History & Civics
The establishment of the Indian National Congress was a significant event in the development of national movement in India. In this context:
(a) What was the name of the Indian National Congress before it got this name? Who gave it its present name? Where was it established and who was its founder?
(b) Why did Lord Dufferin favour the formation of the Indian National Congress?
(c) What was the nature of the political associations formed before the Indian National Congress was established? Name any two associations which acted as the forerunners of the Indian National Congress.
Answer
(a) At the time of its foundation, Indian National Congress was called Indian National Union. On the suggestion of Dadabhai Naoroji the name of the Union was changed to the Indian National Congress.
In 1884, A.O. Hume, in consultation with the Indian leaders, laid the foundation of Indian National Congress at Mumbai on December 28, 1885.
(b) The Viceroy, Lord Dufferin, favoured the formation of the Indian National Congress because he wanted it to act as a 'safety-valve' for popular discontent, thereby, safeguarding the British interest in India.
(c) By the second half of the 19th century, there emerged a consciousness among the Indians that the British were exercising control over the resources of India and the lives of its people and until this control was ended, India could not be a sovereign nation. This consciousness led to the formation of a number of political associations led by English-educated professionals.
- Though many of these associations were formed in specific parts of the country, they had common goals for all the people of India.
- They did not work for any one religion, community or class.
- The first political association to be started in India was the 'Landholders' Society in Kolkata in 1838.
- Many public associations were started in different parts of India like Bengal British India Society, British Indian Association, East India Association, the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha, London Indian Society and Indian Association. These associations served as a base for the formation of the Congress — an all India political organisation.
Related Questions
Read the excerpt given below and answer the question that follows:
"From the mid-18th century, it was a European corporation, the East India Company - run from the City of London by merchants and accountants, with their ledgers and careful accounting - that ran amok and seized and subjugated a fragmented and divided India in what was probably the supreme act of corporate violence in history."
—William Dalrymple(a) What term is used to describe the East India Company's act of running India's trade and finance from the city of London? How did it work?
(b) What was its impact on the artisans and craftsmen?
(c) The author has described the East India Company's act as 'Corporate violence'. What term was used by Dadabhai Naoroji for such an act? Describe how it worked.
With reference to Nationalism and the birth of the Indian National Congress, explain each of the following:
(a) Vernacular Press Act, 1878.
(b) State any three objectives of the Indian National Congress.
(c) Role of Dadabhai Naoroji.
(a) Identify the person in the given picture. Name the organisation formed by him. State any two beliefs of this organisation with regard to upliftment of women.
(b) Mention his contribution to the growth of Indian National movement.
(c) How did the socio-religious reform movements of the 19th century act as pioneers of Indian Nationalism?
Imagine you are a potter making water pitchers. List the difficulties that you are facing in the second half of the 19th century.