Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

FREEDOM MOVEMENT

must leave the adjustment of social reforms, and other class questions, to class Con- gresses..... " During the session in Calcutta, the idea gained ground that the Congress was the handiwork of the Bengalis; Maleson, a noted historian of the mutiny, wrote that it (INC) was "started by the noisy Bengalis". Simi- larly Syed Ahmed on the eve of the 3rd session said (to Muslims), "If you accept that the country should groan under the yoke of Bengali rule and its people lick the Bengali shoes, then, in the name of God jump into the train, sit down, and be off to Madras, be off to Madras." Even the Viceroy, Lord Dufferin, in his letter, dated 4th January 1887, to the Sec- retary of State, Lord Cross, referred to the Congress as a 'Bengalee Constitution.' (* Ref. Sec. Z-9, 10. Wisdom of India) President: Badruddin Tyabji. The need of a regular constitution of the Congress was expressed in this session. One of the resolutions at the session regarding the poverty of the people said : "That having regard to the poverty of the people, it is desir- able that the Government be moved to elabo- rate a system of Technical Education, suitable to the condition of the country, to encourage indigenous manufactures by a more strict ob- servance of the orders already existing in regard to utilizing such manufactures for State purposes, and to employ more extensively than at present the skill and talents of the people of the country." The session decided to set up at the beginning of each session a small “representatitve committee” to chalk out pro- grammes and draft resolutions. The III session : 1887 - Madras IV session - 1888 - Allahabad President: George Yule 1248 delegates including 222 Muslims attended the Congress; this was achieved in spite of the fact that the organisers could not procure a proper venue on account of British government restrictions.

(a) The promotion of personal intimacy and friendship amongst the workers.... (b) The eradication of race, creed and provin- cial prejudices.... The Congress passed 9 resolutions: most of them were in the form of demands to the government; 1) Appointment of a royal commission to inquire into the working of Indian administration.

Gandhi said:

Congress claimed to represent over 85% of the population of India, Congress alone claims to represent the whole of India, all interests. It is no communal organisation; it is a determined enemy of communalism in any shape or form. Congress knows no distinction of race, colour or creed; its platform is universal... The Congress is the only All-India-wide National Organization....; that it does represent all the minorities....".

2) Abolition of the Indian Council. 3) Creation of legislative councils (in north-west, Avadh and Punjab). 4) Admission of elected members in the legislative councils. 5) Reduction of military expenditure.

The Sessions of the INC

The II session : 1886 - Calcutta President : Dadabhai Naoroji.* He praised the blessings of the British rule in India; A resolution about the poverty of the people was also passed, which reads as below, "That this Congress regards with deepest sympathy....the increasing poverty of vast number of population of India....desires to record its fixed conviction that the introduction of representative in- stitutions will prove one of the most practi- cal steps towards the amelioration of the condition of the people." Speaking on social reforms and the Con- gress Naoroji said, "How can this gathering of all classes discuss social reforms? What do any of us know of the internal home life, of the traditions, customs, feelings, prejudices of any class but his own?... A National Congress must confine itself to questions in which the entire nation has a direct participation, and it In this connection attention may be drawn to the following observation of a for- eign writer: "The Congress owes more to Surendranath Banerji than what tradition has hitherto given him. Had not Banerji joined the Congress in 1886 the Congress would probably have been a different insti- tution today. The Congress became truly national, not in 1885, the year of its found- ing but in 1886, the year in which Suren- dranath Banerji (and Bengal with him) joined it." (W.Wedderbum) 6) Simultaneous holding of civil service examinations (both in India and Eng- land) and raising of the age. The main result of the first session was that it quickened the pace of political awareness of the people. But the success of it was due to the presence of Suren- dranath Banerji.

The Inaugural session 1885;25th Dec. - Bombay

President: W. C. Bannerjee

The stated objectives of the Congress were: "To enable all the most earnest labourers in the cause of national progress to become personally known to each other; and to discuss and decide upon the political opera- tions to be undertaken during the ensuing year.” A note was expressed that "indirectly this conference will form the germ of a native parliament and, if properly conducted, will constitute... unanswerable reply to the asser- tion that India is still wholly unfit for any form of representative institutions". "All the lead- ing native political associations and the princi- pal Anglo-native newspapers were repre- sented".

V session -Dec. 1889 - Bombay President: Sir William Wedderbum

W.C. Banneijee

The session was memorable due to the presence of Charles Bradlaugh, a British MP. He said, "For whom should I work if not for the people ? Born of the people, trusted by the people, I will die for the Indian people." It was this pro-Indian attitude of his that earned

W.C. Bannerjee: a leading barrister, pre- sided over the session and said, "All that we desire is that the basis of the government should be widened and that the people should have their proper and legitimate share in it. ” He elaborated the objects of the Congress thus: