List of Indian National Congress Sessions & Their Presidents - Pre-Independence [UPSC Modern History Notes] (2024)

The Indian National Congress (INC) was established in 1885 and it grew to become one of the most important political parties in pre-independence India. The first Indian National Congress session was held in 1885. Knowing the dates of Indian National Congress sessions and their presidents is important for IAS Exam.

List of Indian National Congress Sessions
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Starting as an organisation comprising only of the educated elite in India, it later became a party of commoners with prominent leaders like Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadar Tilak, Gandhi, Nehru, Bose, etc. as its members.

List of Indian National Congress Sessions & Their Presidents - Pre-Independence [UPSC Modern History Notes] (1)

Indian National Congress is a topic that comes under History subject for prelims and Mains GS-1 and History Optional of UPSC exam. This article will provide you with the list of Indian National Congress Presidents.

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Indian National Congress Sessions

Indian National Congress founders: Allan Octavian Hume, Dadabhai Naoroji and Dinshaw Edulji Wacha. Indian National Congress was founded on 28 December 1885. The topic is important for UPSC Mains too.

The list of Indian National Congress sessions with their Presidents are given in the table below, with reference to the civil services exam:

YearLocationPresidentImportance
1885BombayW C Bonnerjee1st session attended by 72 delegates
1886CalcuttaDadabhai NaorojiNational Congress and National Conference
1887MadrasSyed Badruddin TyabjiAppeal made to Muslims to join hands with other national leaders
1888AllahabadGeorge YuleFirst English president
1889BombaySir William Wedderburn
1890CalcuttaFeroz Shah Mehta
1891NagpurP. Ananda Charlu
1892AllahabadW C Bonnerjee
1893LahoreDadabhai Naoroji
1894MadrasAlfred Webb
1895PoonaSurendranath Banerjee
1896CalcuttaRahimtullah M. SayaniNational song ‘Vande Mataram’ sung for the first time
1897AmravatiC. Sankaran Nair
1898MadrasAnanda Mohan Bose
1899LucknowRomesh Chandra Dutt
1900LahoreN G Chandavarkar
1901CalcuttaDinshaw E. Wacha
1902AhmedabadSurendranath Banerjee
1903MadrasLal Mohan Ghosh
1904BombaySir Henry Cotton
1905BenaresGopal Krishna GokhaleExpressed resentment against the partition of Bengal
1906CalcuttaDadabhai NaorojiThe word ‘Swaraj’ was mentioned for the first time
1907SuratRash Behari GhoshParty splits into extremists and moderates
1908MadrasRash Behari GhoshPrevious session continued
1909LahoreMadan Mohan MalaviyaIndian Councils Act, 1909
1910AllahabadSir William Wedderburn
1911CalcuttaBishan Narayan Dhar‘Jana Gana Mana’ sung for the first time
1912Bankipore (Patna)Raghunath Narasinha Mudholkar
1913KarachiSyed Mohammed
1914MadrasBhupendra Nath Basu
1915BombaySatyendra Prasanna Sinha
1916LucknowAmbica Charan MazumdarLucknow Pact – joint session with the Muslim League
1917CalcuttaAnnie Besant (1847 – 1933)First woman president of the INC
1918Bombay And DelhiSyed Hasan Imam (Bombay) And Madan Mohan Malaviya (Delhi)Two sessions were held. First in Bombay in August/September Second in Delhi in December
1919AmritsarMotilal NehruJallianwala Bagh massacre strongly condemned
1920NagpurC Vijayaraghavachariar
1921AhmedabadHakim Ajmal Khan (acting President For C R Das)
1922GayaC R Das
1923KakinadaMaulana Mohammad Ali,
1924BelgaumM K Gandhi
1925KanpurSarojini Naidu (1879 – 1949)First Indian woman president
1926GuwahatiS Srinivasa Iyengar
1927MadrasM A Ansari
1928CalcuttaMotilal NehruAll India Youth Congress formed
1929LahoreJawaharlal NehruResolution for ‘Poorna Swaraj.’ Civil Disobedience movement for complete independence to be launched, 26 January to be observed as ‘Independence Day’.
1930No Session
1931KarachiVallabhbhai PatelResolution on fundamental rights and national economic progress. Gandhi-Irwin pact endorsed. Gandhi nominated to represent INC in the second round table conference
1932DelhiAmrit Ranchhorddas Seth
1933CalcuttaMalaviya Was Elected But Mrs Nellie Sengupta Presided
1934BombayRajendra Prasad
1937LucknowJawaharlal Nehru
1936FaizpurJawaharlal NehruFirst rural session/first session to be held in a village
1938HaripuraSubhas Chandra BoseNational planning committee set up under Nehru
1939TripuriSubhas Chandra BoseBose was elected but had to resign since Gandhi supported Pattabhi Sitaramayya. Instead, Rajendra Prasad was appointed
1940RamgarhAbul Kalam Azad
1941-45No session because of arrest
1946MeerutAcharya KripalaniLast session before independence
1948JaipurPattabhi SitaramayyaFirst session after independence
1950NashikPurushottam Das TandonResigned in 1951; Nehru became President
1951DelhiJawaharlal Nehru
1953HyderabadJawaharlal Nehru
1954KalyaniJawaharlal Nehru
1955Avadi(madras)U. N. Dhebar
1956AmritsarU. N. Dhebar
1958GauhatiU. N. Dhebar
1959NagpurIndira Gandhi
1960BangaloreNeelam Sanjeeva Reddy
1961BhavnagarNeelam Sanjeeva Reddy
1962BhubaneshwarDamodaran Sanjvayya
1963PatnaDamodaran Sanjvayya
1964BhubaneshwarK. Kamaraj
1965DurgapurK. Kamaraj

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Aspirants can refer to the below-mentioned articles similar to the topic ‘Indian National Congress Sessions & Their Presidents’:

Constituent Assembly of IndiaNon-Cooperation Movement
Quit India MovementMountbatten PlanGovernment of India Act, 1919

UPSC Questions related to Indian National Congress Sessions

Q1

Q.1>What is the main objective of the Indian National Congress?

Answer: The main objectives of the Indian National Congress were:

  • To promote the nation-building process in India in order to create a national identity of being an Indian among the people and to promote National Unity.
  • To provide for an all India political platform which will allow political workers from all over the country to educate and mobilize masses under a common all India political organization.
  • To promote political consciousness and political awakening among the educated citizens and then to all the sections of the society.
  • To promote other things in the country like-political liberal democracy, democratic culture, anti-colonial ideology among the people.

Q2

Q.2>The first general secretary of Indian National Congress was?

Answer: Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee from Calcutta was elected as the President of the first session while A.O Hume acted as the General Secretary.

Q3

Q.3> Under whose presidency was the first session of the Indian National Congress held?

Answer: Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee was the first President of the INC.

Q4

Q.4> The Lahore Session of Indian National Congress in 1909 was presided by?

Answer: The Lahore Session of 1909 was presided over by Madan Mohan Malaviya.

Q5

Q.5> At the time of the first session of the Congress, who was the Viceroy of British India?

Answer: At the time of the first session of the INC, Lord Dufferin was the Viceroy. Get the list of all governors-general and viceroys in the linked article.

Q6

Q.6> The Indian National Congress split into two part-Moderates and Extremists during which session?

Answer: The split between the moderates and the extremists happened in the Surat session in 1907. (To revise the topic- Extremists & Moderates)

IAS aspirants may refer to the articles related to UPSC History subject and IAS exam in the table below:

Relevant Articles:
Chronology of Ancient to Modern History of IndiaHistory Syllabus for UPSC Prelims
NCERT Books PDF Download for UPSC ExamHistory Syllabus for UPSC General Studies
Modern History Notes For UPSCStrategy for History Optional for UPSC
Time Table for UPSC PreparationTop 5 Magazines for UPSC

List of Indian National Congress Sessions & Their Presidents - Pre-Independence [UPSC Modern History Notes] (2024)
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