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The exit of Indira Gandhi’s faction from the Indian National Congress in Novem¬ber 1969 was not a common split; according to the author of this book, it was perhaps the ‘most momentous upheaval in the organization’ since the split between the Moderates and Extremists at its Surat session in 1907. In fact it was a collapse of the umbrella party—the Indian National Congress. On both occasions the factions representing the younger and more ‘radical-upcoming’ generation of political elites challenged the Congress establishment. These factions initially seemed to suffer a setback, but even-tually emerged as the dominant group capturing the organi¬zational legacy.

The author—looking . back after years—thinks that the 1969 ten split was a nodal point in its actual impact on the subsequent course of Indian politics. Many of the current political forces and trends can be traced back to the nature and pattern of this event.