With reference to the 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 the proletariat.
- It advocated separate electorate for minorities and oppressed classes.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 and 2 only
- 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
- None
Explanation
All statements are incorrect
- In 1934, Acharya Narendra Dev, Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia, and others formed the Congress Socialist Party (CSP) within the Congress.
- Acharya Narendra Dev was appointed as the founding President of the Congress Socialist Party, while Jayaprakash Narayan served as the general secretary.
- While the CSP supported economic and social reforms, it did not promote evasion of taxes.
- It sought to achieve socialism through democratic and parliamentary means, not through the establishment of a dictatorship of the proletariat.
- The CSP opposed separate electorates for minorities and oppressed classes, considering them divisive and against national unity.
- All Congress socialists agreed on four fundamental ideas from the very beginning:
- The primary struggle in India was for national freedom, and nationalism was an essential stage in the journey towards socialism.
- Socialists must work within the INC because it was the chief organisation leading the national struggle.
- Socialists must provide the Congress and the national movement with a socialist direction.
- Socialists must organise workers and peasants for their economic uplift and to lead the movement to achieve independence and socialism.
- The Socialists put forward the programme of the abolition of zamindari, state ownership of land, nationalisation of industries and banks, redistribution of land among peasants, and fixation of minimum wages for the working masses.
