Political Science · Political Institutions in India
UGC NET Jan 2025 Political Science
Passage
The post-independence land-reforms were adopted broadly on the basis of the Kumarappa Committee. This Committee took, as its guiding principle, the elimination of exploitation and giving the land to the tiller. Bihar Pradesh Kisan Sabha (BPKS) was founded in 1929. It established a national presence in 1936 as the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS). Swami Sahajanand Saraswati dominated the provincial organisations, and emerged as the foremost Kisan leader in India, and also headed BPKS in 1935. The formation of the Congress Ministry in Bihar in 1937 accelerated the process of showdown between the two organizations. Zamindars offered their help and co-operation in passing tenancy laws to improve the condition of the tenants. The post-colonial India including Bihar witnessed the emergence of the Congress as the dominant party in the political system. In 1952 elections, Jharkhand Party was the main opposition party inside the state legislature.
The important consequences of the 1952 general elections in Bihar were the emergence of two regional political parties, the Jharkhand Party and the Janta Party. The Janta Party was founded in 1950 by Raja Kamakhya Narayan Singh to build up a traditional opposition to Congress. Its political influence was confined mainly in south-Bihar. Until 1967, Bihar witnessed a one party dominance system i.e. the 'Congress system' as conceptualized by Rajni Kothari. Between 1967-69, elections witnessed a highly fractionalized multi-party system. The decline in the Congress electoral strength benefitted socialists and communists on the one hand, and the Jan Sangha on the other hand.
As per the paragraph given, which party was the main opposition party inside the Bihar legislature?
AAll India Kisan Sabha
BBihar Pradesh Kisan Sabha
CJharkhand Party ✓ Correct
DCongress
Correct answer: (C) Jharkhand Party — As per the passage, the main opposition party inside the Bihar legislature was the Jharkhand Party, which is option (3).
Explanation
★As per the passage, the main opposition party inside the Bihar legislature was the Jharkhand Party, which is option (3).
★The passage states that in the 1952 elections the Jharkhand Party was the main opposition party inside the state legislature.
★The Jharkhand Party was a regional party that drew its strength from the tribal Chotanagpur and Santhal Parganas region of south Bihar.
★It emerged, along with the Janta Party, as a consequence of the first general elections of 1952 in Bihar.
★The Jharkhand Party is historically associated with the demand for a separate tribal state of Jharkhand.
★It was led by Jaipal Singh Munda, a prominent tribal leader and a member of the Constituent Assembly.
★The party performed strongly in the tribal belt and became the principal opposition to the dominant Congress in the Bihar Assembly.
★The passage places this within the wider pattern of Congress dominance in post colonial Bihar.
★The option All India Kisan Sabha is wrong, since it was a peasant mass organisation, not a parliamentary opposition party.
★The option Bihar Pradesh Kisan Sabha is wrong for the same reason, as it was a peasant body rather than a legislative party.
★The option Congress is wrong, since the Congress was the ruling and dominant party, not the opposition.
★The Jharkhand movement led by such parties eventually contributed to the creation of the separate state of Jharkhand in the year 2000.
★Jharkhand was carved out of southern Bihar and became the twenty eighth state of India.
★The passage thus connects the regional opposition of 1952 to the long term demand for tribal self rule.
★For NET, fix the Jharkhand Party as the main opposition in the Bihar legislature in 1952, led by Jaipal Singh Munda, and linked to the later creation of Jharkhand in 2000.
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