42   Politics in India sinc Independence

Politics in India sinc Independence Shyama Prasad Mukherjee ( - ): Leader of Hindu Mahasabha; founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh; Minister in Nehru’s first cabinet after independence; resigned in due to differences over relations with Pakistan; Member of Constituent Assembly and later, the first Lok Sabha; was opposed to India’s policy of autonomy to Jammu & Kashmir; arrested during Jana Sangh’s agitation against Kashmir policy; died during detention. 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 interests 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. We shall come to the other phases in later parts of this textbook.