The 'Great Leap Forward' campaign was initiated in 1958 in_______ , aiming a industrialising the country on a massive scale.

Correct option is A

• The Great Leap Forward was launched by Mao Zedong in 1958 in China.

• It was a major socio-economic campaign aimed at rapidly industrializing the rural economy.

• The government introduced People’s Communes for agricultural collectivization.

• Villagers were encouraged to produce steel in “backyard furnaces”, hoping to match British steel output.

• The policies were poorly planned and enforced, leading to massive economic disruption.

• The campaign resulted in the Great Chinese Famine (1959–61), with millions of deaths.

• It is considered one of modern history’s worst policy failures in terms of human cost and economic collapse.

Information Booster:
• Launched in 1958, ended by 1962 due to its disastrous impact.
• Targeted a transformation from agrarian to socialist industrial economy.
• Famously included unscientific and forced agricultural techniques.
• Caused an estimated 15–45 million deaths due to starvation.
• Led to internal criticism and temporary political retreat of Mao.
• Eventually followed by the Cultural Revolution (1966) to reassert Mao’s ideology.
• Important for understanding Cold War-era communist strategies in Asia.