How and why did Rammanohar Lohiya redefine Socialism?

 One of the main contributions of Lohiya was to redefine socialism while considering socialist movement in non-European countries like India. His attempt to redefine socialist was in line with his thinking that any ism should not be followed unthinkingly.

Lohiya’s higher education studies in Germany were a period which shaped Lohiya’s thinking and ideas. Indumati Kelkar, Lohiya’s contemporary and biographer, informs us that it was in Germany that Lohiya became a social democrat. When he returned to India in 1933, he became one of the leaders of the CSP, which was formed in 1934. Through a long training in the freedom movement and the organizational struggles to build a socialist movement, Lohiya developed his ideas of socialism. Jayaprakash Narayan, one of the most influential Indian socialist leaders, started the Bhoodan movement, and left politics. Other leaders like Achyut Patwardhan and Ramnandan Mishra turned to spiritual quests. Ashok Mehta joined the Congress after some time, and Acharya Narendra Dev, the great intellectual, died in 1955. It was a serious time for the socialist movement. In such a situation, Lohiya tried to fill the void.

Lohiya tried hard to give Indian socialism a new concept and philosophy. He was not a socialist in a traditional sense. He opposed Marxism and Communist totalitarianism. He wanted the Indian socialist movement to be liberated from Marxian thought and action. He was influenced by the Gandhian principle of Ahimsa. He played an important role in bringing up a synthesis between Gandhian and Marxian concepts. He has contributed to give a new meaning and method of action to make the Socialist Party the most effective weapon against the capitalist system.

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