0Swatantra party was formed in August 1965 after the Nagpur resolution of the Congress which called for land ceilings ,take over of food grain trade by the state and adoption of cooperative farming .
The party was led by old Congressmen like C.Rajagopalachari ,K.M.Munshi ,N.G Ranga and Minoo Masani . The party stood out from the others in terms of its position on economics issues.
The swatantra Party wanted the government to be less and less involved in controlling the economy .
It believed that prosperity could come only through individual freedom .
It was critical of the development strategy of state intervention in the economy ,centralised planning ,nationalisation and the public sector .
Instead of that it favoured expansion of free private sector.
The swatantra party was against land ceilings in agriculture ,and opposed cooperative farming and state trading.
It was also opposed to the progressive tax regime and demanded dismantling of the licensing regime.
It was critical of the policy of non-alignment and maintaining friendly relations with the Soviet Union and advocated closer ties with the United states .
The swatantra party gained strength in different parts of of the country by way of merger with numerous regional parties and interest .
It attracted the landlords and princes who wanted to protect their land and status that was being threatened by the land reforms legislation.
The industrialist and business class who were against nationalisation and the licensing policies also supported the party .
It's narrow social base and the lack of a dedicated cadre of party members did not allow it to build a strong organisational network.
These parties prevented the resentment with the system from turning anti-democratic.
These parties also groomed the leaders who were to play a crucial role in the shaping of our country.
In the early years there was a lot of mutual respect between the leaders of the congress and those of the opposition .
The interim government that ruled the country after the declaration of independence and the first general election included opposition leaders like Dr.Ambedkar and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee in the cabinet.
Jawaharlal Nehru often referred to his Jayprakash Narayan to join his government.
This kind of personal relationship with and respect for political adversaries declined after the party competition grew more intense.
Thus the first phase of democratic politics in our country was quite unique .
The inclusive character of the national movement led by the congress enabled it to attract different sections ,groups and interests making it a broad based social and ideological coalition .
The key role of the congress in the freedom struggle thus gave it a head start over others .
As the ability of the Congress to accommodate all interest and all aspirants for political power steadily declined ,other political parties started gaining greater significance .
Thus,Congress dominance constitutes only one phase in the politics of the country .
