Foundation of the Indian National Congress MCQ Quiz - Objective Question with Answer for Foundation of the Indian National Congress - Download Free PDF

The correct answer is Lord Dufferin.

Key Points

• Dufferin became Viceroy of India after Lord Ripon in 1884 AD.
• The Bengal revenue law of 1885 was made, under which the farmers were guaranteed the security of the land during the tenure of Lord Dufferin.
• The first session of the Indian National Congress in Bombay in 1885.
• It is the most important event in Lord Dufferin's tenure.

Additional Information

• Lord Curzon served as Viceroy of India from 1899 to 1905.
• On the resignation of Lord Curzon, Lord Minto was appointed Viceroy and Governor-General of India from 1905 to 1910.

The correct answer is Only a.

Key Points

• The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded in December 1885 by Allan Octavian Hume, a retired British civil servant.
• The INC aimed to provide a platform for Indians to express their political, economic, and social grievances under British rule.
• The first session of the INC was held in December 1885 at Bombay (not Pune), presided over by Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee.
• The INC played a pivotal role in India’s struggle for independence, evolving from moderate demands to advocating for complete self-rule.
• The INC's establishment marked the beginning of organized political activity in India, laying the foundation for future mass movements.

Additional Information

• Allan Octavian Hume: Known as the "Father of the Indian National Congress," Hume envisioned the INC as a safety valve for discontent among Indians.
• Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee: A prominent lawyer and the first president of the INC, Bonnerjee emphasized the importance of gradual reforms and cooperation with the British government.
• Initial Objectives of INC: The INC initially focused on moderate demands such as reforms in British administration, reduction in military expenditure, and increased representation of Indians in government services.
• Moderates vs. Extremists: By the early 20th century, the INC saw ideological divisions between Moderates, who advocated constitutional reforms, and Extremists, who sought more assertive measures, including self-rule.
• Role in Freedom Struggle: Post-1915, under leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, the INC transitioned into a mass movement advocating nonviolent resistance and played a crucial role in India’s independence in 1947.

The correct answer is Bombay.

Key Points

• The first session of the Indian National Congress was held in Bombay from December 28 to December 31, 1885.
• The meeting was attended by 72 delegates.
• The session was presided over by Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee, who was the first president of the Indian National Congress.
• The venue for the first session was Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College in Bombay.
• The Indian National Congress was founded by Allan Octavian Hume, a retired British civil servant.

Additional Information

• Indian National Congress (INC)
  • The INC was formed to create a platform for civil and political dialogue among educated Indians.
  • It played a pivotal role in the Indian independence movement against British rule.
  • After independence, the INC became the dominant political party in India.
  • The party initially aimed to promote moderate reforms and later shifted towards advocating for complete independence.
• Allan Octavian Hume
  • He was a British administrator and one of the founders of the Indian National Congress.
  • Hume believed that the INC would act as a 'safety valve' for the discontent among Indians, thus preventing a violent uprising.
  • He continued to be actively involved in the INC until his death in 1912.
• Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee
  • He was the first president of the Indian National Congress.
  • Bonnerjee was a prominent lawyer and a political leader.
  • He served as president of the INC twice, first in 1885 and again in 1892.
• Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College
  • It was the venue for the first session of the Indian National Congress.
  • The college is located in Bombay (now Mumbai).
  • The choice of venue symbolized the blend of tradition and modernity that the INC aimed to achieve.

The correct answer is Mahatma Gandhi.

Key Points

• Mahatma Gandhi attended the Second Round Table Conference held in London in 1931 as the sole official representative of the Indian National Congress.
• The Second Round Table Conference was convened from September 7, 1931, to December 1, 1931.
• Gandhi's participation was part of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, signed earlier in March 1931, which temporarily halted the Civil Disobedience Movement.
• The main agenda of the conference was to discuss constitutional reforms in India, but it failed to achieve significant agreements due to conflicting interests among participants.
• The conference saw representation from British officials, princely state rulers, and communal groups, but the lack of consensus frustrated Gandhi's efforts to secure a unified demand for Indian self-rule.

Additional Information

• Round Table Conferences:
  • A series of three conferences held between 1930 and 1932 in London to discuss constitutional reforms in India.
  • The conferences were initiated by the British government under the Viceroyship of Lord Irwin.
  • The first conference (1930) was boycotted by the Indian National Congress, while the second (1931) saw Gandhi's participation.
• Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931):
  • An agreement between Mahatma Gandhi and Lord Irwin, the then Viceroy of India, signed on March 5, 1931.
  • It resulted in the suspension of the Civil Disobedience Movement and agreed on the release of political prisoners.
  • In return, Gandhi agreed to attend the Second Round Table Conference as the representative of the Congress.
• Outcome of the Second Round Table Conference:
  • The conference ended without any substantial agreement due to fundamental differences among Indian representatives.
  • Communal representation and separate electorates were major points of contention, particularly advocated by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar for Dalits.
  • The lack of British commitment to self-rule for India deeply disheartened Gandhi.
• Civil Disobedience Movement:
  • Launched by the Indian National Congress in 1930 under Gandhi's leadership to protest against British rule.
  • The movement included nonviolent resistance, refusal to pay taxes, and boycotts of British goods.
  • It was temporarily suspended following the Gandhi-Irwin Pact but resumed after the Second Round Table Conference's failure.

The correct answer is 1896.

Key Points

• 'Vande Mataram' song was sung for the first time at the Indian National Congress session at Calcutta in 1896.
• The president of the Calcutta session was Rahmatullah M. Sayani.
• Vande Mataram song:
  • The song was Sung by Rabindranath Tagore.
  • The song was written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in 1874.
  • The song was published in the Bengali novel Anandamath in 1882.​​

Important Points

• Indian National Congress(INC):
  • Indian National Congress was founded on 28 December 1885.
  • Father of INC: Allan Octavian Hume
  • First President: W.C Bonnerjee

Additional Information

The correct answer is Indian Association.

Key Points

• Indian Association was merged with the Indian National Congress in 1886.
  • It was during the second session of the Indian National Congress held in 1886 in Calcutta.
  • Dadabhai Naoroji served as the President of the Indian National Congress in 1886.
• Indian Association was a nationalist political group in India that favoured local self-government in India.
  • The Indian Association was established in 1876.
  • It was the first avowed nationalist organization founded in British India.
  • Indian Association was founded by Surendranath Banerjee and Ananda Mohan Bose.
  • It was mainly supported by younger professional men among the Bengali intelligentsia.
  • Indian Association objected to the Vernacular Press Act, which stifled the Indian press.

Additional Information 

• The East India Association was a London-based organization founded by Dadabhai Naoroji in 1866.
• The Bombay Presidency Association was founded by Badruddin Tyabji and others in 1885.
• The Young Bengal Movement was started by Henry Vivian Derozio in Calcutta.

Important Points

Congress was the natural and inevitable product of various forces of the 19th century.

• The credit for the birth of the Congress is often given to AO Hume, who with the help of the Viceroy Lord Dufferin successfully organised the prominent political leaders and founded the Indian National Congress.

Formation of Indian National Congress:

• Indian National Congress was finally formed on 28th December 1885.
• The first session of the Indian National Congress was held on 28th December 1885 at Tejpal Sanskrit Pathshala, Bombay under the Presidentship of WC Banerjee.
• In 1886, the number of delegates to Congress became 436.
• Moderate leaders dominated Congress in its early phase. 

Thus, we can conclude that in 1885 the Indian National Congress was formed.

The correct answer is Badruddin Tyabji.

• Badruddin Tyabji was the first Muslim President of INC and third president of INC in 1887.
• Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee (WC Banerjee) is the first president of INC in 1885.
• Dadabhai Naroji was the second president of INC in 1886. He was also a member of Indian National Association founded by Surendranath Banerjee from Calcutta.
• In 1888, George Yule was first foreigner to be the president of Congress. 
• He served as Sheriff of Calcutta and as President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce.

Key Points

• Tyabji was the first Indian to practice as a barrister of the High Court of Bombay.
• He formed the Bombay Presidency Association in 1885 along with Pherozeshah Mehta and Kashinath Trimbak Telang.

Additional Information

• Annie Besant was the first woman president of INC.
• Sarojini Naidu was the first Indian woman Indian president of INC. 

The correct answer is 3.

• Dadabhai Naoroji:
  • He was known as the Grand Oldman of India.
  • He was one of the founding members of the Indian National Congress (INC).
  • He became the President of INC three times i.e in the 1886 Calcutta session, 1893 Lahore session, and 1906 Calcutta session.
  • He was the first Indian Member of Parliament elected to the UK House of Commons.
  • He established the London Indian Society in the year 1865 and the East India Association in the year 1866. 

The correct answer is 2 and 3.

Important Points

• The leading figures during the first phase of the National Movement (1885-1905) were moderates.

Leading moderates were:

• A.O. Hume, W.C. Banerjee, Surendra Nath Banerjee, Phirozshah Mehta, Gopalakrishna Gokhale, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Badruddin Tyabji, Justice Ranade, G.Subramanya Aiyar.
• The closing decade of the nineteenth century and early years of the twentieth century witnessed the emergence of a new and younger group within the Indian National Congress, which was sharply critical of the ideology and the methods of the old leadership.

These extremists were:

• Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal and Aurobindo Ghose.

The correct answer is Allan Octavian Hume.

• The Indian National Congress (INC) was formed by the Allan Octavian Hume in 1885.
• INC was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Empire in Asia and Africa and it grew to become one of the most important political parties in pre-independence India. 
• The first session of INC was held in Bombay from 28–31 December 1885 under the chairmanship of W.C. Bonnerjee.
• The session of the Indian National Congress is held at the gap of one year.
• INC started as an organization comprising only of the educated elite in India, but it later became a party of commoners with prominent leaders like Lajpat Rai, Tilak, Gandhi, Nehru, Bose, etc. as its members.
• From the late 19th century, and especially after 1920, Congress became the principal leader of the Indian independence movement under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi,
• Congress lead India to independence from Great Britain and powerfully influenced other anti-colonial nationalist movements in the British Empire.
• The list of some of the sessions of the Indian National Congress before the Indian Independence.

  Year	Location	President and significance
  1885	Bombay	Womesh Chandra Bannerjee [1st session attended by 72 delegates]
  1886	Calcutta	Dadabhai Naoroji National [Congress and National Conference]
  1887	Madras	Badruddin Tyyabji [fist Muslim President]
  1889	Bombay	Sir William Wedderburn

   

The correct answer is Mrs. Anne Besant.Key Points

• The first woman President of the Indian National Congress was Annie Besant in 1917.
• First Indian National Congress President was "Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee" in 1885.
• In 1916 Besant launched the All India Home Rule League along with Lokmanya Tilak, once again modeling demands for India on Irish nationalist practices.

Confusion Points

• Sarojini Naidu was elected as the President of the Indian National Congress Party in 1925, the first-ever Indian woman to assume that position.
• She was appointed the governor of Uttar Pradesh after India achieved independence in 1947.

Important Points

• Some important INC Presidents are following:-
  • Gopal Krishan Gokhale in 1905
  • Dadabhai Naoroji in 1906
  • Madan Mohan Malviya in 1909
  • Motilal Nehru in 1919
  • Lala Lajpat Rai in 1920
  • Hakim Ajmal Khan (Acting President for C.R. Das) in 1921
  • Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das in 1922.
  • Mahatma Gandhi in 1924
  • Vallabhbhai Patel in 1931
  • Subhash Chandra Bose in 1938
  • JB Kriplani in 1947

Additional Information

• Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi was the first and, to date, only female Prime Minister of India.
  • Indira Gandhi was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India.

The correct answer is George Yule.

Key Points

• The Indian National Congress (INC) was formed by the Allan Octavian Hume in 1885.
• INC was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Empire in Asia and Africa and it grew to become one of the most important political parties in pre-independence India. 
• The first session of INC was held in Bombay from 28–31 December 1885 under the chairmanship of W.C. Bonnerjee.
• The session of the Indian National Congress is held at gaps of one year.
• INC started as an organization comprising only of the educated elite in India, but it later became a party of commoners with prominent leaders like Lajpat Rai, Tilak, Gandhi, Nehru, Bose, etc. as its members.
• From the late 19th century, and especially after 1920, Congress became the principal leader of the Indian independence movement under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi,
• Congress lead India to independence from Great Britain and powerfully influenced other anti-colonial nationalist movements in the British Empire.

The list of some of the sessions of the Indian National Congress before the Indian Independence.

The correct answer is 72.Key Points

• 72 members participated in the first session of congress in 1885.
  • Indian National Congress was formed in 1885 by A.O Hume a member of the Imperial Civil Service.
  • The first meeting of the Indian National Congress was held on December 28th, 1885.
  • The first session was held at a hall of Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College in Bombay.
  • Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee was the first president of the Indian National Congress.
  • He was an Indian barrister.
  • In the first session out of 72, 39 were lawyers and this trend continued i.e. more than one-third of delegates were from a legal background.

Additional Information

• Sessions of Indian National Congress:

The correct answer is Allan Octavian Hume.

• Allan Octavian Hume took the initiative to convene the first meeting of the Indian National Union.

Key Points

• In 1884, A.O.Hume founded the Indian National Union.
• Indian National Congress (I.N.C.):
  • The Indian National Union was formed in 1884 A.D by A.O. Hume.
    • He called for a conference in Pune in December 1885 A.D.
  • The conference venue was shifted to Bombay.
  • The leaders decided to rename the Indian National Union as the Indian National Congress.
  • The first session of the Indian National Congress was held at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College in Bombay under the presidentship of W.C. Bannerji.
  • It was attended by 72 delegates from all over India.
  • Lord Dufferin was the Viceroy of India during the foundation of INC.
  • The first two decades of INC are described in history as those of moderate demands and a sense of confidence in British justice and generosity.
  • Indian Council Act in 1892 AD allowed some members to be indirectly elected by Indians.

Additional Information

• John Morley was a secretary of state for India during 1906–1910.
• Edwin Montagu was appointed the Secretary of State for India in 1917.