question_answer

'Congress had remained a social and ideological coalition for a long period.' Justify the statement.

Or

Access the outcome of early phase of planned development in India.

 

Answer:

The Congress Party evolved from its origins in 1885 as a pressure group for the newly educated, professional and commercial classes to a mass movement in the twentieth century. This laid the basis for its eventual transformation into a mass political party and its subsequent domination of the political system. Thus the Congress began as a party dominated by the English speaking, upper caste, upper middle-class and urban elite. But with every Civil Disobedience Movement it launched, its social base widened. It brought together diverse groups, whose interests were often contradictory. Peasants and industrialists, urban dwellers and villagers, workers and owners, middle, lower and upper classes and castes, all found space in the Congress. Gradually, its leadership also expanded beyond the upper caste and upper class professionals to agriculture based leaders with a rural orientation. By the time of Independence, the Congress was transformed into a rainbow-like social coalition broadly representing India?s diversity in terms of classes and castes, religions and languages and various interests. In this sense the Congress was an ideological coalition as well. It accommodated the revolutionary and pacifist, conservative and radical, extremist and moderate and the right, left and all shades of the centre. The Congress was a ?platform? for numerous groups, interests and even political parties to take part in the national movement.

Or

The major outcomes of the three objectives that were identified in independent India, discussed in the first three chapters here, the third objective proved most difficult to realise. Land reforms did not take place effectively in most parts of the country; political power remained in the hands of the landowning classes; and big industrialists continued to benefit and thrive while poverty did not reduce much. The early initiatives for planned development were at best realising the goals of economic development of the country and well-being of all its citizens. The inability to take significant steps in this direction in the very first stage was to become a political problem. Those who benefited from unequal development soon became politically powerful and made it even more difficult to move in the desired direction.

An assessment of the outcomes of this early phase of planned development must begin by acknowledging the fact that in this period the foundations of India?s future economic growth were laid. Some of the largest developmental projects in India?s history were undertaken during this period. These included mega-dams like Bhakhra - Nangal and Hirakud for irrigation and power generation. Some of the heavy industries in the public sector - steel plants, oil refineries, manufacturing units, defense production etc.-were started during this period. Infrastructure for transport and communication was improved substantially. Of late, some of these mega projects have come in for a lot of criticism. Yet much of the later economic growth, including that by the private sector, many not have been possible in the absence of these foundations.