Congress and Moderates
Congress and Moderates
The Indian National Congress was founded in December 1885 at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College, Bombay, with W. C. Bonnerjee as president and seventy-two delegates. Its first phase, to 1905, is called the Moderate phase, characterised by constitutional agitation, petitions and a deep economic critique of British rule.
Background and formation
- Pre-Congress associations: Landholders Society 1838, British Indian Association 1851, Indian Association 1876 by Surendranath Banerjee, Madras Mahajan Sabha 1884, Bombay Presidency Association 1885
- A. O. Hume, a retired civil servant, played the organising role; the 'safety valve' theory that he acted to forestall revolt is now regarded as an oversimplification
- The Ilbert Bill controversy of 1883, in which Europeans resisted trial by Indian judges, showed Indians the value of organisation
- Growth of the press, modern education and a national economy created the base for an all-India body
सेफ्टी वाल्व सिद्धांत अब पूरी तरह स्वीकार नहीं किया जाता | ह्यूम ने संगठन में सहायता की, पर कांग्रेस की माँग और नेतृत्व भारतीय शिक्षित वर्ग का था | परीक्षा में यही संतुलित समझ चाहिए |
Moderate leaders and methods
| Leader | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Dadabhai Naoroji | Grand Old Man of India; drain theory; first Indian in the British House of Commons in 1892 |
| Gopal Krishna Gokhale | Servants of India Society 1905; Gandhi's political guru; worked on budgets in the Imperial Legislative Council |
| Surendranath Banerjee | Indian Association 1876; called Rashtraguru; opposed the partition of Bengal |
| Pherozeshah Mehta | Dominant figure in Bombay politics and Congress organisation |
| Badruddin Tyabji | First Muslim president of the Congress, 1887 |
| W. C. Bonnerjee and Romesh Chunder Dutt | First president and an economic historian president in 1899 |
The Moderate method is summed up as prayer, petition and protest - what the Extremists later mocked as political mendicancy. Their instruments were resolutions at annual sessions, memoranda to the government, lectures, the press and a British Committee in London with the journal India.
Moderate method = constitutional agitation + economic critique + appeal to British liberalism
Demands and achievements
| Area | Demands | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Constitutional | Expansion of legislative councils and Indian representation | Indian Councils Act 1892 allowed indirect election and budget discussion |
| Administrative | Simultaneous ICS examination in India, separation of judiciary from executive, higher posts for Indians | ICS examination age raised; other demands mostly refused |
| Economic | Reduction of land revenue, salt tax and military spending; end of the drain; industrialisation | The economic critique became the basis of later mass politics |
| Civil rights | Freedom of speech, press and association; repeal of the Arms Act | Limited or no concession |
✗ The Moderates achieved nothing of lasting value | ✓ They exposed the economic basis of colonial rule and built an all-India political platform, without which mass politics could not have begun
Criticism and the shift
By 1900 a younger generation found the Moderate method ineffective. The failure to prevent the partition of Bengal in 1905, the arrogance of Curzon's administration, the famines and plague of the 1890s, and international events such as Japan's defeat of Russia in 1905 discredited faith in British justice. The result was the rise of the Extremists and the split at Surat in 1907.
Linkage: this topic leads directly into the Extremists and Swadeshi topic. The economic critique connects to the drain of wealth material, and the constitutional demands connect to the Indian Councils Acts studied in the constitutional development topic and in Polity.
Exam pointer: one question in most years, usually on leaders, sessions or the Councils Act of 1892. High-yield: 1885 first session with Bonnerjee, Badruddin Tyabji 1887, Naoroji in the House of Commons 1892, Servants of India Society 1905. Traps: assuming Hume founded the Congress single-handedly, dating the first session to Calcutta rather than Bombay, and crediting the Moderates with the demand for complete independence, which came only in 1929.
FAQ
Who founded the Indian National Congress?
It was founded in December 1885 by a group of Indian leaders with the organising help of A. O. Hume, a retired British civil servant. W. C. Bonnerjee presided over the first session in Bombay, attended by seventy-two delegates from across the country.
What was the safety valve theory?
The claim that Hume founded the Congress with official encouragement to provide a safe outlet for Indian discontent and prevent a violent uprising. Modern historians regard this as an oversimplification, since the initiative and the agenda came from the Indian educated class.
What did the Indian Councils Act of 1892 provide?
It enlarged the legislative councils, introduced an indirect and limited system of nomination based on recommendations from local bodies and universities, and allowed members to discuss the budget and ask questions, though not to vote on the budget.
60-second recap
- Congress founded December 1885 in Bombay; W. C. Bonnerjee president; seventy-two delegates.
- Pre-Congress bodies: Indian Association 1876, Madras Mahajan Sabha 1884, Bombay Presidency Association 1885.
- Moderate method: prayer, petition and protest; British Committee and the journal India.
- Naoroji entered the House of Commons in 1892; Gokhale founded the Servants of India Society in 1905.
- Main gain: Indian Councils Act 1892 and the economic critique of colonial rule.
- Partition of Bengal in 1905 discredited the Moderate method and produced the Extremists.