Practice Questions
Challenges to and restoration of the congress system
Describe the political phenomenon that came to be known as 'Aya Ram, Gaya Ram'.
Name the socialist leader who gave the strategy of 'non-Congressism' before the 1967 elections.
Compare the electoral slogans 'Indira Hatao' and 'Garibi Hatao' from the 1971 elections.
Justify Indira Gandhi's decision to recommend the dissolution of the Lok Sabha in December 1970 from a strategic political standpoint.
Analyze the symbolic significance of Lal Bahadur Shastri's slogan 'Jai Jawan Jai Kisan'.
Explain what the 'privy purse' was in the context of Indian politics.
Identify the term used to describe coalition governments of non-Congress parties formed in several states after the 1967 elections.
Examine why the formation of Samyukt Vidhayak Dal (SVD) governments in several states after 1967 was a novel feature in Indian politics.
Justify the abolition of the 'privy purse' from the perspective of constitutional principles of equality and social justice, despite arguments that it was a 'breach of faith' with the former princes.
Evaluate the smoothness of political succession after Nehru and Shastri as a sign of the maturity of India's democracy, considering the intense internal competition that characterized the transition to Indira Gandhi.
Critique the Indira Gandhi government's decision to devalue the Indian rupee in the mid-1960s. Why was this move politically risky and how did it contribute to the context of the 1967 elections?
Evaluate the long-term impact of the 1967 election results, often described as a 'political earthquake'. To what extent did these results permanently alter the landscape of Indian politics by challenging one-party dominance?
Critique the Syndicate's decision to nominate N. Sanjeeva Reddy for the 1969 Presidential election.
Examine the strategy of 'non-Congressism' as articulated by Ram Manohar Lohia and its impact on the 1967 elections.
Formulate a new political slogan for an opposition alliance in 1971 that could have been a more effective counter to Indira Gandhi's 'Garibi Hatao'.
Explain the slogan of 'Garibi Hatao' and describe the political strategy behind it.
Describe the composition of the 'Grand Alliance' that was formed to contest the 1971 Lok Sabha elections.
Describe the electoral performance of the Congress party in the 1967 general elections at both the national and state levels.
Contrast the political platforms of the Congress (O) and the Congress (R) following the party split in 1969.
Evaluate the validity of labeling the 1960s as the 'dangerous decade' for India. Assess the various challenges—such as succession, economic crises, and war—that threatened the democratic project and the country's integrity, and explain how India navigated them.
Identify the two main challenges the country faced during Lal Bahadur Shastri's brief tenure as Prime Minister.
Explain the term 'Syndicate' as it was used in the context of the Congress party in the 1960s.
Recall the official Congress candidate for the 1969 Presidential election who was supported by the Syndicate.
List three main proposals included in the 'Ten Point Programme' adopted by the Congress Working Committee in May 1967.
Analyze the primary factors that led to the 1960s being labeled as the 'dangerous decade' in Indian politics.
Examine the role of the 'Syndicate' in Indira Gandhi's initial selection as Prime Minister in 1966.
Analyze how the phenomenon of defection, epitomized by the expression 'Aya Ram, Gaya Ram', impacted state governments after 1967.
Analyze the primary political objective behind Indira Gandhi's decision to recommend the dissolution of the Lok Sabha in December 1970.
Examine the political and ideological arguments surrounding the abolition of the 'privy purse'.
Analyze the key factors that contributed to the landslide victory of Indira Gandhi's Congress (R) in the 1971 elections.
Justify Ram Manohar Lohia's strategy of 'non-Congressism' as a necessary step for reclaiming democracy in the 1960s, despite the ideological incongruity of the coalition partners.
Contrast the nature of the 'restored' Congress system under Indira Gandhi with the original Congress system under Jawaharlal Nehru.
Propose a constitutional amendment, other than the one eventually passed, that could have effectively curbed the practice of defection symbolized by the 'Aya Ram, Gaya Ram' phenomenon in the late 1960s.
Create a five-point policy platform for the 'Grand Alliance' in 1971 that would have presented a coherent and positive alternative to Indira Gandhi's 'Garibi Hatao' program, moving beyond the negative 'Indira Hatao' slogan.
Compare and contrast the political succession processes within the Congress party following the deaths of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964 and Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1966.
After the 1969 split, the Congress (O) was perceived as a party of old guards. Formulate a strategy that the Congress (O) could have adopted to counter Indira Gandhi's pro-poor image and regain popular support before the 1971 elections.
The SVD governments formed after 1967 were often ideologically incongruent and unstable. Propose a set of governing principles or a common minimum program that could have provided greater stability to such a coalition, for instance, the one in Bihar.
Critique the argument that the 1969 split in the Congress was purely an ideological struggle between socialists and conservatives. Formulate an alternative perspective that emphasizes the role of a power struggle.
Summarize how the 'new' Congress party under Indira Gandhi after 1971 was different from the old Congress system.
Demonstrate how Indira Gandhi used the 1969 Presidential election to challenge the authority of the Syndicate.
Evaluate the statement that Indira Gandhi did not restore the old Congress system but instead created a new, centralized party structure. Justify your assessment with reference to the party's organization, leadership style, and support base before and after 1971.
Summarize the major events that led to the formal split in the Congress party in 1969.
Analyze the principal reasons for the Congress party's significant electoral decline in the 1967 general elections, an event often described as a 'political earthquake'.
Summarize the key economic problems that formed the context for the fourth general elections in 1967.
List two reasons why the 1960s were labelled as the 'dangerous decade' for India.