With reference to Congress Socialist Party, consider the following statements: (2015) 1. It advocated the boycott of British goods and evasion of taxes. 2. It wanted to establish the dictatorship of the proletariat. 3. It advocated separate electorate for minorities and oppressed classes. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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YESPYQ · Accepted Answer

Correct answer: None. The Congress Socialist Party (CSP) was a socialist faction within the Indian National Congress, established in 1934 by Congress members such as Acharya Narendra Dev, Jayaprakash Narayan and others. Statement 1 is incorrect: The CSP advocated decentralised socialism in which co-operatives, trade unions, independent farmers, and local authorities would hold a substantial share of the economic power. They did not promote the boycott of British goods or the evasion of taxes as a policy demand. Statement 2 is incorrect: Their focus was to attain independence and believed in socialism through nationalism and did not aim to establish the dictatorship of the proletariat. Statement 3 is incorrect: They were secularists and hoped to transcend communal divisions through class solidarity. Many people, like Narendra Deva and Basawon Singh (Sinha), favoured a democratic socialism that was separate from both reformist social democracy and Marxism. They did not support a separate electorate for minorities and oppressed classes.

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