Opposition parties

The essentials

Opposition parties in the 1950s were small in Parliament but played an important role. They criticised the government, kept democratic debate alive and prepared leaders who later became prominent. Relations between the government and opposition leaders were generally respectful; the first Union Cabinet even included non-Congress leaders such as B.R. Ambedkar and Syama Prasad Mookerjee.

Key points

• Socialist Party: its roots lay in the Congress Socialist Party (1934). It stood for democratic socialism. Leaders included Acharya Narendra Dev, Ram Manohar Lohia and Jayaprakash Narayan. It later split and merged into groups such as the Praja Socialist Party and the Samyukta Socialist Party.
• Communist Party of India (CPI): communist groups emerged in the 1920s, inspired by the Russian Revolution. The CPI was the largest opposition party after the 1952 election. Leaders included A.K. Gopalan, S.A. Dange and E.M.S. Namboodiripad.
• Bharatiya Jana Sangh: founded in 1951 with Syama Prasad Mookerjee as founder-president. It emphasised “one country, one culture and one nation”, supported Hindi as the official language and favoured India developing nuclear weapons. Its support was concentrated in parts of north India.
• Swatantra Party: formed in 1959 by C. Rajagopalachari and others. It favoured a free-market economy, opposed state control and the land-ceiling proposals, and wanted closer ties with the USA.

Exam tips

• Match each party with its founding year, leaders and ideas.
• Remember that the BJS is the forerunner of the later Bharatiya Janata Party (formed in 1980).

Common mistakes

• Thinking the Swatantra Party supported planning and nationalisation; it opposed them.
• Mixing up Syama Prasad Mookerjee (Jana Sangh) and C. Rajagopalachari (Swatantra).