Congress Sessions — Set 3
Indian History · कांग्रेस अधिवेशन · Questions 21–30 of 80
Who presided over the 1890 Calcutta session?
Correct Answer: D. Pherozeshah Mehta
• **Pherozeshah Mehta** = presided **1890 Calcutta session** — leading moderate lawyer. • **Kadambini Ganguly** — first female graduate of Calcutta University — addressed this session. • Pherozeshah Mehta = 'Lion of Bombay'; founder of Bombay Chronicle; key early Congress leader. • 💡 Ananda Charlu = 1891 Nagpur; W.C. Bonnerjee = 1892 Allahabad (2nd term); Dadabhai Naoroji = 1893 Lahore — Pherozeshah Mehta presided 1890 Calcutta.
Who was the President of the 1894 Madras session?
Correct Answer: D. Alfred Webb
• **Alfred Webb** = Irish nationalist MP who presided over **1894 Madras session**. • His presidency highlighted the **Irish-Indian independence movement connection** — anti-British solidarity. • Webb was also a Quaker and philanthropist — one of few non-British non-Indians to preside. • 💡 Henry Cotton = presided 1904 Bombay; George Yule = 1888 Allahabad (first English President); William Wedderburn = 1889 Bombay and 1910 Allahabad — Alfred Webb presided 1894 Madras.
Who presided over the 1904 Bombay session of the Congress?
Correct Answer: A. Henry Cotton
• **Sir Henry Cotton** = retired British ICS officer who presided over **1904 Bombay session**. • Strongly opposed **Lord Curzon's Partition of Bengal** — a supporter of Indian nationalism. • His presidency showed early Congress's inclusive nature welcoming sympathetic Britons. • 💡 Lal Mohan Ghosh = presided 1903 Madras; Surendranath Banerjee = 1895 Poona; Gopal Krishna Gokhale = 1905 Banaras — Henry Cotton presided 1904 Bombay.
In which session was A.O. Hume declared the 'Father of the Congress'?
Correct Answer: C. Bankipore, 1912
• **A.O. Hume** = declared **'Father of the Congress'** at **Bankipore (1912) session** — posthumous honor. • Hume died in **1912** — recognition came shortly after his death at this very session. • **R.N. Mudholkar** presided over this session — Hume had founded INC in 1885. • 💡 Madras 1914 = Bhupendra Nath Bose presided; Bombay 1915 = S.P. Sinha presided; Karachi 1913 = Nawab Syed Mohammed Bahadur — 'Father of Congress' honor was at Bankipore 1912.
Who presided over the 1915 Bombay session?
Correct Answer: C. Satyendra Prasanna Sinha
• **Satyendra Prasanna Sinha** = presided **1915 Bombay session** — paved way for Moderate-Extremist reunion. • Distinguished lawyer — later became first Indian member of Viceroy's Executive Council (1909). • Moderates and Extremists formally reunited at the **1916 Lucknow session** after this groundwork. • 💡 Madan Mohan Malaviya = 1909 Lahore and 1932 Delhi; Annie Besant = 1917 Calcutta; Ambica Charan Mazumdar = 1916 Lucknow — S.P. Sinha presided 1915 Bombay.
Who presided over the Special Session in Bombay in 1918 to discuss the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms?
Correct Answer: B. Syed Hasan Imam
• **Syed Hasan Imam** = presided **Special Session Bombay 1918** on Montague-Chelmsford Reforms. • Congress rejected the reforms as **'disappointing and unsatisfactory'** — demanded real self-governance. • Montague-Chelmsford Reforms = Government of India Act 1919 (Dyarchy system in provinces). • 💡 Madan Mohan Malaviya = 1909 Lahore; Lala Lajpat Rai = 1920 Calcutta Special Session; Motilal Nehru = 1919 Amritsar — Syed Hasan Imam presided the 1918 Bombay Special Session.
Who was the President of the 1933 Calcutta session?
Correct Answer: B. Nellie Sengupta
• **Nellie Sengupta** = presided **1933 Calcutta session** — stepped in when Madan Mohan Malaviya was arrested. • English-born wife of J.M. Sengupta — one of three women Congress Presidents before independence. • Three women presidents: Annie Besant (1917), Sarojini Naidu (1925), Nellie Sengupta (1933). • 💡 Sarojini Naidu = first Indian woman president (1925); Madan Mohan Malaviya = elected but arrested; J.M. Sengupta = Nellie's husband — Nellie Sengupta presided 1933 Calcutta.
Who presided over the 1932 Delhi session which was banned by the government?
Correct Answer: A. Madan Mohan Malaviya
• **Madan Mohan Malaviya** = elected President for **1932 Delhi session** — but arrested before he could preside. • Session **banned by government** — held symbolically despite police repression (during Civil Disobedience Movement). • Nellie Sengupta stepped in the following year (1933 Calcutta) when Malaviya was again arrested. • 💡 Amrit Kaur = close Gandhi associate, not a Congress president; Vallabhbhai Patel = presided 1931 Karachi; Rajendra Prasad = presided 1934 Bombay — Malaviya was elected for 1932 Delhi but couldn't preside.
In which session did Mahatma Gandhi make his first appearance on the Congress platform?
Correct Answer: D. Calcutta, 1901
• **Gandhi's first Congress appearance** = **Calcutta session 1901** — moved resolution on Indians in South Africa. • Session presided by **Dinshaw Wacha** — Gandhi was then a lawyer working in South Africa. • Gandhi returned to India permanently only in 1915 — his active Congress role came much later. • 💡 Calcutta 1906 = Swaraj first mentioned; Banaras 1905 = Gokhale presided; Bombay 1904 = Henry Cotton presided — Gandhi's Congress debut was Calcutta 1901.
Who was the President of the Congress session held in Poona in 1895?
Correct Answer: B. Surendranath Banerjee
• **Surendranath Banerjee** = presided **Poona session (1895)** — staunch critic of Bengal Partition. • Called **'Rashtraguru'** — founded Indian Association (1876) before INC was formed. • He presided twice: 1895 Poona and 1902 Ahmedabad — key moderate leader from Bengal. • 💡 Rahimtullah Sayani = 1896 Calcutta (Vande Mataram first sung); Sankaran Nair = 1897 Amravati; R.C. Dutt = 1899 Lucknow — Surendranath Banerjee presided 1895 Poona.