INDIAN NATIONAL

CONGRESS
NOTES PREPARED BY - RISHI YADAV

To Be Covered
- Some Important Society or Organization Before INC
- How Congress formed
- All Three Phases and Important Leaders
- Difference between Moderates, Extremists and Gandhi
- Safety Valve theory and Lighting Strike Theory
- Aims and Objectives of Congress In starting days
- Womens in Congress
- Britishers in Congress
- 1st Congress Session in Details
- All Important Congress Session
- Some Important points and Facts to keep In mind

SOME IMPORTANT SOCIETIES OR ORGANIZATIONS BEFORE INC

1. Landholders Society (1836) - Founded by Dwarkanath Tagore in Kolkata.
2. Bengal British India Society (1843) - Aimed to promote good citizenship qualities
in Indians and raise public awareness about governance.
3. British Indian association (1851)
4. Poorna sarvajanik Sabha (1870) - For peasants and agricultural Conditions.
5. Madras mahajan sabha (1884) - Advocated for tax reduction ,cuts in government
spendings , and fundamental rights for citizens.

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HOW CONGRESS FORMED ?
The idea of making The INC was Given By A.O Hume. He convinced Duffrin to let form th
INC so that they won't rise any revolt like 1857 and its in our favor and work as a safety
valve for us.

A.O.HUME

- Founder of INC
- English Indian Civil Servant
- His father was from Ireland and he was also a Civil servant there. (1854-1882)
- He was a Botanist
- He was also a ornithologist ( One who study about Birds )
- He was in Etawah during the 1857 revolt and from there he escaped to save himself.
- In 1882 - He retired and visited and took a tour all over india (Bengal, Madras, Bombay )
During 1882-1885 Bought a home in Shimla , Gather politically Active people from all
parts of india during his journey.
- Convinced Duffrin to Allow INC to be form
- Also known as - Father of INC , Father of Indian Ornithology.

DADA BHAI NAROJI

- He became three times president of INC in the year 1886 in the Calcutta Session , 1893
In Lahore session and again in Calcutta Session of 1906
- Known as ‘Grand Old Man of India ‘
- One of the Founding member of INC
- Established the London Indian society In 1865 and East India Association in 1866.
- First Indian member of parliament of Uk House of Commons 1890
- He was Persian and spent the portion of his life and income in Promoting Indian Rights
and education.

THREE PHASES OF CONGRESS

- Moderate - 1885 - 1905
- Extremist - 1905 - 1915
- Gandhi or Masses - 1915 - 1947

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Moderates

- Follow peaceful methods to achieve Independence.

- Goals - Primarily sought self government and greater autonomy within the British
Empire.
- Beliefs - Believe in british sense of Justice and fair play hoping for gradual
reforms.
- Leaders of that phase were - Dadabhai Naroji , Gopal krishana Gokhale, W.C
banerjee etc.

Extremists

- Advocated for more aggressive and sometimes violent methods to achieve

Independence.
- Goals - Demanded complete independence from British Rule
- Beliefs - Saw british rule as inherently oppressive and believe in the need
of immediate action.
- Leaders of that phase were - Bal Gangadhar Tilak From Maharashtra , Lala
lajpat Rai from Punjab and bipin Chandra pal from Bengal.

Gandhi and The Masses

- Advocated for non - violent resistance ( satya graha ) as a means to achieve

Independence.
- Goals - Sought both Political independence and social reforms within
india.
- emphasized truth , violence and social justice.
- The leaders were Gandhi and Subhas Chandra bose.

SAFETY VALVE VS LIGHTING STRIKE

- Some people say that the INC was made to stop the upcoming revolt in future.
- It's like a cooker that can blast any time to protect this INC is formed as a safety
valve.
- This theory is also supported by Lala Lajpat Rai and R.P Dutta
- Maximum historians don't believe in it.
- It was made to represent the political and Economical demands of people.

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 - Others believe that it was a lighting strike which is like how Indian people use A.O
Hume to form INC and use it as a lighting conductor against Britishers.
- And if a British form this no one will doubt it.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF CONGRESS IN MODERATE PHASE

1. Found a democratic , nationalist Movement.

2. Politicise and Politically Educate people.
3. Establish a Headquarter for a Movement.
4. Promote friendly relations among Nationalist political workers from different
parts of the country.
5. Develop and propagate an Anti - colonial nationalist ideology.
6. Formulate and present Popular demands before the government with a view of
unifying the people over a common economic and political Programme
7. Develop and consolidate a feeling of National unity among people irrespective of
religion , caste and province.
8. Carefully Promote and nurture Indian nationhood.

WOMEN IN CONGRESS SESSIONS

- 1889 - First participation of women in congress session.
- 1890 - First woman to give speech in congress session - Kadambani Ganguly
- 1917 - 1st female foreign ( Irish ) president Annie Besant
- 1925 - First Indian female president - Sarojni Naidu ( Kanpur )
- 1933 - First British President Nalani Sen Gupta

Pandita Ramabai in 1889 was the first woman to participate in congress sessions.

- Kadambani Ganguly
- First woman to give a speech in a Congress session.
- First Indian woman to graduate in From the University of Calcutta.
- Female physicians and Doctors.

- Annie Besant
- Annie Besant made history in 1917 by becoming the first female president

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 of the Indian National Congress
- This was a significant milestone, not just for Besant, but for the entire
women's rights movement in India.
- Her presidency marked a turning point in the fight for Indian
independence and women's empowerment.

- Sarojni Naidu
- First Indian female president
- Join INC in 1905
- Became Governor of UP in 1947
- Sarojini Naidu (1879-1949) was a renowned Indian poet, politician, and
women's rights activist.
- She played a vital role in India's struggle for independence and was a key
figure in the Indian National Congress.

- Nalani Sen Gupta

- Nalini Sen Gupta (1886-1982) was a Bengali-Indian educationist, social
worker, and freedom fighter.
- She played a significant role in India's struggle for independence and
women's empowerment.
- Joined Indian National Congress: 1920
- Participated in Non-Cooperation Movement: 1920-1922
- Participated in Salt March: 1930
- Participated in Quit India Movement: 1942

BRITISHERS IN CONGRESS
- 1888 - Jorge Yule
- 1889 - William Bairburan
- 1894 - Alfard Babe
- 1904 - Sir Henry Cotton
- 1. A.O. Hume (1829-1912) - Founder of the Indian National Congress
- 2. George Yule (1829-1892) - Philanthropist and supporter of Indian

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 nationalism
- 3. William Wedderburn (1838-1918) - Active member and president of the
Congress (1889, 1910)
- 4. Henry Cotton (1845-1915) - Politician and supporter of Indian self-rule
- 5. Alfred Webb (1834-1908) - Irish nationalist and supporter of Indian
home rule
- 6. Annie Besant (1847-1933) - Theosophist, women's rights activist, and
president of the Congress (1917)
- 7. Charles Bradlaugh (1833-1891) - Politician and advocate for Indian
self-rule
- 8. Samuel Evans Stokes (1882-1954) - American-British businessman and
Congress member

CONGRESS FIRST SESSION 1885

- President - W.C Banerjee
- Place - Gokul Das Tejpal sanskrit College In Bombay
- 72 Delegates were present
- Out of 39 were lawyers
1. Uttar pradesh / Awadh - 7
2. Bombay - 38
3. Madras - 21
4. Bengal - 3 (Because of S.N Banerjee Committee which later merged to INC )
5. Punjab - 3
- Surendra Nath Banerjee and Anand Mohan Bose did not attend this session
because they already were part of the Indian Association in 1876.
- First it was going to held at Pune later change to Bombay because of Plague ( Rats
Disease ) Some say it was Cholera
- Viceroy - Lord Duffrin
- A.O Hume - General Secretary
- Key resolutions
1. Appointment of Royal Commision.
2. Abolition of Indian Council for Secretary of State.
3. Condemned the annexation Of Upper Burma.

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2ND Session , 1886
- President - Dadabhai Naroji
- Place - Calcutta
- 434 Members were present
- Saiyed ahmed khan Oppose and form ‘Muhammadan Educational Congress ‘
- First Persian to be the president
- Decided not to choose the president of the same region where the session was
going on.

3RD SESSION , 1887

- President - Syed Badruddin tyabji
- First muslim president
- Place - Madras
- For the first time the regional language used - Mukancity - Tamil

4TH SESSION , 1888

- President - Jorge Yule
- Congress first Christian president
- Place - Allahabad
- First time Speech in Hindi by Lala lajpat Rai
- Decided not to pass any rules and regulations which hurt any religion.

5TH SESSION , 1889

- President - William Wedderburn
- Place - Bombay
- First time women participate in any session.
- Member of British parliament Charles Bradja Participated

6TH SESSION , 1890

- President - Feroze shah Mehta
- Place - Calcutta
- First Graduated women participated.

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 - First time Speech given by Any women

7TH SESSION , 1891

- President - Ananda charlu
- Place - Nagpur
- Congress —-------- Indian National Congress (changed to)

SESSION OF 1893
- President - Dadabhai Naroji
- Place - Lahore
- Demand for ICS examination for the first time in congress speech.

SESSION OF 1894
- President - Alphard Babe
- Place - Madras
- Only congress session in which a British parliament member attends.

SESSION OF 1896
- Place - Calcutta
- President - Rahmatullah Sayani
- Vande Mataram Sung for the First time.
1. The song was taken from Anand Math
2. Nath Bhattacharya gave the song its original tone.
3. Bankim Chandra Chartjee only just wrote this poem.
4. Vande Matram means ‘ Mata ki Vandana ‘
5. First it was considered as the national anthem then changed into song.

SESSION OF 1901
- Place - Calcutta
- President - D.E Vaccha
- Gandhi attempted the session for the first time.

SESSION OF 1904

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 - President - Sir Henry Cotton
- Place - Bombay
- Mohhamabd Ali Jinah became the member of Congress.

SESSION OF 1905
- President - Gopal krishna Gokhle
- Place - Banaras
- LLR for the first time gave advised about ‘Satyagrah’
- Regional revolution got support.
- Three resolutions - Swaraj , Swadeshi , Boycott.

SESSION OF 1906
- President - Dada bhai naroji
- Place - Calcutta
- The speech by read By Jinnah Instead of Naroji
- For the first time the word “Swaraj” came into existence.
- Talk About self government.

*SESSION OF 1907
- President - Ras Bihari Ghosh
- Place - Surat
- First it was going to be held in Nagpur But Feroze Shah Mehta made it to be done
in Surat.
- Someone threw shoes of Pherozshah Mehta and the quarrel started.
- Congress Divided into Liberals and Extremists .
- Swaraj , Swedeshi , Bahiskar and National Education were the points for debate.
- It was by intention held in surat so that Bal Ganga dhar Tilak won't become
president.

SESSION OF 1909
- President - Madan Mohan Malviye
- Place - Lahore
- Demand for Free and Must Education.

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SESSION OF 1911
- President - Bishan Narayan Ghar
- Place - Kolkata
- “Jana Gana Mana “ Sung for the first time on December 27, 1911

SESSION OF 1912
- President - R.N Mudholkar
- Place - Bakipur , Patna
- First session in which Jawahar lal Nehru was present.

SESSION OF 1916
- President - Ambika charan Majumdar
- Place - Lucknow
- Muslim League and Congress Association ( Jinnah and Tilak ) Convinced with ‘
Lucknow Pact ‘. Only session in Which the both party were together
- In the same session Tilak said ‘ Swaraj Mera Adhikar hai’
- Annie Besant Got arrested - Free by the support of the US president.
- In the Same session Rajkumar Shukla heard Gandhi ji speech and invited him to
Champaran.
- Gandhi met P. Jawaharlal Nehru
- Annie Besant invited Mahatma Gandhi at BHU for the inoncrocation.
- There Gandhi gave a speech and that was his first speech after returning to India
From South Africa.

SESSION OF 1917
- First Female president
- Flag is accepted.
- President - Annie Besant
- Place - Calcutta
- Resolution for Home Rule was passed

SESSION OF 1918

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 - President - Madan Mohan Malviya
- Tilak has to Precede this session but have to England for some work.
- For the first time Demand for Fundamental Rights was raised.

SESSION OF 1919
- President - Motilal Nehru
- Place - Amritsar
- Supported to Khilafat

SESSION OF 1920( Special Session )

- President - Lala Lajpat Rai
- Place - Calcutta
- Only Extremist who became president.
- Accepted NCM ( Non - Cooperation Movement )
- Bal Gangadhar tilak died
- Chitran Das got in Jail
- Chitran Das and Moti lal Nehru opposed Gandhi
- Annie Besant , Mohhamad Ali Jinnah and Bipin Chandra Pal opposed the support
for Khilafat and left congress.

SESSION OF 1920
- Place - Nagpur
- President - Veer Raghav Chari
- Constitution of the Indian National Congress Amendment 1920
- The main objective was to establishment of CWC ( Central Working Committee )
- The provinces of Congress will be made on the basis of languages.

SESSION OF 1923
- President - Abul Kalam Azad
- Place - Delhi
- Youngest leader

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SESSION OF 1922
- Place - Gaya , Bihar
- India's third largest trivial group participated in the Santhal people.
- Swaraj party is made

SESSION OF 1924
- Place - Karnataka , Belgaum
- President - Mahatma Gandhi

SESSION OF 1928
- Nehru Committee leader Moti Lal Nehru created a Constitution in just 90 days.
- Due to CDM 90000 + get in jail
- Session of 1927 - Indian statutory Commission of 8 members formed known as
Simon Commission.But there were no any indian in that. So congress protested
against this all over india.
- Session of 1926 - khadi is allowed for the members of congress to wear as a
necessity.

SESSION OF 1929
- Place - Lahore
- President - J.L Nehru
- Demanded ‘Purna Swaraj ‘
- This started in the mid - night

SESSION OF 1930 - Didn't happen because of CDM

SESSION OF 1931
- President - sardar vallabhai patel
- Place - Karachi
- Round table conference Between Lord Erwin and Gandhi Known as ‘ Gandhi
Irwin pact ‘
- Murder Charges on Bhagat Singh proved on the basis of IPC 302 and all demands

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 to protect him were null and void in the Karachi meeting and he was hanged on
23rd March ,1931.

Session of 1937 - Faizpur ( first session in village

- President - J.L Nehru

Session of 1938 - President - Subhas Chandra Bose

Session of 1939 - Tripuri session also known as Tripuri sankat.

- President - Rajendra Prasad

- First time election happened not officially but in a meeting for the election of the
president.
- Gandhi said I will leave congress if Subhas Chandra Bose becomes the president
again.
- Election happened and Subhas won.
- Later Subhas resigned from the congress and chose to do something by his own
means.

IMPORTANT FACTS TO KEEP IN MIND

- 1. First session: Bombay, 1885.
- 2. Founder: Allan Octavian Hume.
- 3. First president: Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee.
- 4. First female president: Sarojini Naidu (1925).
- 5. First British president: Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee.
- 6. Original objective: Greater autonomy for India within the British Empire.
- 7. Mahatma Gandhi joined: 1915.
- 8. Jawaharlal Nehru became president: 1929.
- 9. Calcutta Session (1906): "Swaraj" or self-rule adopted.
- 10. Lucknow Session (1916): Congress and Muslim League jointly adopted
Lucknow Pact.
- 11. Nagpur Session (1920): Gandhi's Non-Cooperation Movement adopted.
- 12. Haripura Session (1938): Subhas Chandra Bose elected president.
- 13. First Muslim president: Badruddin Tyabji (1887).
- 14. First Sikh president: Harkishan Singh Surjeet (1992).

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 - 15. Longest-serving president: Jawaharlal Nehru (5 terms).
- 16. Shortest-serving president: C. Rajagopalachari (1 month).
- 17. Indian National Congress founded: December 28, 1885.
- 18. Founding members: 72.
- 19. First session attendance: 434 delegates.
- 20. Oldest president: Debendranath Tagore (1848-1905).
- 21. Youngest president: Jawaharlal Nehru (38 years).
- 22. Most sessions: Calcutta (11).
- 23. First session outside India: London (1888).
- 24. First women's conference: Karachi (1931).
- 25. Quit India Movement launched: August 8, 1942.
- 26. Non-Cooperation Movement launched: August 1, 1920.
- 27. Civil Disobedience Movement launched: March 12, 1930.
- 28. Indian National Congress split: 1969.
- 29. Reunification: 1971.
- 30. Name changed to Indian National Congress (I): 1978.
- 31. Congress (I) merged with Congress: 1996.
- 32. Highest membership: 20 million (1990s).
- 33. Lowest membership: 3 million (post-independence).
- 34. First election victory: 1937 provincial elections.
- 35. First Lok Sabha election victory: 1952.
- 36. Longest-serving prime minister: Jawaharlal Nehru (17 years).
- 37. Shortest-serving prime minister: Atal Bihari Vajpayee (13 days).
- 38. Indian National Congress symbol: Hand.
- 39. Election motto: Jai Hind.
- 40. Current president: Mallikarjun Kharge.

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