Indian National Congress

The Indian National Congress was founded in December 1885, but the idea of an anti-British Indian nationalist organisation dates back to the 1850s. The Congress Party approved relatively modest reform resolutions over its first several decades, though many inside the organisation were becoming radicalised by the rising poverty that accompanied British imperialism. In the early twentieth century, some party members began to support a swadeshi strategy, which called on Indians to reject imported British goods in favour of Indian-made items. By 1917 ,Home Rule wing, founded the year before through Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Annie Besant, had begun to wield substantial power by appealing to India’s many social groups.

Pre-Independence Era

Formation of the Indian National Congress

Allan Octavian Hume was the founder of the Indian National Congress. He was a retired Civil Service officer and took the initiative to conduct INC’s first session in Bombay from 28 to 31 December 1885. 

With the permission granted by Viceroy Lord Dufferin, the first meeting in Bombay was organised by Hume. Umesh Chandra Banerjee was the first president of Congress.

Major Events of Indian National Congress Pre-Independence

Congress gained popularity and broke political barriers after its major participation in the Swadeshi movement led by senior Congress leaders Surendranath Banerjee and Sir Henry Cotton during the declaration of the Partition of Bengal by Lord Curzon. 

Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa in 1915. He earned quite a name for himself over his efforts in South Africa. Mahatma Gandhi was involved in three struggles– known as Champaran Satyagraha, Ahmedabad Mill Strike, and Kheda Satyagraha by 1918. 

The Congress Party, led by Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi, began preaching peaceful non-cooperation in the 1920s and 1930s. The protests over the perceived ineffectiveness of the constitutional reforms adopted in early 1919 (Rowlatt Acts) and Britain’s implementation of them and considerable resentment among Indians in response to the killing of civilians in Amritsar (Punjab) that April, prompted a shift in strategy.

At the Congress 1929 Lahore session under the presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru, as the party’s goal, declaring 26 January 1930 as Purna Swaraj Diwas (Independence Day).

When Jawaharlal Nehru was the president of India, Purna Swaraj (complete independence) was declared at the Congress Lahore Session in 1929.

Subhas Chandra Bose served as president of the Congress from 1938–to 39 but later resigned from his post over selecting the working committee.

Post-Independence 

• The Indian National Congress became the dominant political party in the country post-independence in 1947. It held power nationally from 1952 until 1977.
• After Jawahar Lal Nehru died in 1964, Lal Bahadur Shastri was appointed prime minister in June 1964. Shastri was criticised for his approach to dealing with India’s economic problems. But he won great popularity for his war with Pakistan (1965) over the disputed Kashmir region. After signing a “no-war” agreement, he died of a heart attack. Ayub Khan of Pakistan. 
• After Shastri’s demise, INC was succeeded as prime minister by Indira Gandhi, Nehru’s daughter. She dealt with continuous challenges during her leadership from the party’s right-wing, led by former minister of finance Morarji Desai. She had to accept Desai as deputy prime minister as the Congress Party managed to win a low majority of seats in the Lok Sabha. Later in 1977, Indira was defeated by the Janata coalition, and Desai took over the reins of government as the Prime Minister.
• Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984. After her death, Rajiv Gandhi became the Prime Minister. He gained a Victory in Congress by securing 401 seats in the Legislature.
•  Future prime ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh continued the economic reform policies begun by Rao’s government hastened the eradication of the Licence Raj, reversing the socialist policies. Manmohan Singh was appointed as Rao’s finance minister to begin a historic economic change. 
• Manmohan Singh made new reform policies of globalisation that included the implementation of the International Monetary Fund(IMF). 
• By 1996, Congress was reduced to 140 seats, as it was blamed for allegations of corruption. The lowest number of seats Congress even secured in the Lok Sabha. These allegations led to a lot of humiliation for Congress as it was one of the oldest parties in the world. As a result, Rao resigned as prime minister and later as party president. Congress has lost nearly 20 per cent of the vote share in general elections held between 1996 and 2009.

Conclusion 

Congress gained popularity and broke political barriers during Indian National movements.From the moderate phase of congress to Gandhian Era ,it witnessed a lot of setbacks and transitions till Indian Independence.It played a huge role in giving an identity to Indian people as well as politically educating people against the British colonial imperialist power.