Indian National Congress in Indian Polity Study Materials

2018-12-17

Indian National Congress in Indian Polity Study Materials

ORIGIN OF THE INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS

Congress Ideology at its Inception

At its inception, the Congress had no well-defined ideology and commanded few of the resources essential for a political organization. It functioned more as a debating society that met annually to express its loyalty to the Raj and passed numerous resolutions on less controversial issues such as civil rights or opportunities in the government, especially the civil services. These resolutions were submitted to the viceroy’s government and, occasionally, to the British Parliament, but the Congress’s early gains were meagre. Despite its claim to represent all of India, the Congress voiced the interests of the urban elite; the number of participants from other economic backgrounds remained negligible. According to A. O. Hume, the aims of the Congress were (i) to make British Rule long-lasting in India; (ii) to make Indians satisfied and proud citizens of the British Empire; and (iii) to function as the opposition party in the British Parliament by criticizing and suggesting proper remedies in the British Administration.

Historical proof of the Safety Valve Theory
The Safety Valve Theory was based on even volumes of the secret report which A.O. Hume read at Shimla in 1878. It was related to the seething discontent among the classes to over-throw the British rule. It was first mentioned in William Wedderburn’s biography of Hume, published in 1913.

Political Associations Before the Indian National Congress

Before the inception of the Indian National Congress, there existed other small political platforms for the Indians. These organizations limited their focus to safeguard the interest of a particular class or group. The Indian Association set up by Surendranath Banerjee was probably the most active, among the earlier political associations. The focus of the Indian Association was to create mass awakening among the Indians and to create a strong public opinion in the country on the issues of national importance. Gradually, these organizations united the Indians on a common political platform and gradually, the masses became critical of the British policies. Some major political associations that existed before the emergence of the Indian National Congress were:

British Indian Association (1851) operated in Chennai, Bengal and Mumbai. It looked after the interests of the landlords.
East India Association (1866) was set up by Dadabhai Naroji in London. It aimed to mobilise public opinion about India in England.
Poona Sabha (1870)was setup by M. G. Ranade in Poona.
Indian Association (1876) was setup by S. M. Bannerjee in Kolkata.
Madras Mahajan Sabha (1881)was set up by G. Subramania Iyer, R. Anandacharlu and others in Chennai.
Bombay Presidency (1885)was set up in Mumbai against the rise of taxes in the region.

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Theories behind the Birth of Congress
There are two theories by which historian try to explain the birth of a national level organization such as the Congress.
1. The need of a headquarter for the movement A Nation and its people become capable of meaningful and effective political action only when they are organized. As a part of the growth of the national movement, it was necessary to create a common, all-India political leadership, that could be looked upon as the headquarter of the movement. On this common political platform, political workers from different parts of the country could gather and conduct their activities and mobilies people on an all-India basis. The founders of the Congress realized that the requirement of a national movement was a national leadership. The role of Allan Octavian Hume, the father of Congress, was pivotal as he was British and the government allowed the Congress to come into existence.
2. The Safety Valve Theory The British foresaw the political situation in the country leading to another rebellion along the lines of the War of Independence of 1857. To avoid such a situation, the British decided to provide an outlet to the local people where they could discuss their political probles. To this end, Allan Octavian Hume, a retired British civil servant, had a series of meetings with Lord Dufferin, the Viceroy. He also visited England and met people such as John Bright, Sir James Caird, Lord Ripon and some members of the British Parliament. Hume also had the support of a large number of Englishmen in India, including Sir William Wederburn, George Yule and Charles Bradlaugh. On his return from Britain, Hume consulted the local Indian leaders and started working towards the establishment of an Indian political organization. The convention of the Indian National Union, an organization he had already formed in 1884, was held in Mumbai (now Mumbai), in December 1885, Seventy delegates, most of whom were lawyers, educations and journalists, attended the convention where the Indian National Congress was founded.

Objective of the First Session of the Congress
The objectives of the Congress as declared in the first session were:
(a) Development and consolidation of national unity among the Indian masses irrespective of religion, region or caste divide.
(b) Establishing friendly relations and synergizing the efforts of the nationalist workers operating in different regions of the country.
(c) Form an agreement on popular demands and important issues and present it before the government.

A. O. Hume
The rise of the Indian nationalist movement started in the early 1880s. Allan Octavian Hume (1829 – 1912), an Englishman and retired civil servant who had studied medicine and surgery came to India as an Indian Civil Services officer in 1849. After retiring from the British Administrative service, he chose to stay behind in India for the purpose of inculcating the spirit of nationalism in the Indian youth. The racial discrimination and inequality of the Indians under the British rule propelled Hume to form the Indian National Union with the help of Wyomesh Chandra Banerjee, in 1884. He is also known as the father of the Indian National Congress. He served as the first general secretary of the Indian National Congress.

The Founding Members of the INC
Most of the early members of the Congress were upwardly mobile and successful Western educated provincial elites, engaged in professions such as law, teaching and journalism. They had acquired political experience from regional competition in their professions and from their aspirations in securing nomination to various positions in the legislative councils, universities and special commissions. Among the founders were some of the leaders such as Dadabhai Naoroji, Badruddin Tyabji, Anand Mohan Bose, R. C. Dutt, K. T. Telang, R. Anandacharly, Behranji Malabari, Feroz shah Mehta, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, G. Subramania Iyer, Dinshaw Wacha, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Mahadev Govind Ranade and Madan Mohan Malviya. To begin with, the Congress acted as a ‘Kings Party’. All the founding members backed the basic four objectives of the Congress initially. These were: (i) to seek cooperation of all the Indians in its efforts; (ii) to bring an end to the race, creed and provincial prejudices and try to form national unity; (iii) to discuss and solve the social problems of the country and (iv) to request the government to give more share to Indians in administrative affairs. As time went by, the Congress changed its stance and apparently became the biggest opposition to the British government.

The Poona Meeting
A. O. Hume, in association with various national leaders, called for its first meeting in Poona on 28 December 1885. The conference received the unanimous support of all Indian leaders, but the venue was shifted to Mumbai.

First Session
The leaders decided to rename the Indian National Union as the Indian National Congress during the first session. Lord Reay, Governor of Mumbai, was invited to convene the first session as the President of the session, but on his refusal, the session was held under the presidentship of W. C. Banerjee. He was a veteran lawyer from Kolkata (now Kolkata). About 72 delegates from all over India attended the conference. This was a truly national gathering with leaders such as Dadabhai Naoroji, Mahadev Govind Ranade, Pheroze Shah Mehta, Dinshaw Wacha and K. T. Telang participating. The main demands put forward at the session included: (i) reforms of the Legislative Councils and acceptance of election in the place of nomination as a principle to constitute them; (ii) a simultaneous examination for the ICS to be held in India and England; (iii) reduction in military expenditure and (iv) opposition to the annexation of Upper Burma.

Moderate Period (1885 – 1905)
At first, the Congress was a moderate, constitutional movement. In its early days, he party confined itself to an annual debate where political issues were discussed. It asked the government to remedy complaints, but had no constitutional role. However, some Congress members were also members of the Legislative Assembly, which advised the viceroy and the executive committee on the drafting of new laws. The cause of the Indian National Congress spread rapidly among the middle-class Indians. With the founding of the Indian National Congress, the struggle for India’s independence was launched in a small, hesitant and mild but organized manner. The first two decades of the Indian National Congress are described in history as one with moderate demands and a sense of confidence in British justice and generosity. Its aim was not to be aggressive in attaining independence lest the British should suppress them. This resulted in the Indian Council Act in 1892, which allowed some members to be indirectly elected by the Indians but kept the official majority intact.

Indian Parliamentary Committee and Sir William Wedder Burn
Sir William Wedderburn was a politician from the liberal Party in the United Kingdom. He was born on 25 March 1838 in Edinburgh, Scotland in the United Kingdom. He tried to reform the banking system to solve the grievances of the peasants during his career. He, along with W.S. Caine set up the Indian Parliamentary Committee in 1893 to agitate for Indian political reforms in the House of Commons. When he felt that he did not get adequate support in the reforms, he started helping the Indian National Congress and support the local self-government.