The beginning of socialism in India came during British regime. Gandhiji advocated socialism in accordance with Indian ideals and the prevalent circumstances. During the struggle for independence and even afterwards, Pt. Jawahar Lai Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose, Manvendra Nath Roy, Acharya Narendra Dev, Jai Prakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia and Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya played a very important role for popularizing socialist thought and also for protecting human dignity.

In the words of Pt. Jawahar Lai Nehru- “Democratic socialism is not that one which is set up by the judiciary arrangement, but it is based on the decentralisation and economic powers along with the means of public accents.”