UPSC CORE GEOGRAPHY · NCERT · BIPAN CHANDRA CH 9-10: INC FOUNDATION + MODERATE PHASE
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Major pre-INC political bodies?
(i) BANGABHASA PRAKASIKA SABHA (Calcutta 1836); (ii) ZAMINDARI ASSOCIATION (1837 Bengal); (iii) BENGAL BRITISH INDIA SOCIETY (1843); (iv) BRITISH INDIAN ASSOCIATION (1851 Bengal — Devendranath Tagore + Radhakanta Deb); (v) MADRAS NATIVE ASSOCIATION (1852); (vi) BOMBAY ASSOCIATION (1852 — Jagannath Shankarsheth + Jamsetji Jeejeebhoy); (vii) EAST INDIA ASSOCIATION (1866 LONDON — Dadabhai Naoroji + W.C. Bonnerjee); (viii) INDIAN ASSOCIATION (1876 Calcutta — Surendranath Banerjea + Anandamohan Bose); (ix) MADRAS MAHAJAN SABHA (1884); (x) BOMBAY PRESIDENCY ASSOCIATION (1885 — Pherozeshah Mehta, K.T. Telang, Badruddin Tyabji).
Why did Indian middle class begin to organise politically?
(i) WESTERN EDUCATION created an INDIAN ENGLISH-EDUCATED middle class (lawyers, doctors, journalists, civil servants, teachers); (ii) Knowledge of European LIBERAL + Enlightenment ideas (rights, parliamentary government, constitution); (iii) RACIAL DISCRIMINATION by British (Indians barred from social clubs, treated as "natives", reserved Senior Civil Services for British); (iv) ECONOMIC critiques of colonial economy emerging (Naoroji etc.); (v) The 1857 BANS on local self-government drove some elites to organise; (vi) Lord LYTTON'S oppressive policies (Vernacular Press Act 1878, Arms Act 1878, Imperial Durbar 1877).
INDIAN ASSOCIATION (1876) — Calcutta?
Founded 26 July 1876 by SURENDRANATH BANERJEA + ANANDAMOHAN BOSE. Aims: (i) UNITE Indian opinion across Bengal + India; (ii) bring INDIAN concerns to British attention; (iii) seek REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT. Held the first ALL-INDIA NATIONAL CONFERENCE in Calcutta 1883 + 1885 (just before the INC formation). PRECURSOR to the INC; many Indian Association members became founding INC members.
Why was DECEMBER 1885 the right moment for an All-India party?
(i) Vernacular Press Act repealed 1882 (Ripon); (ii) RIPON'S liberal era (1880-84) created spaces for Indian political activity; (iii) Indian middle-class lawyers + journalists were now numerous + organised; (iv) RACIST Anglo-Indian opposition to ILBERT BILL (1883 — sought to allow Indian judges to try Europeans) RADICALISED Indian opinion; (v) A.O. HUME (retired British civil servant + theosophist + ornithologist) thought "SAFETY VALVE" for elite Indian discontent could prevent another 1857-style revolt.
PRE-INC associations — major examples?
(i) BANGABHASHA PRAKASIKA SABHA (1836, Calcutta — earliest); (ii) ZAMINDARI ASSOCIATION (1838, Calcutta); (iii) BRITISH INDIA ASSOCIATION (1851, Calcutta — Devendranath Tagore, Radhakanta Deb); (iv) BOMBAY ASSOCIATION (1852); (v) MADRAS NATIVE ASSOCIATION (1852); (vi) POONA SARVAJANIK SABHA (1870 — Mahadev Govind Ranade); (vii) INDIAN ASSOCIATION (1876, Calcutta — Surendranath Banerjee); (viii) BOMBAY PRESIDENCY ASSOCIATION (1885). These laid GROUNDWORK for INC 1885 — built PUBLIC SPHERE + leadership culture.
SURENDRANATH BANERJEE — features?
SURENDRANATH BANERJEE (1848-1925) — pre-INC nationalist leader. Founded INDIAN ASSOCIATION 1876 — first ALL-INDIA political body. CALCUTTA based. Edited "BENGALEE" newspaper. KEY actions: (i) Organised INDIAN NATIONAL CONFERENCE 1883 + 1885 — proto-INC; (ii) Joined INC 1886 (after its 1885 founding); (iii) PRESIDED at 2 INC sessions; (iv) Led ANTI-PARTITION OF BENGAL agitation 1905; (v) Critiqued some Extremist methods. Knighted 1921; later joined Liberal Party. Foundational figure of constitutional nationalism.
Who founded the INC + when?
INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS founded 28-31 DECEMBER 1885 at the GOKULDAS TEJPAL SANSKRIT COLLEGE in BOMBAY. 72 DELEGATES attended (most from Bombay + Madras + Bengal). FOUNDED by ALLAN OCTAVIAN HUME (retired British civil servant) along with Indian leaders W.C. BONNERJEE, DADABHAI NAOROJI, PHEROZESHAH MEHTA, BADRUDDIN TYABJI, K.T. TELANG, MADAN MOHAN MALAVIYA, GOKHALE (joined later 1889).
A.O. HUME — friend or "safety-valve" mastermind?
TWO INTERPRETATIONS: (i) FRIEND of India — Hume genuinely cared for Indian self-government; was a Theosophist + reformer; chose Bombay as venue; refused INC presidency himself. (ii) "SAFETY-VALVE" theory (proposed by Lala Lajpat Rai 1916) — Hume + Viceroy Dufferin INTENTIONALLY allowed INC formation to PREVENT revolutionary anti-British discontent from boiling over. R.P. DUTT extended this in "INDIA TODAY" (1940). Bipan Chandra: BOTH were partly true — Hume was sincere + the British did see INC as harmless drainage of elite discontent.
First INC President + key founders?
FIRST PRESIDENT: WOMESH CHANDER BONNERJEE (W.C. Bonnerjee) — Bengali barrister; Calcutta High Court advocate. Other key founders: A.O. HUME (general secretary; held the post 22 years), DADABHAI NAOROJI (Parsi mathematician + future thrice-President), PHEROZESHAH MEHTA (Bombay barrister), BADRUDDIN TYABJI (Bombay barrister + 3rd president of INC 1887 — first Muslim president), W.C. BANERJEE, DINSHAW WACHA, K.T. TELANG, GANGA RAM BANSAL, RAM CHANDRA PILLAI, P. RANGAIAH NAIDU.
INC's early demands?
(i) EXPANSION + POWERS of LEGISLATIVE COUNCILS (more Indian members + budget control); (ii) HOLD CIVIL SERVICES exam SIMULTANEOUSLY in INDIA + ENGLAND (only held in London — barred most Indians from access); (iii) REDUCE military spending (high taxation for British wars elsewhere); (iv) END the DRAIN of wealth; (v) ENCOURAGE Indian industries (protective tariffs); (vi) BETTER civil rights (separation of judiciary + executive; right to bear arms; freedom of press); (vii) EDUCATION expansion (esp. technical + scientific). Methods: PETITIONS, RESOLUTIONS, SPEECHES, NEWSPAPERS — peaceful constitutional protest.
INC FOUNDING 1885 — exact details?
INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS founded 28 December 1885 at GOKULDAS TEJPAL SANSKRIT COLLEGE, BOMBAY. 72 founding delegates. KEY FOUNDERS: A.O. HUME (retired British ICS officer, gave INC its early form), DADABHAI NAOROJI, DINSHAW WACHA, WOMESH CHANDRA BANERJEE (1st president), PHEROZESHAH MEHTA. EARLY INC was MODERATE — petitioning British for representation. Lord DUFFERIN initially TOLERATED INC seeing it as "safety valve."
Was INC really British-managed?
EARLY INC was significantly INFLUENCED by A.O. HUME (Brit officer + theosophist) + had British supporters. SOME accusations: (i) Hume designed INC as "safety valve" to drain off Indian discontent; (ii) Gandhi LATER described early INC as a "begging body"; (iii) Met annually for 3-day conferences only — limited mass impact. BUT — also TRUE that: (i) Indian leadership grew rapidly (Naoroji, Gokhale, Tilak); (ii) INC raised genuine anti-colonial demands; (iii) Mass-mobilisation came post-1905 + esp. post-Gandhi 1915. INC EVOLVED through phases.
This topic is part of the NCERT UPSC Core History syllabus, drawn from the chapter Bipan Chandra Ch 9-10: INC foundation + Moderate phase. Content is cross-referenced against the latest NCERT textbook editions + standard reference works.
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