By tracing the path of the Congress Party's development since independence, the author demonstrates the reasons for its success. A postscript deals with the 1967 elections, regarded as a turning point in post-independence Indian politics. Originally published in 1968. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

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.