ABSTRACT
Indians, by and large, greeted the so-called independence of India on 15th August, 1947, with euphoria unseen for many many centuries in this part of the world, even though it was associated with acute human sufferings in the form of partition, communal riots, etc. The Central objective of planning in India at the present stage is to initiate a process of development which will raise living standards, open out to the people new opportunities for a richer and more varied life. In order to understand the ethos, the nuances and the dynamics of the Indian development process, one has to know the class character of the Indian ruling class which acquired both its legitimacy and characteristics in the course of long drawn struggle for independence of India which remained dominated almost exclusively by the Indian National Congress and later on, to some extent, by the All India Muslim League.
