Who among the following were the founders of the "Hind Mazdoor Sabha" established in 1948 ?

(a) B. Krishna Pillai, E.M.S. Namboodiripad and K.C. George
(b) Jayaprakash Narayan, Deen Dayal Upadhyay and M.N. Roy
(c) C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer, K. Kamaraj and Veeresalingam Pantulu
(d) Ashok Mehta, T.S. Ramanujam and G.G. Mehta ✓ UPSC's answer

Why the answer is (d)

• The Hind Mazdoor Sabha was founded in Kolkata in December 1948 by socialists who left the Communist-dominated AITUC and the Congress-linked INTUC; its founders included Ashok Mehta, T.S. Ramanujam, G.G. Mehta, Basawon Singh and R.S. Ruikar — option (d).

• Option (a) lists Kerala communists, (b) mixes socialists with a Jana Sangh ideologue and a radical humanist, and (c) lists Madras public figures unconnected with trade unions.

• Hence option (d).

Why the other options are wrong

(a) B. Krishna Pillai, E.M.S. Namboodiripad and K.C. George: These are Kerala communist leaders, not HMS founders.
(b) Jayaprakash Narayan, Deen Dayal Upadhyay and M.N. Roy: Upadhyay and Roy belonged to different political streams.
(c) C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer, K. Kamaraj and Veeresalingam Pantulu: These Madras figures had no role in HMS.

Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2018, held on 3 June 2018. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.