers associated with the wider Singham network. It also reported that 28 communist and socialist youth organisations were planning a coordinated November 20 strike across 12 European countries under the slogan “Fight for Our Future, Not Their Wars!”

The investigation brings renewed attention to Prashad’s political activities and his institutional and financial connections. It does not, by itself, establish that he or Singham financed or directed every organisation or demonstration identified.

Who is Vijay Prashad?

Vijay Prashad is an Indian-American historian, journalist, author and prominent Marxist intellectual. He directs Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research and serves as editor of LeftWord Books, a New Delhi-based publishing house specialising in left-wing and Marxist literature.

His bio in Influence Watch reads “Vijay Prashad is a Marxist journalist and historian. An ardent supporter of communism, Prashad is the author of many books defending the ideology’s legacy and is a frequent contributor to a number of left-wing news sites and publications. Prashad is a frequent guest at talks hosted by the New York-based socialist incubator The People’s Forum.”

He has written extensively on imperialism, capitalism, colonialism, socialism and political movements across the Global South. His books include The Darker Nations: A People’s History of the Third World, The Poorer Nations and Washington Bullets.

Prashad’s political outlook is openly Marxist and anti-imperialist. His writing frequently challenges Western foreign policy, criticises American military intervention and presents socialist movements as alternatives to the existing global economic order.

He has also consistently argued that China should be understood in the context of its development model and its position in a world order historically dominated by Western powers. His work often disputes Western portrayals of China and criticises what he sees as the selective application of human-rights and democratic standards by Western governments.

Family Connections to India’s Communist Leadership

Prashad also has family connections to India’s established communist movement. He is the nephew of Brinda Karat, a senior Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M), leader who became the first woman member of the party’s Politburo.

Brinda Karat is married to Prakash Karat, the CPI(M)’s former general secretary and one of the most prominent figures in the party’s national leadership.

And thus, he is also connected to Arundhati Roy who is NDTV founder Pranoy Roy’s first cousin. Pranoy Roy is married to Brinda Karat’s sister.

Tricontinental: A Marxist Research Institute with an International Reach

Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research describes its work in terms of research, political education and collaboration with social movements. Its publications examine capitalism, class struggle, imperialism and socialist development, often drawing on movements and political experiences across Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Prashad is its executive director and one of its principal public voices.

The institute became central to the Singham controversy because Prashad has acknowledged that Singham supplied the original funding for its endowment.

Prashad discussed the connection publicly in 2021. In a post about Singham, he described him as a Marxist who had built a major software company, sold it and decided to direct money towards political education for a new generation of radicals. Prashad referred to Singham as the “original source” of Tricontinental’s endowment.

The relationship has also been examined by investigative journalists.

In August 2023, The New York Times published an investigation into Singham’s funding of a network of American nonprofit organisations, media platforms and activist groups. The investigation traced financial links between Singham-associated entities and organisations that frequently promoted narratives aligned with the Chinese government’s positions. Tricontinental was among the organisations examined.

The Singham Network: Money, Media and Political Messaging

Neville Roy Singham made his fortune through Thoughtworks, the software company he founded and sold in 2017. He subsequently became a major financial supporter of left-wing political and activist organisations.

Singham now lives in Shanghai. Investigative reporting has examined his relationships with groups that produce political commentary, organise demonstrations, conduct research and publish material critical of Western governments while frequently supporting Chinese government positions.

Fox News Digital’s 2026 investigation into the network reported that financial records showed 223 transactions moving approximately $591 million across five continents between 2017 and 2025. It also reported that $278 million had flowed from Singham through three organisations into six core nonprofits.

Tricontinental occupies a significant place in this investigation because of Prashad’s acknowledged funding connection with Singham. Other organisations associated with the broader network include The People’s Forum, BreakThrough News and CodePink, which was co-founded by Singham’s wife, Jodie Evans.

Prashad’s Positions on China

Prashad’s views on China are an important part of his political profile. His writing challenges the idea that Western liberal capitalism is the only viable model of economic and political development and often presents China as a counterweight to American global power.

His work has defended China’s development record and criticised Western accounts of Chinese domestic policy. His writing on Xinjiang, for example, has challenged Western allegations concerning the treatment of Uyghurs and has questioned how those allegations are used in geopolitical disputes.

In a video interview with SL Kanthan, he claimed China didn’t agree to subordination but they decided to create their own technologies. He also commented that India focused on being the body shop for Western corporations and questioned Infosys and Tata whether they have innovated anything.

A 2020 interview published by Qiao Collective, he counters anyone claiming that China is capitalist calls anyone calling China that, especially the West, someone with an “ill-informed opinion.”

He sits in the US and lectures America about human rights and what not.

Anti-Hindu & Anti-India

One of the most prominent features of the left cabal is to destroy culture wherever they are. In the US, Prashad is alleged to run an anti-Hindu, anti-India narrative.

In this 2020 video, he claims that the Left’s greatest enemy is culture and that they must fight against what they have inherited from the past. And by culture, he only names the wrong ones – patriarchy, racism and claims Left supports reason.

Claims To Be Anti-War But Seemingly Supports It

It is alleged that Prashad claims to be against war. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, he reportedly supported the Ukraine war with the below message.

Praises Leftists Who Allegedly Aided Genocide?

Vijay Prashad met Sri Lankan leftist politician Vasudeva Nanayakkara in Colombo during the Hands Off Asia conference organised by the People’s Assembly and Tricontinental Institute for Social Research. Prashad described Nanayakkara, born in 1939, as one of Sri Lanka’s most venerable left-wing politicians, a veteran of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party and the Democratic Left Front who had remained committed to socialism through the decades. Prashad presented him with a copy of his book Washington Bullets, saying Nanayakkara had experienced the book’s themes through his years in prison and parliament.

Nanayakkara had aligned himself with the Mahinda Rajapaksa government during the final stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War and later served as a cabinet minister under Rajapaksa. Rajapaksa’s 2009 military offensive crushed the LTTE but was also marked by mass civilian deaths and grave atrocities against Eelam Tamils, with Tamil activists and human rights groups describing the campaign as genocidal. Yet Prashad praised Nanayakkara as a veteran socialist, signing off with: “Red Salute to comrade Vasu!”

The NewsClick Investigation in India

Prashad’s association with Singham came under scrutiny in India through the investigation into NewsClick, the digital news portal founded by Prabir Purkayastha.

In 2023, the Delhi Police Special Cell registered a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) involving allegations of illegal Chinese-linked funding and the dissemination of pro-China narratives. Purkayastha was arrested in October that year.

The police investigation examined alleged financial connections involving Singham, Purkayastha and NewsClick. Investigators alleged that money routed through a network of entities had supported the portal and that communications showed efforts to promote Chinese government narratives.

In its chargesheet, the police referred to communications involving Singham, Prashad, Purkayastha and their associates. It also alleged that Singham was seeking to influence NewsClick’s coverage of China, including its reporting on the Covid-19 pandemic.

In May 2024, the Delhi Police issued notices asking five people to join the investigation. They included Singham, his business associate Jason Pfetcher, Prashad and two NewsClick journalists, Anand Mangnale and Pawan Kulkarni, The Indian Express reported.

The police allegations extended to claims concerning the use of funds to influence political protests and undermine India’s interests. These were allegations made in the investigation, not established findings of guilt against every person named or summoned.

NewsClick rejected the allegations as baseless and said it would contest them in court. The Supreme Court invalidated Purkayastha’s arrest in May 2024, after which he was granted bail.

US Congress subpoenas Tricontinental

The scrutiny of Singham’s network has since expanded in the United States.

On July 24, 2026, the US House Ways and Means Committee announced that it had subpoenaed three tax-exempt organisations connected to Singham: Tricontinental, BreakThrough News and The People’s Forum. The committee said it had sought records from the organisations in 2025 and 2026 as part of an investigation into foreign-linked funding and the US tax-exempt sector.

On October 13, committee chairman Jason Smith said the organisations had been given until October 20 to comply with the document demands or face further oversight action. The committee said the records it sought included information about fiscal sponsorships, communications with Singham or other foreign principals, organisational governance and donor contributions.

The committee also said potential deposition subpoenas would cover six officials and staff members at Tricontinental, seven at BreakThrough News and eight at The People’s Forum.

Tricontinental’s inclusion is significant because Prashad leads the institute and has publicly acknowledged Singham’s role in its original funding.

Compared Terrorists To Freedom Fighters?

In an undated post, Prashad took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the latter expressed solidarity with Israel following terrorist attacks. Responding to Modi’s post, in which the Prime Minister said he was “deeply shocked” by the attacks and extended thoughts and prayers to the innocent victims and their families, Prashad wrote: “Prime Minister. By your logic every Indian freedom fighter should be a terrorist and the British imperialists would be innocent victims.”

A Global Network, One Ideological Thread

Vijay Prashad is a Marxist ideologue at the heart of an international network of communist and pro-China organisations. He heads Tricontinental, whose original funding he has attributed to Neville Roy Singham, promotes protests across countries, defends China’s political model and has been drawn into investigations in India and the United States over the wider network’s activities. From amplifying anarchy to praising a Sri Lankan politician who backed Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government during the bloody final phase of the civil war, Prashad’s record reflects a consistent ideological alignment. His influence extends far beyond books and academia into international political activism.

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