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against the government. Its aims and demands
Union. It was to hold its first
meeting in Poona in December were very limited. Even when it protested, such as
1885, but due to the outbreak against the Vernacular Press Act and the Arms Act,
the leaders followed the constitutional procedure.
of cholera, its first session was
held in Bombay, and it was Therefore, the Indian National Congress got no
here that the Indian National success in its effort. Due to a very moderate
A.O. Hume stance, this period is also called the moderate
Congress took its birth.
phase . As the leaders of this time believed in
The first president of the Indian petitions, they are called petitioners.
National Congress was
Womesh Chandra Banerjee.
Many British officers in India
believed that such an
organisation would divert the
Indians from taking recourse to W.C. Banerjee
violent means. In the words of A.O. Hume, “A
safety valve for the escape of great and growing
forces generated by our own action was urgently
needed.” It was how that a political organisation
had been formed which could present the Indian
demands and grievances before the government First Congress Session at Bombay in 1885
and thus help in their improvement. However, the However, the moderate phase cannot be called a
Indian National Congress made a humble failure altogether. The moderate leaders drew
beginning as its demands included to discuss and attention of the Indians towards economic
take decisions concerning social problems of the exploitation by the British. They encouraged
country and to request the government to people to use the India-made goods. This was the
associate Indians in the working of administration. reason that the government grew apprehensive of
Thus, the early aims of the Congress were limited its activities and tried to limit its influence.
to creating national consciousness and seeking Another achievement of the Indian National
wider chances of employment in the services. Congress was that more and more people were
Let us realise that the history of Indian national attracted to it. Its annual sessions were held at
movement for freedom is the story of Indian different places and were attended by prominent
National Congress, though many other people. So, its membership swelled. It also
organisations participated in it. We can divide the propagated the idea of national unity despite
national movement from 1885 to 1947 into five differences in regions, religions, cultures etc. This
phases for the convenience of our study : infused a sense of unity among the people.
The moderate phase of the Indian National
FIRST PHASE : 1885-1905 Congress was presided over by eminent Indians,
This period is regarded as the period of liberal such as W.C. Banerjee, Pherozeshah Mehta,
national movement. The leaders of this phase had Surendranath Banerjee, Rahmatullah Sayani,
complete faith in the British sense of justice and Ananda Charlu, Sankaran Nair, R.C. Dutta and
fair play. They believed that the British would try Gopal Krishna Gokhale.
to solve all their problems. So, the Indian National
Congress pursued constitutional methods. It
deliberated the problems in its annual sessions,
passed resolutions on them and petitioned the
government for implementation. It never protested
Sankaran Nair R.C. Dutta Gopal Krishna Gokhale
Nationalist Movement (1885-1919)
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