ABSTRACT
India emerged at independence with a political party strong enough to hold power continuously for a quarter of a century and has had socialist Prime Ministers (father and daughter), for almost the whole period. The proclaimed aim of policy since independence has been to create a ‘socialist pattern of society’ by non-revolutionary methods. Most elements of the policy were a reflection of Nehru's views, but it also incorporated concessions to Gandhi's Utopian doctrines about village society and the virtues of primitive technology. The main components of this ‘socialist’ policy were as follows:
abolition of the privileges of princes (with compensation);
abolition of zamindari tenures (with compensation) and land reform;
a sharp increase in the (theoretic) progressivity of income tax;
measures to improve the social status of backward classes (untouchables and tribal people) and women;
programmes of village uplift—community development, co-operatives, etc.;
measures to promote small-scale industry and revive hand-loom textiles;
creation of a public sector and imposition of detailed controls on the private sector in industry;
rapid development of heavy industry;
rapid expansion of education facilities.
