Founding of the Indian National Congress

Also called: Congress Party, INC

With British support, Indian intellectuals convened the Indian National Congress in Bombay. Moderate at first, it later became the centre of the Indian national movement.

After the 1857 rebellion Britain sought to defuse Indian discontent by drawing in the Western-educated middle class. Through the efforts of A. O. Hume, a retired British official, 72 delegates from across India met in Bombay on 28 December 1885 for the first Indian National Congress.

The early Congress accepted British rule and petitioned for Indians to be admitted to official posts and legislative councils. But after the partition of Bengal in 1905 radicals such as Tilak gained ground, and in 1906 the Congress adopted four resolutions — boycott of British goods, swadeshi, swaraj and national education — becoming the centre of the anti-British national movement. Later it was led by Gandhi.