A Hindu communal organization. It was first established in the Punjab before 1914, and became active during the 1920s under the leadership of Pandit Mohan Malaviya (1861–1946) and Lala Rajpat Rai (1865–1928), when it campaigned for social reform and for the reconversion of Hindus from Islam. Its attitude towards Hindu–Muslim relations strained the relations of the Mahasabha with Congress and in 1937 it broke away from Congress. After independence the party declined in importance as the Jana Sangh became the leading exponent of Hindu communal ideas.