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Indian National Congress (1885–1947)
alty to the British Empire. It increased sentiments of
national unity and rose above religious, caste, and
regional divisions. Dadabhai Naoroji (1825–1917),
the president of the INC in its second and ninth sessions, argued that the British government was responsible for poverty in India. The true character of the
British Empire was revealed by various demands by
the congress. A base also was created for the Congress
Party, from which later leaders could work for the
cause of Indian independence.
But a gradual disillusionment developed against
the moderate leadership. A rift occurred, and the radical, or extremist, phase (1905–19) began in the history
of the INC. The new generation was drawn from the
lower middle class in urban areas. It was more radical
in nature and sometimes took recourse to Hindu religious symbols like the Ganapati Festival, which became
mass based under Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s direction.
The terrorist movement of Bengal invoked the name of
the goddess Kali. The extremist brand of politics was
aggressive in nature, and it was indigenous, with no
attachment to Western ideals.
The goal of the extremists was swaraj (self-rule),
and their efforts were imbued with swadeshi (indigenous) sentiment directed against foreign goods, dress,
and education. The Punjab group was led by Lajpat
Rai; the Bengal one was represented by Aurobindo
(1872–1950) and Pal. The administration (1899–1905)
of Viceroy Lord George Nathaniel Curzon (1859–
1925) decided to partition the province of Bengal in
October 1905, leading to the antipartition movement,
which engulfed most of the country. Goods from British factories were boycotted, and the use of swadeshi
was advocated.
A split occurred between the moderates and
extremists at the Surat session of 1907, and the moderate leader, Gopal Krishna Gokhale (1866–1915), did

not endorse Tilak as president for the 1908 session.
The split harmed the INC and the nationalist movement. There was also a rise of communalism in Indian
politics and a sizable section of the Muslims did not
adhere to the congress ideology. The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was established on December 30,
1906.
The INC and the AIML would chart out separate
courses, resulting in a vivisection of the country 41 years
later. The congress was revived in the Lucknow session
of 1916, where both the extremists and the moderates
realized that the split was not serving the cause of the
nationalist movement. In the same year the Lucknow
Pact, which brought Hindu-Muslim rapprochement for

165

the time being, was signed between the congress and
the league.
Meanwhile, World War I had broken out, and
Great Britain declared war on Germany on August 4,
1914. The INC supported the British war efforts in the
hope that India would be suitably rewarded in its path
toward self-government. But this hope was dashed. The
ideals of self-determination presented by U.S. president
Woodrow Wilson at the Paris Peace Conference
were not applied to colonies in Asia. Mohandas K.
Gandhi (1869–1948) was emerging as a mass leader
in India and gave a new direction to the Indian freedom
movement under the INC.
GENERAL STRIKE
Gandhi called for a general strike in April 1919, after

the draconian Rowlatt Act that empowered the authorities to arrest and detain without trial, was enacted. A
large numbers of Muslims began to participate in the
activities of the INC.
The INC became an umbrella organization drawing
support from all classes of the population. The revamping of the internal organization of the congress was
retained with some modifications in independent India.
The Pradesh (Provincial) Congress Committee (PCC)
was formed at the state level, with 10 to 15 members
belonging to the working committees. At the apex was
the All-India Congress Committee (AICC), composed
of state leaders from the PCC. The Congress Working
Committee, consisting of senior party leaders, was in
charge of important decisions.
The president of the INC was the national leader,
presiding over annual sessions generally held in the
month of December. These sessions spelled out the party
programs and discussed measures to be taken in the
ongoing struggle against British rule. Gandhi’s emphasis on ahimsa (nonviolence) and satyagraha (nonviolent
protest) became successful in shaking the foundation of
the British Empire.
The INC entered a new phase in its struggle
against the British raj between 1919 and 1922. The
noncooperation movement, with its technique of nonviolent struggle, was launched. At a special session of
the AICC held in Calcutta in September 1920, it was
decided to initiate noncooperation with the British
government by boycotting educational institutions,
law courts, and legislatures. The use of hand spinning for producing khadi (cloth) was emphasized. A
violent mob, after a police firing on February 5, 1922,
at Chauri Chaura, attacked the police station, resulting in the deaths of 22 police personnel. Gandhi was