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Era of One-party Dominance
Three differences between Socialist parties and the Communist Party are as given below :
(i) The Socialist parties believed in the ideology of democratic socialism whereas the Communist Party on the other hand, took inspiration from the Bolshevik revolution in Russia and advocated socialism as a solution to problems affecting the country.
(ii) The Congress Socialist Party was formed within the Congress in 1934 and wanted a more radical and egalitarian Congress. On the other the communists worked mainly from within the fold of the Indian National Congress. A parting of ways took place in December 1941, when the communists decided to support the British in their war against Nazi Germany.
(iii) The Socialist Party went through many splits and reunions leading to the formation of many socialist parties. These included the Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party, the Praja Socialist Party and Samyukta Socialist Party and others. While, the Communist Party was divided once in 1964 on the basis of ideology. As a result of it Communist Party of India (Marxist) was formed.
Three differences between Bharatiya Jana Sangh and Swatantra Party are as given below :
(i) Bharatiya Jana Sangh was formed in 1951 while The Swatantra Party was formed in August 1959.
(ii) In its early years, Bharatiya Jana Sangh had support base mainly in the urban areas of the Hindi speaking states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh on the other hand Swatantra Party was supported by landlords, princes, industrialists and business class.
(iii) Bharatiya Jana Sangh had a strong base. Its lineage can be traced back to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Hindu Mahasabha whereas Swatantra Party’s base was narrow as it attracted landlords, princes, industrialists and business classes only.
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“Patel, the organisational man of the Congress; wanted to purge the Congress of other political groups and sought to make of it a cohesive and disciplined political party. He ...sought to take the Congress away from its all–embracing character and turn it into a close-knit party of disciplined cadres. Being a ‘realist’ he looked more for discipline than for comprehension. While Gandhi took too romantic a view of “carrying on the movement”, Patel’s idea of transforming the Congress into strictly political party with a single ideology and tight discipline showed an equal lack of understanding of the eclectic role that the Congress, as a government, was to he called upon to perform in the decades to follow.” — Rajni Kothari
(a) Why does the author think that Congress should not have been a cohesive and disciplined party?
(b) Give some examples of the eclectic role of the Congress party in the early years.
(c) Why does the author say that Gandhi’s view about Congress future was romantic ?
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