Previous Year Question
Consider the following statements.
The ‘Bombay Manifesto’ signed in 1936 openly opposed the preaching of socialist ideals.
It evoked support from a large section of business community from all across India.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
Correct Answer: A
Detailed Solution
Background: At the Lucknow Session of the Congress in April 1936, its President Jawaharlal Nehru presented socialism as the solution to India’s economic problems. He advocated extensive changes in the ownership of property and the means of production.
Statement 1 is correct.
In response to Nehru’s socialist ideas, 21 leading Bombay businessmen and industrialists issued the Bombay Manifesto in 1936.
Its signatories included Purshottamdas Thakurdas, N. Saklatvala, Chimanlal Setalvad, Pheroze Sethna, Cowasji Jehangir, Walchand Hirachand and A.D. Shroff.
The Manifesto explicitly opposed the propagation of socialist ideas. Its signatories argued that such ideas could threaten private property and the existing socio-economic structure.
Statement 2 is incorrect.
It was essentially a statement by 21 Bombay-based businessmen and did not obtain the support of the entire large business community across India.
The Indian capitalist class was not homogeneous. Different industrial groups followed different approaches towards the Congress and Nehru.
G.D. Birla criticised the strategy of issuing the Manifesto. In a letter to Walchand Hirachand, he argued that it had harmed rather than helped the capitalist system.
Thus, even businessmen who opposed socialism did not necessarily support an open confrontation with Nehru.