The book attempts to study the Congress Forum for Socialist Action as a pressure group within the Congress party between mid 1962 and early 1973. It has also touched upon the revival of the CFSA in 1977 and 1987. Explaining how non-implementation of party policies and programmes, authoritative attitude of the party elite towards the rank and file, and the emergence of ideological differences among them led to the formation of the pressure group. The structure, process and functions of the pressure group have also been analysed. The forum reiterated its faith in defining the concept of socialism, its basic objective being to emphasize the establishment of socialistic society in the country. The forum achieved a good success as far as controlling monopolistic tendencies and expansion of public enterprise were concerned.

'...it is well written, balanced and comprehensive. It splendidly incorporates the new work of the last twenty years as no one else has and it will be the starting point for everyone doing any work, from sixth forms upwards, on modern India.' D.A.Low

Argues that the passive resistance movement made famous by Gandhi was actually something Indians had been practicing well before WWI

How did African Americans gain the ability to apply Gandhian nonviolence during the civil rights movement? Responses generally focus on Martin Luther King's "pilgrimage to nonviolence" or favorable social contexts and processes. This book, in contrast, highlights the role of collective learning in the Gandhian repertoire's transnational diffusion. Collective learning shaped the invention of the Gandhian repertoire in South Africa and India as well as its transnational diffusion to the United States. In the 1920s, African Americans and their allies responded to Gandhi's ideas and practices by reproducing stereotypes. Meaningful collective learning started with translation of the Gandhian repertoire in the 1930s and small-scale experimentation in the early 1940s. After surviving the doldrums of the McCarthy era, full implementation of the Gandhian repertoire finally occurred during the civil rights movement between 1955 and 1965. This book goes beyond existing scholarship by contributing deeper and finer insights on how transnational diffusion between social movements actually works. It highlights the contemporary relevance of Gandhian nonviolence and its successful journey across borders.