Congress Sessions — Set 7

Correct Answer: A. W.C. Bonnerjee

• **W.C. Bonnerjee** (Womesh Chandra) = **first President** of INC — presided inaugural session Bombay **1885**. • Prominent barrister from Calcutta — later became first Indian elected to British **House of Commons (1906)**. • Presided again in **1892 Allahabad** — only person to preside over both the 1st and a later session early on. • 💡 Dadabhai Naoroji = 2nd President (1886 Calcutta); Surendranath Banerjee = prominent moderate, not first; A.O. Hume = founder and General Secretary, not President — W.C. Bonnerjee was first INC President 1885.

Correct Answer: C. Badruddin Tyabji

• **Badruddin Tyabji** = first **Muslim President** of INC — presided over **3rd session, Madras 1887**. • Appealed to Muslims to join the national movement — important for INC's early inclusive image. • Prominent lawyer from Bombay — founder of Anjuman-i-Islam — later became first Muslim Chief Justice of Bombay High Court. • 💡 Rahimtullah Sayani = 1896 Calcutta (Vande Mataram); Abul Kalam Azad = President 1940–46; Hakim Ajmal Khan = 1921 Ahmedabad — Badruddin Tyabji was first Muslim President (1887 Madras).

Correct Answer: C. Sarojini Naidu

• **Sarojini Naidu** = first **Indian woman** Congress President — presided over **Kanpur session 1925**. • Known as the **'Nightingale of India'** — eminent poet and close associate of Mahatma Gandhi. • **Annie Besant (1917)** was the first woman president — but she was British; Sarojini was the first Indian woman. • 💡 Sucheta Kripalani = first woman Chief Minister (UP, 1963) — not Congress President; Indira Gandhi = PM, not INC President at independence; Annie Besant = first woman president (1917, British) — Sarojini Naidu was first Indian woman president 1925.

Correct Answer: C. Belgaum, 1924

• **Belgaum session (1924)** = only Congress session presided over by **Mahatma Gandhi** — his sole presidency. • Session focused on **constructive programme**: spinning khadi, Hindu-Muslim unity, untouchability removal. • Gandhi was elected President after Vithalbhai Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru both declined — unique historical fact. • 💡 Madras 1927 = M.A. Ansari (Simon Commission boycott); Calcutta 1928 = Motilal Nehru (Nehru Report); Lahore 1929 = Jawaharlal Nehru (Poorna Swaraj) — Belgaum 1924 was the only session Gandhi presided.

Correct Answer: D. Lahore, 1929

• **Poorna Swaraj resolution** = passed at **Lahore session (1929)** — presided by Jawaharlal Nehru. • Declared **complete independence** (not Dominion Status) as the goal — rejected British Empire structure. • January 26, 1930 declared Independence Day — celebrated annually until it became Republic Day in 1950. • 💡 Calcutta 1928 = Nehru Report demanded Dominion Status; Madras 1927 = Simon Commission boycott; Karachi 1931 = Fundamental Rights — Poorna Swaraj (complete independence) resolution was passed at Lahore 1929.

Correct Answer: A. A.O. Hume

• **A.O. Hume** (Allan Octavian Hume) = founder of Indian National Congress — organized first session in **1885 Bombay**. • Retired British **ICS (Indian Civil Service) officer** and ornithologist — served as General Secretary 1885–1892. • Founded INC with support of **Lord Dufferin** (Viceroy) — wanted a platform for political dialogue and Indian aspirations. • 💡 Mahatma Gandhi = leader of independence movement, not founder; W.C. Bonnerjee = first President, not founder; Dadabhai Naoroji = 'Grand Old Man', three-time President — A.O. Hume was the founder of INC.

Correct Answer: C. 1907 Surat

• **Surat Split (1907)** = famous split between **Moderates and Extremists** — session ended in chaos. • Rash Behari Ghosh elected president by Moderates; Extremists wanted **Tilak or Lajpat Rai** — led to disorder. • Both factions reunited at **Lucknow 1916** session — 9-year separation ended with Congress-League pact too. • 💡 1906 Calcutta = 'Swaraj' first mentioned (Dadabhai Naoroji); 1905 Banaras = Swadeshi Movement (Gokhale); 1908 Madras = Congress constitution adopted — Surat Split happened in 1907.

Correct Answer: C. J.B. Kripalani

• **J.B. Kripalani** = Congress President at time of **India's independence (August 1947)** — elected at Meerut 1946. • Resigned November 1947 citing differences with Nehru's government — later formed Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party. • Full name: **Jivatram Bhagwandas Kripalani** — close associate of Gandhi, called 'Acharya Kripalani'. • 💡 Jawaharlal Nehru = Prime Minister at independence, not Congress President; Maulana Azad = President 1940–46 (preceding Kripalani); Rajendra Prasad = interim Congress President 1939, later first President of India — J.B. Kripalani was Congress President at independence.

Correct Answer: A. Subhash Chandra Bose

• **Subhash Chandra Bose** = presided over **Haripura session (1938)** — elected unanimously as Congress President. • Under his presidency, **National Planning Committee** was set up with Nehru as Chairman — economic planning foundation. • He was re-elected for 1939 Tripuri session defeating Gandhi's candidate Pattabhi Sitaramayya — then resigned. • 💡 Sardar Patel = presided Karachi 1931; Jawaharlal Nehru = presided Lahore 1929, Lucknow 1936, Faizpur 1937; Rajendra Prasad = succeeded Bose after his resignation — Subhash Chandra Bose presided Haripura 1938.

Correct Answer: B. Faizpur, 1937

• **Faizpur (1937)** = first Congress session held in a **village** — Faizpur, Jalgaon district, Maharashtra. • Presided by **Jawaharlal Nehru** — session highlighted peasant issues, land rights, rural poverty. • Congress contested **provincial elections of 1937** under 1935 Act — won 8 of 11 provinces; formed governments. • 💡 Tripuri 1939 = Bose vs Sitaramayya presidential contest; Haripura 1938 = Bose presided (National Planning Committee); Ramgarh 1940 = Maulana Azad (Quit India preparation) — Faizpur 1937 was the first village session.