Opposition parties of the 1950s

The opposition parties of the 1950s were small in Parliament but rich in ideas. Three were especially important.

The Socialists: the Congress Socialist Party was formed within the Congress in 1934 by younger leaders who wanted a more radical, equal society. In 1948, when the Congress barred parties inside it, they left and formed the Socialist Party. They believed in democratic socialism. Leaders included Ram Manohar Lohia, Jayaprakash Narayan (JP) and Acharya Narendra Dev.

When the Congress itself declared the 'socialist pattern of society' as its goal in 1955, it became hard for the socialists to look different. They split many times, but many later parties trace their roots to them, such as the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Janata Dal (United) and the Janata Dal (Secular).

The Communist Party of India (CPI): inspired by the Russian Revolution. Soon after independence, communists led a violent uprising in Telangana, believing the transfer of power was not real freedom. They then gave up the armed path and took part in the 1951–52 elections, winning 16 seats and becoming the largest opposition party. In 1964 it split into the CPI and the CPI(M), over differences between the Soviet Union and China.

The Bharatiya Jana Sangh, founded in 1951 by Shyama Prasad Mukherjee:

• Its idea was 'one country, one culture, one nation', based on Indian culture and traditions.
• It wanted Hindi as the official language, called for reuniting India and Pakistan in an 'Akhand Bharat', and supported India developing nuclear weapons.
• It drew on Deendayal Upadhyaya's idea of integral humanism.
• It won only 3 seats in 1952 and 4 in 1957. Today's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) traces its roots to it.