Congress System Class 12 NCERT Solutions Chapter 5

Concept used. The question tests what actually happened in the fourth general election of February 1967. The key fact from the chapter is that the Congress just managed to keep a majority in the Lok Sabha, with its lowest tally of seats and votes since 1952, but lost power in nine states. So the correct option is the one that captures ``won at the Centre, lost in many states''.

1. (a) is correct. The Congress did win the Lok Sabha election and stayed in power at the Centre, but it lost the assembly elections in many states. The chapter says the Congress lost majority in seven states, and defections kept it out of power in two more, so it was out of power in nine states in all: Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa, Madras and Kerala.
2. (b) is wrong. The Congress did not lose the Lok Sabha. It got a majority there, even if a thin one, so it did not lose both elections.
3. (d) is wrong. The Congress did not gain seats. Its tally fell to the lowest since 1952, and half the ministers in Indira Gandhi's cabinet were defeated, so it did not return with an increased majority.
4. (c) needs care. It is partly true in spirit, since the Congress was badly weakened, but the chapter clearly states the Congress did keep a majority in the Lok Sabha and so did not need a coalition at the Centre. Option (a) is the precise match.

(a) is correct: the Congress won the Lok Sabha but lost the assembly elections in many states.

Concept used. Each of these four terms has a precise meaning in the chapter. Match every term to the definition the chapter itself gives it.

1. (a) Syndicate → (iv) A group of powerful and influential leaders within the Congress. The Syndicate was the informal name for a group of senior Congress leaders, led by K. Kamaraj, who controlled the party organisation and included S. K. Patil, S. Nijalingappa, N. Sanjeeva Reddy and Atulya Ghosh.
2. (b) Defection → (i) An elected representative leaving the party on whose ticket s/he has been elected. Defection means an elected member quits the party whose symbol got him or her elected and joins another party. After 1967 this gave rise to the phrase ``Aya Ram, Gaya Ram''.
3. (c) Slogan → (ii) A catchy phrase that attracts public attention. A slogan is a short, memorable phrase, such as ``Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan'' or ``Garibi Hatao'', used to rally public support.
4. (d) Anti-Congressism → (iii) Parties with different ideological positions coming together to oppose Congress and its policies. Coined by Ram Manohar Lohia, anti-Congressism was the strategy of disparate non-Congress parties uniting only to defeat the Congress.

(a)–(iv), (b)–(i), (c)–(ii), (d)–(iii).

Concept used. Each slogan belongs to a particular leader or political camp in this chapter. Match the phrase to the person or group that raised it. The two postage stamps below show the two leaders these slogans are tied to: Lal Bahadur Shastri, who gave ``Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan'', and Indira Gandhi, the target of ``Indira Hatao'' and the author of ``Garibi Hatao''.

1. (a) Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan → Lal Bahadur Shastri. Shastri raised this slogan in 1965, during the war with Pakistan and a time of food shortage. It honoured both the soldier (jawan) defending the border and the farmer (kisan) growing the nation's food.
2. (b) Indira Hatao! → The opposition (the Grand Alliance). ``Indira Hatao'' (Remove Indira) was the only common plank of the non-Congress Grand Alliance in the 1971 election. Indira Gandhi herself said this was the opposition's single shared programme.
3. (c) Garibi Hatao! → Indira Gandhi. Against the opposition's negative slogan, Indira Gandhi put forward the positive ``Garibi Hatao'' (Remove Poverty) in 1971, aimed at the landless labourers, Dalits, Adivasis, minorities, women and the unemployed youth.

(a) Lal Bahadur Shastri; (b) the opposition / the Grand Alliance; (c) Indira Gandhi.

Concept used. The Grand Alliance was the opposition front in the 1971 Lok Sabha election. Test each statement against what the chapter says about who joined it and what it stood for. The cartoon below, ``The Grand Finish'', is how R. K. Laxman read the 1971 outcome: Indira Gandhi's side on the winners' podium, the Grand Alliance leaders heaped on the ground.

1. (a) is correct. The chapter states that all the major non-communist, non-Congress opposition parties formed the Grand Alliance: the SSP, PSP, Bharatiya Jana Sangh, Swatantra Party and Bharatiya Kranti Dal. So it was an alliance of non-Communist, non-Congress parties.
2. (b) is wrong. The Grand Alliance did not have a clear political and ideological programme. Indira Gandhi pointed out that its only common plank was ``Indira Hatao''. The chapter calls it a ``grand failure'' precisely because it lacked a coherent agenda.
3. (c) is wrong. It was not formed by all non-Congress parties. The Communist Party of India was not in it; in fact the CPI was allied with Indira Gandhi's Congress (R), so not every non-Congress party was in the alliance.

(a) is correct: the Grand Alliance was formed by non-Communist, non-Congress parties.

Concept used. This is an open, thinking question on inner-party democracy. There is no single ``correct'' option; the task is to weigh each method for its advantages and shortcomings. A useful test for each method is whether it keeps the party both united and democratic, the very balance that the 1969 Congress split shows is hard to hold.

(a) Follow the footsteps of the party president:

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• Advantage: It gives quick, clear decisions and keeps the party disciplined and united behind one line.
• Shortcoming: It can turn into one-person rule, ignore other views, and weaken inner-party democracy, much as the chapter shows the new Congress came to rely entirely on a single supreme leader.

(b) Listen to the majority group:

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• Advantage: It is democratic and gives the decision the backing of most members, so it usually carries wide support.
• Shortcoming: The minority view may be ignored every time, which can leave a permanent minority frustrated and tempt it to break away.

(c) Secret ballot voting on every issue:

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• Advantage: It lets members vote their honest opinion without fear of pressure from leaders, as Indira Gandhi's call for a ``conscience vote'' tried to do in 1969.
• Shortcoming: Voting on every issue is slow and impractical, and constant secret ballots can breed distrust and hide who is responsible for a decision.

(d) Consult the senior and experienced leaders of the party:

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• Advantage: It brings the wisdom and experience of senior leaders to bear, and respects the party's collective memory.
• Shortcoming: It can let a small group of veterans, like the Syndicate, dominate the party and block younger members and new ideas.

Each method has a real benefit and a real cost; the best practice is to blend them, using discussion, majority decision and consultation together, so the party stays both united and internally democratic.

Concept used. The setback of 1967 had several causes, but not every option listed here is one of them. Check each against the chapter's timeline: the split came after 1967, so it cannot be a cause of the 1967 result.

1. (a) Yes, a reason. The Congress fought the 1967 election for the first time without Nehru, and the new Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was still seen as a political novice. The absence of a tall, charismatic leader weakened the party at the polls.
2. (b) No, not a reason. The formal split in the Congress happened only in 1969, two years after the 1967 election. An event that had not yet occurred cannot have caused the 1967 defeat, so this is not a reason.
3. (c) Yes, a reason. This period saw greater mobilisation of regional, ethnic and communal groups. The DMK's anti-Hindi agitation carried it to power in Madras, and other regional forces grew, eating into Congress support.
4. (d) Yes, a reason. Non-Congress parties grew more united. Under Lohia's idea of non-Congressism, rival parties stopped splitting the anti-Congress vote and instead formed fronts and seat adjustments, which hurt the Congress badly.
5. (e) Yes, a reason. Internal differences and factionalism within the Congress were real even before the split, and they weakened the party's campaign and unity in 1967.

Reasons for the 1967 defeat: (a), (c), (d) and (e). Statement (b) is not a reason, because the Congress split happened in 1969, after the 1967 election.

Concept used. By the early 1970s Indira Gandhi had turned from a leader seen as a ``novice'' into one with ``unprecedented political authority''. The factors behind this rise are spread across the chapter's account of the split, the pro-poor programme, the 1971 election and the 1971 war. Gather them under clear heads.

1. A pro-poor, left-leaning image. After the split she gave government policy a clear left orientation. She nationalised fourteen major private banks and abolished the privy purses of the former princes. These bold, popular steps won her support among ordinary people.
2. The ``Garibi Hatao'' slogan and programme. In the 1971 election she offered a positive agenda, ``Garibi Hatao'' (Remove Poverty), with promises of land ceilings, removal of income disparities and help for the poor. This built a new support base among landless labourers, Dalits, Adivasis, minorities, women and unemployed youth.
3. The decisive 1971 election victory. Her Congress (R), allied with the CPI, won 375 seats, far ahead of the Grand Alliance's fewer than 60. This huge mandate restored the Congress to its dominant position and made her authority secure.
4. Victory in the 1971 war and the birth of Bangladesh. India's success in the war with Pakistan in 1971, which led to the creation of Bangladesh, added enormously to her stature as a strong and decisive national leader.

Indira Gandhi's early-1970s popularity rested on her pro-poor measures (bank nationalisation, abolition of privy purses), the ``Garibi Hatao'' programme, the sweeping 1971 election win, and the 1971 victory over Pakistan that created Bangladesh.

Concept used. The question has two parts: define the Syndicate, and then state what it did. Take the chapter's own definition first, then list its actions, both before and during the split.

Meaning of `Syndicate':

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• The Syndicate was the informal name for a group of powerful and influential Congress leaders who controlled the party's organisation.
• It was led by K. Kamaraj, former Chief Minister of Madras and then Congress President, and included strong state leaders such as S. K. Patil of Bombay, S. Nijalingappa of Mysore, N. Sanjeeva Reddy of Andhra Pradesh and Atulya Ghosh of West Bengal.

Role played by the Syndicate:

1. It chose the Prime Ministers. The Syndicate helped install both Lal Bahadur Shastri and then Indira Gandhi as Prime Minister by securing their election as leader of the parliamentary party.
2. It shaped the government and policy. It had a decisive say in Indira Gandhi's first Council of Ministers and a strong hand in framing and carrying out policy.
3. It expected to control Indira Gandhi. The leaders assumed she would follow their advice, but she gradually asserted herself, chose her own advisers and sidelined them.
4. It led one side of the 1969 split. When the showdown came over the 1969 Presidential election, the Syndicate's group became the Congress (O), the Old Congress. After Indira Gandhi's Congress (R) won the 1971 election, these powerful men lost their power and prestige.

The Syndicate was a group of powerful senior Congress leaders, led by K. Kamaraj, who controlled the party organisation. It helped pick the Prime Ministers, shaped the ministry and policy, and finally became the Congress (O) on the losing side of the 1969 split.

Concept used. The 1969 split grew out of the power struggle between Indira Gandhi and the Syndicate, but the formal break was triggered by one specific event: the 1969 Presidential election. Trace the issue from the rivalry, through the Presidential contest, to the formal split. The cartoon below captures the leadership rivalry inside the Congress in 1969.

1. The underlying rivalry. Indira Gandhi was trying to free herself from the Syndicate, while the Syndicate wanted to keep control. She had begun to assert her own authority and to give policy a left orientation.
2. The 1969 Presidential election, the trigger. When President Zakir Hussain died, the Syndicate nominated Indira Gandhi's opponent, N. Sanjeeva Reddy, as the official Congress candidate. Indira Gandhi hit back by quietly backing the independent candidate, V. V. Giri.
3. Whip versus conscience vote. Congress President S. Nijalingappa issued a ``whip'' ordering all Congress MPs and MLAs to vote for Reddy. Indira Gandhi openly called instead for a ``conscience vote'', leaving members free to vote as they wished, a direct defiance of the official party line.
4. The result and the formal split. V. V. Giri, the independent, won, and the official Congress candidate Reddy lost. This defeat formalised the break. The Congress President expelled Indira Gandhi from the party; she claimed her group was the real Congress. By November 1969 the Syndicate's side was the Congress (O), Old Congress, and her side the Congress (R), New Congress.

The major issue was the 1969 Presidential election. The Syndicate's official candidate N. Sanjeeva Reddy faced V. V. Giri, whom Indira Gandhi backed. Her call for a ``conscience vote'' against the party whip, and Giri's victory, formalised the split into Congress (O) and Congress (R).

Concept used. Sudipta Kaviraj's passage contrasts Nehru's Congress with Indira Gandhi's. The key idea is that Indira Gandhi rebuilt the party around a single popular leader and around slogans, so the old, federal, faction-rich organisation effectively ``died''. Answer each part by reading the author's argument and linking it to the chapter's account of the restoration.

(a) The difference between Nehru's and Indira Gandhi's strategies:

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• Under Nehru, the Congress was a federal, democratic and ideological formation: power was shared, many factions and ideologies lived inside it, and ideology was meant to be carried into policy.
• Under Indira Gandhi, it became highly centralised and undemocratic, run from the top and relying on the popularity of one leader. Politics became populist, and ideology shrank into election-time slogans.

(b) Why the author says the Congress `died' in the seventies:

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• As an organisation, the old Congress lost its life. It no longer had the many factions that once absorbed different opinions and interests, and its inner democracy was gone.
• It now depended entirely on the popularity of the supreme leader, with a weak organisational structure. So even as it won great electoral victories, the Congress as a political organisation had died: only its name and election-winning power survived.

(c) How the change affected other political parties:

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• Other parties were drawn into the same leader-centred, populist style of politics, competing through slogans and personalities rather than organisation.
• The new Congress, resting on one leader, no longer absorbed many groups and opinions, so the space for many of those interests shifted outside the Congress, shaping how the opposition organised itself.
• In short, Indira Gandhi's reinvention of the Congress reset the rules of the game, and the other parties had to respond to this new, populist, leader-driven politics.

(a) Nehru ran a federal, democratic, ideological Congress; Indira Gandhi made it centralised, undemocratic and built on one leader's popularity and slogans. (b) Because the old organisation, with its factions and inner democracy, ceased to exist even as the party kept winning elections. (c) Other parties were pulled into the same populist, slogan- and leader-centred politics, and had to adjust to the new Congress.