Sessions of the Indian National Congress

Congress (1885-1905)

Allan Octavian Hume (1829-1912)

An English retired civil servant of the British Government of India; a political reformer; founded the Indian National Congress�in 1885; also called the “Father of Indian Ornithology”. In an open letter to the graduates of the University of Calcutta, in�1883, he said: “If only fifty men, good and true, can be found to found to join as founders, the thing can be established and�the further development will be comparatively easy ……. You [need to] realize and stand prepared to act upon the eternal�truth that self-sacrifice and unselfishness are the only unfailing guides to freedom and happiness.”

Dadabhai Naoroji (1825-1917)

A Parsea known as the Grand Old Man of India was an intellectual, educator, a cotton trader, member of the British�Parliament (1892-1895) as the first British subject. He wrote Poverty and Un-British Rule in India in which the propounded his�wealth drain theory. Describing six factors of his drain theory, the counted them as: Firstly, India is governed by a foreign�government. Secondly, India does not attract immigrants which bring labour and capital for economic growth. Thirdly,�India pays for Britain’s civil administrations and occupational army. Fourthly, India bears the burden of empire building in�and out of its borders. Fifthly, opening the country to free trade was actually a way to exploit India by offering highly paid�jobs to foreign personnel. Lastly, the principle income-earners would buy outside of India or leave with the money as they�were mostly foreign personnel.

Naoroji’s estimate was that around 200-300 million pound loss of revenue (in the days of late�19th��century) of Britain which�was never returned.

Gopal Krishana Gokhale : 1866-1915

Gokhale was one of Congress moderates of 1885 -1905 periods. He was the founder of the Servants of India Society. He�believed in non-violence (and as such the political guru of Mahatma Gandhi) and always advocated reforms within the�existing government institutions. He was convinced that no Indian could have started the Indian National Congress, “… If�an Indian could have come forward to start such a movement embracing all Indians, the officials in India would not have�allowed…..” On primary education while moving a bill in the Imperial Legislative Council in 1911, he had said: “The�State today accepts the education of the children as a primary duty resting upon it. Even if the advantages of an elementary�education be put as no higher than a capacity to read and write, its universal diffusion is a matter of prime importance, for�literacy is better than illiteracy any day, and the banishment of whole people’s illiteracy is no mean an achievement. But�elementary education for the mass of the people means something more than a mere capacity to read and write. It means�for them a keener enjoyment of life and a more refined standard of living. It means a greater moral and economic efficiency�of the individual. It means a higher level of intelligence for the whole community in general.

The moderates urged the Government to introduce a�number of reforms, the most important of which were : the�reorganization of the Councils, simultaneous examinations, the�abolition or reconstruction of the India Council, the repeal of�the Arms Act, the separation of the Judiciary from the Executive,�the appointment of Indians to the commissioned ranks, the�reduction of military expenditure etc. etc. It is interesting to�note that these demands of the moderate, formulated at the�first two or three sessions of the Congress, remained more or�less the same during the first twenty years of its life.

Written by princy