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

Between the two World Wars, the colonial regime was confronted with the Indian nationalist movements. As a result, independence was granted by Britain in 1947, a cataclysmic event for the colonized world. The reality was that peaceful decolonization process never existed and the independence of Britain had dramatic consequences.

This book is an unconventional articulation of the political thinking in India in a refreshingly creative manner in more than one way. Empirically, the book becomes innovative by providing an analytically more grasping contextual interpretation of Indian political thought that evolved during the nationalist struggle against colonialism. Insightfully, it attempts to unearth the hitherto unexplored yet vital subaltern strands of political thinking in India as manifested through the mode of numerous significant socio-economic movements operating side by side and sometimes as part of the mainstream nationalist movement. This book articulates the main currents of Indian political thought by locating the text and themes of the thinkers within the socio-economic and politico-cultural contexts in which such ideas were conceptualised and articulated. The book also tries to analytically grasp the influences of the various British constitutional devices that appeared as the responses of the colonial government to redress the genuine socio-economic grievances of the various sections of Indian society. The book breaks new ground in not only articulating the main currents of Indian political thought in an analytically more sound approach of context-driven discussion but also provokes new research in the field by charting a new course in grasping and articulating the political thought in India. This volume will be useful to the students, researchers and faculty working in the fields of political science, political sociology, political economy and post-colonial contemporary Indian politics in particular. It will also be an invaluable and interesting reading for those interested in South Asian studies.