UPSC Prelims 2024 Q73: Modern History – Post - Independence India
- (a) Only one
- (b) Only two
- (c) Only three
- (d) All four
Answer: (b) Only two
Explanation
Political Parties and Their Leaders - Correct Matching
| Pair | Party | Leader Given | Actual Leader | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bharatiya Jana Sangh | Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee | Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (founder, 1951) | CORRECT |
| 2 | Socialist Party | C. Rajagopalachari | C. Rajagopalachari founded Swatantra Party (1959); JP Narayan/Acharya Narendra Dev led Socialists | WRONG |
| 3 | Congress for Democracy | Jagjivan Ram | Jagjivan Ram founded CFD in 1977 (split from Congress during Emergency) | CORRECT |
| 4 | Swatantra Party | Acharya Narendra Dev | Swatantra Party was founded by C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) in 1959; Acharya Narendra Dev led socialist parties | WRONG |
Correctly matched: Pairs 1 and 3 only = Only two
Answer: (b) Only two.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Incorrect. Only one pair (either 1 or 3 alone) would be wrong. Both pairs 1 and 3 are correctly matched - that makes two correctly matched pairs.
- (b) CORRECT. Pairs 1 (BJS-Shyama Prasad Mukherjee) and 3 (Congress for Democracy-Jagjivan Ram) are correctly matched. Pairs 2 and 4 have wrong leaders.
- (c) Incorrect. Three pairs would require pair 2 or 4 to be correct. But pair 2 is wrong (Rajagopalachari founded Swatantra, not Socialist Party) and pair 4 is wrong (Swatantra was Rajagopalachari's party, not Acharya Narendra Dev's).
- (d) Incorrect. Not all four are correctly matched. Pairs 2 and 4 have errors - Rajagopalachari and Acharya Narendra Dev are essentially swapped in the given list.
Key point
Correctly matched: BJS = Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (founder 1951). Congress for Democracy = Jagjivan Ram (1977). Swatantra Party = C. Rajagopalachari (not Acharya Narendra Dev). Socialist Party = JP Narayan/Acharya Narendra Dev (not Rajagopalachari).
Remember
Bharatiya Jana Sangh was founded by Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. Congress for Democracy was founded by Jagjivan Ram. Swatantra Party was Rajagopalachari's party, not Acharya Narendra Dev's.
Common mistakes
- Thinking Rajagopalachari founded the Socialist Party - he founded the Swatantra Party (1959) as a free-market, anti-socialist party. The Socialist Party was founded by Jayaprakash Narayan and Acharya Narendra Dev.
- Attributing Swatantra Party to Acharya Narendra Dev - Narendra Dev was a socialist; the Swatantra Party was ideologically opposite (free-market, liberal). Rajaji (Rajagopalachari) founded Swatantra.
- Not knowing Congress for Democracy - Jagjivan Ram broke from Congress in 1977 just before the elections, forming CFD, which then merged into Janata Party.
Exam tip
Shyama Prasad Mukherjee = BJS (RSS-linked, Hindu nationalism, 1951). Rajagopalachari = Swatantra Party (free-market, anti-socialism, 1959). Jagjivan Ram = Congress for Democracy (1977, Emergency split). JP Narayan = Praja Socialist Party.
Sources
- NCERT Class 12 Political Science - Chapter 5: Challenges to and Restoring of Democracy
- NCERT Class 12 Political Science - Chapter 2: Era of One-Party Dominance