Foundation of Indian National Congress

In the MPSC Combined exam there are 15 questions on the Modern History part. If you analyze the previous year question papers you will find that there is a fixed question on Indian National Congress its foundation and important sessions. Here I have provided you with the important information regarding Indian National Congress for MPSC.

Rise of Nationalism in India

The social, economic and political factors had inspired the people to define and achieve their national identity. People began discovering their unity in the process of their struggle against colonialism.
The sense of being oppressed under colonial rule provided a shared bond that tied different groups together. Each class and group felt the effects of colonialism differently.
The social and religious reform movements of the 19th century also contributed to the feeling of Nationalism.
Swami Vivekananda, Annie Besant, Henry Derozio and many others revived the glory of ancient India, created faith among the people in their religion and culture and thus gave the message of love for their motherland.
The intellectual and spiritual side of Nationalism was voiced by persons like Bankim Chandra Chatterji, Swami Dayanand Saraswati and Aurobindo Ghosh.
Bankim Chandra’s hymn to the Motherland, ‘Vande Matram’ became the rallying cry of patriotic nationalists. It inspired generations to supreme self-sacrifice.
The Revolt of 1857 created a kind of permanent bitterness and suspicion between the British and the Indians.

EMERGENCE OF INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS (1885)

Allan Octavian Hume, a retired civil servant in the British Government took the initiative to form an all-India organization.
Thus, the Indian National Congress was founded and its first session was held at Bombay in 1885.
The history of the Indian National Movement can be studied in three important phases:

The phase of moderate nationalism (1885-1905) was when Congress continued to be loyal to the British crown.
The years 1906-1916 witnessed- Swadeshi Movement, the rise of militant nationalism and the Home Rule Movement. The repressive measures of the British gave rise to extremists within Congress like Bipin Chandra Pal, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai (Lai, Bal, Pal), along with Aurobindo Ghosh
The period from 1917 to1947 is known as the Gandhian era.

Important Sessions of Indian National Congress

Congress met each December. The first meeting was scheduled to be held in Poona, but due to a cholera outbreak there it was shifted to Bombay.
Hume organised the first meeting in Bombay with the approval of the Viceroy Lord Dufferin.
W. Chandra Banerjee was the first president of Congress.
The first session was held from 28–31 December 1885 in Mumbai and was attended by 72 delegates.
Mahatma Gandhi presided over the Belgaum session of INC in 1924.
The first woman president of INC was Mrs Annie Besant.
The first Indian woman president of the INC was Mrs Sarojini Naidu.
The first Englishman to become the president of INC was George Yule
The first Muslim president of the INC was Badruddin Tayabji.
The president of INC at the time of India's independence was Acharya JB Kriplani.

List of Important Sessions of Indian National Congress

Check the following table for the Important sessions of the INC:

Year	Venue	President
1885	Bombay	W.C.Bannerji
1886	Calcutta	Dadabhai Naoroji
1893	Lahore	"
1906	Calcutta	"
1887	Madras	Badruddin Tyyabji (first Muslim President)
1888	Allahabad	George Yule (first English President)
1889	Bombay	Sir William Wedderburn
1890	Calcutta	Sir Feroze S.Mehta
1895, 1902	Poona, Ahmedabad	S.N.Banerjee
1905	Banaras	G.K.Gokhale
1907, 1908	Surat, Madras	Rasbehari Ghosh
1909	Lahore	M.M.Malviya
1916	Lucknow	A.C.Majumdar (Reunion of the Congress)
1917	Calcutta	Annie Besant (first woman President)
1919	Amritsar	Motilal Nehru
1920	Calcutta (sp.session)	Lala Lajpat Rai
1921,1922	Ahmedabad, Gaya	C.R.Das
1923	Delhi (sp.session)	Abdul Kalam Azad (youngest President)
1924	Belgaon	M.K.Gandhi
1925	Kanpur	Sarojini Naidu (first Indian woman President)
1928	Calcutta	Motilal Nehru (first All India Youth Congress Formed)
1929	Lahore	J.L.Nehru (Poorna Swaraj resolution was passed)
1931	Karachi	Vallabhbhai Patel (Here, resolution on Fundamental rights and the National Economic Program was passed)
1932, 1933	Delhi, Calcutta	(Session Banned)
1934	Bombay	Rajendra Prasad
1936	Lucknow	J.L.Nehru
1937	Faizpur	J.L.Nehru (first session in a village)
1938	Haripura	S.C.Bose (a National Planning Committed set-up underJ.L.Nehru).
1939	Tripuri	S.C.Bose was re-elected but had to resign due to protest by Gandhiji (as Gandhiji supported Dr.Pattabhi Sitaramayya). Rajendra Prasad was appointed in his place.
1940	Ramgarh	Abdul Kalam Azad
1946	Meerut	Acharya J.B.Kriplani
1948	Jaipur	Dr.Pattabhi Sitaramayya.