Class | Subject | Book | Chapter | Session | Questions covered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
XII | Political Science | Politics in India since Independence (NCERT) | 2 – Era of One-party Dominance | 2026-27 | 5 of 5 |
Chapter at a glance
Topic | Key point |
|---|---|
First general elections | 1951–52; universal adult franchise; Election Commission (Sukumar Sen); Lok Sabha and State Assemblies elected together |
Congress dominance | Won 364 of 489 seats in 1952; dominance in 1957 and 1962; legacy of the freedom movement, organisation, leadership (Nehru) |
Nature of dominance | Democratic – other parties existed and contested; Congress as a “social and ideological coalition” with factions; tolerance and management of factions |
Opposition parties | CPI (second largest in 1952), Socialist Party/PSP, Bharatiya Jana Sangh, Swatantra Party |
Exceptions | Kerala – first elected Communist government (1957, E.M.S. Namboodiripad), dismissed 1959 |
Exercises
Choose the correct option to fill in the blanks. (a) The First General Elections in 1952 involved simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and ………. (The President of India / State Assemblies / Rajya Sabha / The Prime Minister) (b) The party that won the second largest number of Lok Sabha seats in the first elections was the ………. (Praja Socialist Party / Bharatiya Jana Sangh / Communist Party of India / Bharatiya Janata Party) (c) One of the guiding principles of the ideology of the Swatantra Party was ………. (Working class interests / protection of Princely States / economy free from State control / Autonomy of States within the Union)
Answer
Answer
1. State Assemblies
- Communist Party of India (16 seats)
3. Economy free from State control
- State Assemblies; (b) Communist Party of India; (c) economy free from State control.
Match the following leaders listed in List A with the parties in List B: (a) S. A. Dange (b) Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (c) Minoo Masani (d) Asoka Mehta — i. Bharatiya Jana Sangh ii. Swatantra Party iii. Praja Socialist Party iv. Communist Party of India
Answer
Answer
Leader | Party |
|---|---|
(a) S. A. Dange | iv. Communist Party of India |
(b) Shyama Prasad Mukherjee | i. Bharatiya Jana Sangh |
(c) Minoo Masani | ii. Swatantra Party |
(d) Asoka Mehta | iii. Praja Socialist Party |
(a)–iv, (b)–i, (c)–ii, (d)–iii.
Four statements regarding one-party dominance are given below. Mark each of them as true or false. (a) One-party dominance is rooted in the absence of strong alternative political parties. (b) One-party dominance occurs because of weak public opinion. (c) One-party dominance is linked to the nation’s colonial past. (d) One-party dominance reflects the absence of democratic ideals in a country.
Answer
Answer
Statement | True/False |
|---|---|
(a) | True |
(b) | False |
(c) | True (the Congress inherited the legacy of the national movement against colonial rule) |
(d) | False (in India, dominance existed with free and fair elections and opposition parties) |
- True; (b) False; (c) True; (d) False.
Take a political map of India (with State outlines) and mark: (a) two states where Congress was not in power at some point during 1952-67. (b) two states where the Congress remained in power through this period.
Answer
Answer
(On the map, shade the states as below.)
(a) Congress not in power at some point (1952–67):
- Kerala – the Communist Party of India formed the government in 1957 (E.M.S. Namboodiripad).
- Jammu and Kashmir – ruled by the National Conference.
- (Also PEPSU in 1952 – United Front; Orissa – coalition with the Ganatantra Parishad, 1959–61; Madras/Travancore-Cochin had non-Congress phases.)
(b) Congress in power throughout (1952–67):
- Uttar Pradesh
- Madhya Pradesh (also Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat/Maharashtra – Bombay State)
- e.g. Kerala (Communist government 1957) and Jammu & Kashmir (National Conference); (b) e.g. Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, where Congress ruled throughout 1952–67.
Read the following passage and answer the questions below: “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 be 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?
Answer
Answer
(a) The author believes that after independence the Congress had to play an eclectic role – accommodating diverse social groups, ideologies, regions and interests as the ruling party of a diverse nation. A cohesive, tightly disciplined party with a single ideology would have excluded many groups and could not have represented India’s diversity or managed its conflicts. Its all-embracing character helped national unity and democratic consolidation.
(b) Examples of the eclectic role:
- The Congress included socialists and conservatives, industrialists and peasants, landlords and landless, urban and rural people, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, upper castes and dalits.
- It had factions based on ideology and personal loyalty, which were accommodated, allowing internal debate.
- It absorbed groups like the Socialists (who were part of it until 1948) and leaders from various regions.
- It followed both socialist planning and support for private enterprise – a mix of policies (mixed economy).
- It acted as both the ruling party and the opposition (factions within it criticised the government).
(c) Gandhi wanted the Congress to be dissolved after independence and converted into a Lok Sevak Sangh – a social service organisation that would continue the movement’s moral work. The author calls this romantic because it was idealistic and impractical – it ignored the reality that, after independence, the Congress had to become a political party to govern the country and contest elections.
- As a ruling party in a diverse nation, Congress needed to accommodate many groups and views; a rigid single-ideology party would have excluded them. (b) It included socialists and conservatives, industrialists and peasants, all religions and castes, and tolerated factions, acting as both government and opposition. (c) Gandhi’s idea of disbanding it into a social service body (Lok Sevak Sangh) was idealistic and impractical, ignoring the need for a governing party.
Topic checklist
- ☒ First general elections and parties (Q 1, 2)
- ☒ Nature of Congress dominance (Q 3, 4)
- ☒ Congress as social and ideological coalition (Q 5)