Q. Who among the following were the founders of the "Hind Mazdoor Sabha" established in 1948? (UPSC Prelims 2018)
Answer: Ashok Mehta, T.S. Ramanujam and G.G. Mehta
Notes: The correct answer is [D] Ashok Mehta, T.S. Ramanujam and G.G. Mehta. The Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) was founded in Howrah, West Bengal, on December 24, 1948, as a national trade union federation.

• Founders and Affiliation (Statement D – Correct): The HMS was established by socialist leaders who felt that existing trade unions were too closely tied to specific political agendas. Key founding figures included Ashok Mehta, T.S. Ramanujam, G.G. Mehta, and V.B. Karnik. It was formed by the merger of the Hind Mazdoor Panchayat and the Indian Federation of Labour.
• Ideological Context: The HMS was created to provide a "third force" in the labor movement, distinct from the Congress-led Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) and the Communist-led All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC). Its first president was R.S. Ruikar.
• Incorrect Options (A, B, C):
  • Option A: E.M.S. Namboodiripad and B. Krishna Pillai were prominent leaders of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and were associated with movements in Kerala and the AITUC.
  • Option B: While Jayaprakash Narayan was a towering socialist leader, Deen Dayal Upadhyay was a leader of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, and M.N. Roy founded the Radical Democratic Party; they were not the collective founders of HMS.
  • Option C: K. Kamaraj was a veteran Congress leader from Tamil Nadu, and Veeresalingam Pantulu was a 19th-century social reformer from Andhra Pradesh, active long before 1948.

The HMS remains one of the largest central trade union organizations in India today, maintaining a policy of independence from political parties and employers to focus strictly on workers' rights.