Foundation of the Indian National Congress (1885)

The Indian National Congress was founded on 28 December 1885 at Bombay by A.O. Hume and Indian leaders, with W.C. Bonnerjee as the first president.

Founding

• Allan Octavian Hume, a retired British civil servant, wrote a letter to graduates of the Calcutta University (1883), and formed the Indian National Union (1884). He worked with Dadabhai Naoroji, Dinshaw Wacha, W.C. Bonnerjee, Surendranath Banerjea, Pherozeshah Mehta and others.
• The first session was meant for Poona, but a plague outbreak led to a move to Bombay. It was held from 28 to 31 December 1885 at the Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College, Bombay.
• 72 delegates attended. W.C. Bonnerjee presided. Hume was the General Secretary (to 1906).

The "Safety Valve" theory

Some historians (and Lala Lajpat Rai, writing in 1916) argued that Hume founded Congress with Lord Dufferin's approval, to give Indians a safe outlet for anger before another 1857. Others say that the Indian leaders used Hume's name for political cover and wanted a real national organisation. Bipan Chandra calls this the "lightning conductor" idea, in which the Indian leaders used Hume to protect the new body from official anger.

Aims (early)

• To promote friendly relations among nationalist workers of different regions.
• To develop and consolidate a feeling of national unity, irrespective of caste, religion or province.
• To record the opinion of educated Indians on social and political questions.
• To train and organise public opinion.

First sessions