Indian National Congress Foundation Day 2021: History and All You Need to Know

Congress Foundation Day 2021: The Indian National Congress (INC) celebrated its 137th foundation day on December 28, 2021. Indian National Congress was founded by retired British Civil Servant  Allan Octavian Hume on December 28, 1885.

The first session of the Indian National Congress was conducted in Bombay from December 28-31, 1885 under the chairmanship of W.C Bonnerjee.

INC is one of the two major political parties in India. The party became the leader of India's independence movement in the late 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. 

Indian National Congress Foundation Day 2021 History 

First Organisation of Educated Elites

The Indian National Congress was the first organisation of educated elites. The first session of the party was held at the initiative of a retired British civil servant, Allan Octavian Hume. 

AO Hume's main objective was to create an organisation that would serve as a safety valve for the growing social and economic discontent. In other words, the Indian National Congress was formed by Hume to prevent any possibility of any anti-British movement. 
The main was to create a platform for a civic and political dialogue between educated Indians and the British Raj.

The first meeting of the Indian National Union was scheduled to be held in Poona but was shifted to Bombay due to cholera outbreak there. 

Moderate Rule 

In the first two decades after its formation, the Indian National Congress mainly comprised lawyers and landlords. Their methods were peaceful and demands were modest. They came to be known as Moderates. The British authorities rejected their demands time and again. 

Their major demands then included: 

-Introduction of democratic institutions in India within the framework of British Rule.

-More share in government services

-Reduction in land revenue and army expenditure

-Use of Indian wealth for Indians themselves

Rise of Extremists

There was a parallel wave that had begun awakening across the country with social reformers raising their voice, calling for a new idealogy of self-reliance. The year 1893 was a major landmark in the evolution of the ideology of our freedom struggle. It was the same year that Bal Gangadhar Tilak gave the famous slogan "Swaraj is my birthright and I must have it." 

Congress' demands became more radical in the face of constant opposition from the British government at the beginning of the 20th century. The party decided to advocate in favour of the independence movement. The Partition of Bengal in 1901 by Lord Curzon further drove up radical spirit with students joining the anti-partition protest and the swadeshi movement. 

The Lal-Bal-Pal trio ( Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal) represented the extremists, while the moderates were largely led by Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Thus two streams of Moderates and Extremists emerged in the Indian National Congress. 

Congress under Mahatma Gandhi 

Indian National Congress became associated with Gandhi when he returned from South Africa in 1915. Gandhi became the President of Congress in 1924. His popularity and satyagraha drew support from leading political leaders of that time- Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, Jayaprakash Narayan, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Chakravarti Rajgopalachari and Jivatram Kripalani. 

Under Mahatma Gandhi's chairmanship, Congress became a dominant group that attempted to eliminate all caste differences, poverty, untouchability and religious and ethnic divisions. The party had members from other religions, classes and ethnic and liguist groups. 

Purna Swaraj Declaration 

The call for Purna Swaraj or complete independence was made by the party during its Lahore session in 1929 under the Presidency of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The party also declared January 26, 1930 as Purna Swaraj Diwas.