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Abstract
The old-style Congress, a federation of provincial grandees, was being destroyed by Gandhi's consolidation of the powers of the All-India Congress executive and his intrusions into provincial politics.138 His new appeals had won him the support of the social groups which previously had no share in nationalist politics. The dynamics underlying the emergence of these were unclear but there were significant Indian social change in the second decade of the twentieth century. Gandhi drew his most solid support from areas which formerly had played no major part in the nationalist movement, and, in the old nationalist regions, from social groups which had formerly no voice in nationalist policy. The elite were uncomfortable with the new language and symbolism of mass politics which Gandhi had introduced to Indian nationalism. The elite resisted Gandhi's ambition to use the extended powers of a reconstructed Congress to achieve his vision.