With reference to Congress Socialist Party, consider the following statements:It advocated the boyco

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Question

With reference to Congress Socialist Party, consider the following statements:It advocated the boycott of British goods and evasion of taxes.It wanted to establish the dictatorship of proletariat.It advocated separate electorate for minorities and oppressed classes.Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

Correct Answer: D — NoneStep-by-step Solution:The Congress Socialist Party (CSP) was founded in 1934 within the Indian National Congress by Jayaprakash Narayan, Acharya Narendra Dev, Ram Manohar Lohia, Minoo Masani, and others. It represented the left wing of the Congress and sought to give the national movement a socialist direction.Statement 1 — CSP advocated boycott of British goods and tax evasion: This is incorrect. These were strategies associated with Gandhi's movements (Swadeshi Movement, Civil Disobedience). The CSP did not specifically advocate boycott of British goods or tax evasion as its programme. The CSP preferred to work within and through the Congress organisation, focusing on: organising workers and peasants into class organisations; linking the national movement with socialist transformation; militant anti-imperialism through mass movements. They largely accepted Congress's methods of struggle rather than advocating specifically British-goods boycott as a strategy. ✗Statement 2 — CSP wanted to establish dictatorship of proletariat: This is incorrect. This goal is associated with orthodox Marxist-Leninist/Communist ideology — particularly the Communist Party of India (CPI). The CSP, while socialist, was not a communist organisation advocating proletarian dictatorship. CSP members believed in democratic socialism, parliamentary democracy, and socialist transformation through democratic means — not through a Soviet-style dictatorship of the proletariat. This distinction between democratic socialism (CSP) and communist dictatorship (CPI) was crucial. ✗Statement 3 — CSP advocated separate electorates for minorities and oppressed classes: This is incorrect. Separate electorates were associated with communal politics — the Muslim League (for Muslims), the demand by B.R. Ambedkar for Scheduled Castes (Poona Pact, 1932), and British policy. The CSP was firmly anti-communal and opposed the communal divisions that separate electorates would entrench. The CSP sought to unite workers and peasants across religious and caste lines, not further divide the electorate on communal/class lines. ✗Why other options are incorrect:Options A, B, and C each accept at least one incorrect statement. None of the three statements accurately describes CSP's programme or ideology.Key Concept: CSP (Congress Socialist Party, 1934): founded within INC; key leaders — JP Narayan, Acharya Narendra Dev, Ram Manohar Lohia, Minoo Masani, Achyut Patwardhan; programme — militant anti-imperialism, anti-feudalism, workers' and peasants' organisations, socialist vision for independent India; they initially cooperated with CPI (communists entered CSP), later expelled them; CSP eventually merged with Socialist Party (1948) after independence; key difference from CPI — democratic socialism vs communist dictatorship; key difference from Gandhian Congress — class struggle approach vs class harmony.

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