Indian history · British era · National movement

The Indian National Congress (1885–1918): Founding by A. O. Hume, First Session, Moderates and Extremists, Important Sessions and Presidents — Exam Notes

The Indian National Congress, founded in Bombay in December 1885, became the main platform of India's freedom struggle. Its early decades saw a contest between Moderates, who trusted petitions and British justice, and Extremists, who demanded Swaraj through mass action. This guide covers the founding, the two groups, and the sessions and presidents examiners love to ask about.

By PunjabExams Editorial Team · Updated 29 October 2026 · 6 min read · How we prepare guides

Political associations before 1885

The Indian Association organised the Indian National Conference in 1883 and 1885; it merged with the Congress in 1886.

Founding of the Congress (1885)

Allan Octavian Hume, a retired British civil servant, took the initiative with Indian leaders, encouraged by the Viceroy Lord Dufferin.

• The first session was held at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College, Bombay, from 28 to 31 December 1885 (moved from Poona because of cholera).
• 72 delegates attended.
• President: Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee (W. C. Bonnerjee).
• Hume became its general secretary.

The "safety-valve" theory

Lala Lajpat Rai and others later argued that Hume founded the Congress as a "safety valve" to release Indian discontent harmlessly. Historian Bipan Chandra suggested instead that Indian leaders used Hume as a "lightning conductor" — a respected Englishman whose presence reduced official suspicion.

The Moderates (1885–1905)

Leaders

Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, Surendranath Banerjee, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, M. G. Ranade, Badruddin Tyabji, W. C. Bonnerjee, Dinshaw Wacha, Romesh Chunder Dutt.

Demands

• Expansion of legislative councils with elected Indian members.
• Simultaneous ICS examinations in India and England, and a higher age limit.
• Reduction of military spending and land revenue; relief for peasants.
• Separation of the judiciary from the executive.
• Freedom of speech and the press; extension of education.

Methods: "the 3 Ps"

Prayer, Petition and Protest — resolutions, memorials, deputations to Britain, and newspaper campaigns, relying on British sense of justice.

The economic critique: drain of wealth

The Moderates' greatest contribution was showing how British rule impoverished India.

• Dadabhai Naoroji, the "Grand Old Man of India", put forward the drain theory in Poverty and Un-British Rule in India (1901).
• R. C. Dutt wrote The Economic History of India.
• M. G. Ranade and G. V. Joshi analysed land revenue and industry.
• In 1892, Naoroji became the first Indian elected to the British House of Commons (Central Finsbury, Liberal).

Achievements and limits

They created national awareness and a shared political programme, and the Indian Councils Act, 1892 expanded councils slightly. But their narrow base among the educated elite and their faith in British justice limited their impact.

The Extremists (Assertive nationalists)

Why they rose

• Disappointment with the meagre results of moderate methods.
• Famines and plague (1896–1900) and harsh official responses.
• International events — Japan's victory over Russia (1905) showed an Asian nation could defeat a European power.
• Above all, the partition of Bengal (1905).

Leaders

Bal Gangadhar Tilak ("Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it"), Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal (Lal–Bal–Pal), and Aurobindo Ghosh.

Methods

Swadeshi, boycott, national education, passive resistance and mass mobilisation through festivals — Tilak started public Ganapati (1893) and Shivaji (1896) festivals.

Surat split and reunion

• Surat (1907): the Congress split between Moderates and Extremists; Rash Behari Ghosh presided.
• Lucknow (1916): under Ambica Charan Mazumdar, the two groups reunited, and the Congress and the Muslim League signed the Lucknow Pact, accepting separate electorates and agreeing on joint demands.
• Home Rule Leagues (1916): Tilak (April 1916, Belgaum) and Annie Besant (September 1916, Madras).

Important sessions and presidents

Key points to remember

• Founded 28 December 1885, Bombay, 72 delegates; president W. C. Bonnerjee; founder A. O. Hume.
• Moderates: Naoroji (drain theory), Gokhale, Pherozeshah Mehta; methods: prayer, petition, protest.
• Extremists: Lal–Bal–Pal, Aurobindo; Swadeshi and boycott.
• Surat split 1907; Lucknow reunion and Pact 1916.
• First woman president Annie Besant (1917); first Indian woman Sarojini Naidu (1925).

Practice questions

1. Q1. The first session of the Indian National Congress was presided over by:

   • (a) Dadabhai Naoroji
   • (b) W. C. Bonnerjee
   • (c) A. O. Hume
   • (d) Surendranath Banerjee
   Show answer

   Answer: (b) W. C. Bonnerjee — W. C. Bonnerjee presided at Bombay in December 1885.

2. Q2. How many delegates attended the first Congress session?

   • (a) 52
   • (b) 72
   • (c) 100
   • (d) 435
   Show answer

   Answer: (b) 72 — 72 delegates attended the Bombay session.

3. Q3. The 'drain theory' was put forward by:

   • (a) R. C. Dutt
   • (b) Dadabhai Naoroji
   • (c) M. G. Ranade
   • (d) G. K. Gokhale
   Show answer

   Answer: (b) Dadabhai Naoroji — Dadabhai Naoroji set it out in Poverty and Un-British Rule in India.

4. Q4. Who was the first woman president of the Indian National Congress?

   • (a) Sarojini Naidu
   • (b) Annie Besant
   • (c) Nellie Sengupta
   • (d) Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
   Show answer

   Answer: (b) Annie Besant — Annie Besant presided at Calcutta in 1917.

5. Q5. The Congress and the Muslim League signed the Lucknow Pact in:

   • (a) 1906
   • (b) 1911
   • (c) 1916
   • (d) 1919
   Show answer

   Answer: (c) 1916 — The Lucknow Pact was signed in 1916.

6. Q6. The only Congress session presided over by Mahatma Gandhi was held at:

   • (a) Lahore, 1929
   • (b) Belgaum, 1924
   • (c) Karachi, 1931
   • (d) Haripura, 1938
   Show answer

   Answer: (b) Belgaum, 1924 — Gandhi presided over the Belgaum session in 1924.

Frequently asked questions

What is the safety-valve theory?

The view that A. O. Hume founded the Congress to channel Indian discontent safely and prevent a violent outbreak.

What were the main methods of the Moderates?

Prayer, petition and protest — memorials, resolutions, deputations and press campaigns.

When was 'Vande Mataram' first sung at a Congress session?

At the Calcutta session of 1896, sung by Rabindranath Tagore.

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