Read the passage and answer the questions below:
…Indira Gandhi changed the Congress into highly cerntalised and
undemocratic party organisation, from the earlier federal, democratic
and ideological formation that Nehru had led…..But this… could not
have happened had not Indira Gandhi changed the entire nature of
politics. This new, populist politics turned political ideology ……. into
a mere electoral discourse, use of various slogans not meant to be
translated into government policies…… During its great electoral
victories in early 1970s, amidst the celebration, the Congress party as a
political organisation died….. — SUDIPTA KAVIRAJ
(a) What according to the author is the difference between the
strategies of Nehru and Indira Gandhi?
(b) Why does the author say that the Congress party ‘died’ in the
seventies?
(c) In what way, did the change in the Congress party affect other
political parties also?
Answers
Explanation:
(a) The difference between the strategies of Nehru and Indira Gandhi is that earlier the Congress was federal, democratic and ideological formation but Indira Gandhi changed it into highly centralised and undemocratic party organisation.
(b) The Congress ‘died’ because it was no more a federal, democratic and ideological formation. On the other hand, the entire nature of politics had been changed by Indira Gandhi. Now populist politics turned political ideology where slogan merely translated into government policies.
(c)The other parties too become centralised like congress. As in the Congress, the Party Presidents in the regional political parties started assuming all political authority.The parties became undemocratic because organisational elections were rarely held.
Answer:
(a) The main difference between Nehru and Indira Gandhi policies, according to the Writer, is that Jawahar Lal Nehru has turned the Congress into the federal, political, and ideological character of the Indira Gandhi party.
(b) Congress Party died in 1970 because of the shift in the structure of the Congress, political ideology was pure electoral dismay in the new nationalist policy and various slogans, i.e. election victors of the 1970s, were never used in a government policy.
(c ) Other political parties were affected by the changes in the Congress Party, which included SVD (Samyukt Vidhayak Dal) coalitions and a grand alliance.