Question

In the politics of most countries, you will always come across references to parties and groups with a Left or Right ideology or leaning. These terms characterise the position of the concerned groups or parties regarding social change and role of the state in effecting economic redistribution. Left often refers to those who are in favour of state control of the economy and prefers state regulation over free competition. The Right refers to those who believe that free competition and market economy alone ensure progress and that the government should not unnecessarily intervene in the economy.

Can you tell which parties in the 1960s were Rightist and which were Left parties? Where would you place the Congress party of that time?

Answer 1

The Swatantra Party and the Bharatiya Jana Sangh were generally Rightist; the Communist Party of India and the Socialist Party were Left parties. The Congress occupied the middle ground, but its policies increasingly leaned left, especially after it adopted the goal of a “socialist pattern of society.”