Early Political Associations and the Road to the Indian National Congress
Early Political Associations and the Road to the Indian National Congress

Overview

Previous Year UPSC-CSE Questions By the end you will be able to draft model answers for the following UPSC questions. Each question carries a collapsible framework showing how to approach it in the exam.

  1. UPSC Prelims 2017 GS Paper IConsider the following pairs (person and the body they are associated with):
    1. Radhakanta Deb was the first President of the British Indian Association.
    2. Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty was the founder of the Madras Mahajana Sabha.
    3. Surendranath Banerjee was a founder of the Indian Association.

    Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?

    1. a 1 only
    2. b 1 and 3 only
    3. c 2 and 3 only
    4. d 1, 2 and 3
    How to approach this Prelims question

    Question type: Multi-statement (matched pairs)

    Approach: Match each person to the body he actually led or founded.

    Trap to watch: The Madras Mahajana Sabha was founded by Veeraraghavachariar and others, NOT by Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty (who founded the Madras Native Association). So 1 and 3 only.

    Key facts to recall:

    • Radhakanta Deb: first president, British Indian Association
    • Surendranath Banerjee: founder, Indian Association (1876)
    • Madras Mahajana Sabha (1884): Veeraraghavachariar and others, not Chetty

    Answer signal: Pairs 1 and 3 only, so option (b).

  2. UPSC Prelims 2013 GS Paper IThe Ilbert Bill controversy was related to the
    1. a imposition of certain restrictions to carry arms by the Indians
    2. b imposition of restrictions on newspapers and magazines published in Indian languages
    3. c removal of disqualifications imposed on the Indian magistrates with regard to the trial of the Europeans
    4. d removal of a duty on imported cotton cloth
    How to approach this Prelims question

    Question type: Single correct

    Approach: Recall what the Ilbert Bill actually proposed.

    Trap to watch: The Arms Act (option a) and the Vernacular Press Act (option b) were Lytton's measures of 1878; the Ilbert Bill (1883) was about Indian magistrates trying Europeans.

    Key facts to recall:

    • Ilbert Bill 1883: Indian magistrates to try Europeans
    • European white mutiny against it
    • Ripon's viceroyalty; the bill was diluted

    Answer signal: Trial of Europeans by Indian magistrates, so option (c).

  3. UPSC Prelims 2008 GS Paper IWhere was the First Session of the Indian National Congress held in December 1885?
    1. a Ahmadabad
    2. b Bombay
    3. c Calcutta
    4. d Delhi
    How to approach this Prelims question

    Question type: Single correct

    Approach: Recall the place of the first Congress session.

    Trap to watch: The first session (1885) was at Bombay; the second (1886) was at Calcutta under Dadabhai Naoroji. The question asks about the first.

    Key facts to recall:

    • First INC session: Bombay, December 1885
    • W. C. Bonnerjee, first president
    • A. O. Hume's role in convening it

    Answer signal: Bombay, so option (b).

By the 1880s the new educated class, the press and the economic critique of colonialism had bred a national consciousness, and Indians began to organise. The early political associations, from the Landholders' Society to the Indian Association of Surendranath Banerjee, gave opinion a voice; the drain theory of Dadabhai Naoroji gave it an argument; and the repression of Lytton and the Ilbert Bill controversy of 1883 taught the lesson of organisation. These streams converged in the founding of the Indian National Congress at Bombay in 1885, the beginning of the organised national movement.

Introduction: The Political Awakening

The Birth of a National Consciousness

Why this matters: by the 1880s a new political consciousness had been born in India. The graduates of the new colleges, the readers of the new press and the men who had absorbed the economic critique of colonial rule began to see themselves as a nation with rights and a voice.

What is the significance of this theme: this awakening did not appear from nowhere. It grew from a generation of associations, argument and agitation that taught Indians to organise. The forces behind it are set out below.

Why a National Movement AroseThe forces that created a new political consciousnessEnglish educationA class that readMill, Burke and Mazzini,and the idea of libertyThe pressNewspapers in Englishand the vernacularscarried opinion wideThe economic critiqueNaoroji and the drainof wealth; the cost ofcolonial rule laid bareAdministrative unityRailways, the telegraphand one law knit Indiainto a single arenaRacism and repressionThe Vernacular Press Act,the Arms Act and theIlbert Bill controversyA self-conscious nationA people that began tothink and act as one,across the regionsEducation, the press, the economic critique and racial insult together bred a national feeling.
Figure 1. Why a national movement arose.

The Early Political Associations

From the Landholders' Society to the Indian Association

What is the significance of the early associations: they were the first schools of organised politics in India. The Landholders' Society of 1838 in Bengal was the earliest; the British Indian Association of 1851, with Radhakanta Deb as its first president, petitioned Parliament; and the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha of 1870, with Ranade, formed a bridge between people and government.

Distinguishing the wider growth: the most important was the Indian Association of 1876, founded at Calcutta by Surendranath Banerjee and Ananda Mohan Bose, the first body with a truly national aim. It was joined by the Madras Mahajana Sabha of 1884, whose founders included Veeraraghavachariar, Subramania Iyer and Anandacharlu, and the Bombay Presidency Association of 1885. The associations are set out below.

The Early Political AssociationsThe bodies that carried Indian political opinion before the CongressLandholders’ Society, 1838Bengal; the firstpolitical association,of the landlordsBritish Indian Assoc., 1851Calcutta; RadhakantaDeb its first president;petitions to ParliamentPoona Sarvajanik Sabha1870; Ranade and others;a bridge between peopleand governmentThe Indian Association, 1876Calcutta; SurendranathBanerjee and AnandaMohan BoseMadras Mahajana Sabha1884; Veeraraghavachariar,Subramania Iyer andAnandacharluBombay Presidency Assoc.1885; Pherozeshah Mehta,Telang and BadruddinTyabjiThese bodies, at first local and elite, taught Indians the practice of organised politics.
Figure 2. The early political associations.

The Economic Critique of Colonialism

Naoroji, the Drain Theory and the East India Association

What is the significance of the economic critique: it gave the awakening its most powerful argument. Dadabhai Naoroji, in his work Poverty and Un-British Rule in India, set out the drain of wealth from India to Britain, and founded the East India Association in London in 1866 to put India's case before the British public.

Distinguishing the early economists: Naoroji, R. C. Dutt and the other early economic nationalists, whose work was discussed in the part on the drain of wealth, showed that colonial rule impoverished India. Their critique became the rallying argument of the early Congress, the demand to stop the drain.

Lytton's Repression and Ripon's Liberalism

The Two Faces of the Raj

What is the significance of these two viceroys: between them they sharpened Indian feeling. Lord Lytton, viceroy from 1876, held the grand Delhi Durbar of 1877 in the midst of famine, passed the Vernacular Press Act and the Arms Act of 1878, and reduced the age for the civil service examination, a string of measures Indians felt as insult and repression.

Distinguishing Ripon's liberalism: Lord Ripon, viceroy from 1880, took the opposite course. He repealed the Vernacular Press Act in 1882, passed the first Factory Act of 1881, and through the Local Self-Government Resolution of 1882 earned the name of the father of local self-government in India. His liberalism raised Indian hopes, which the Ilbert Bill would then test.

The Ilbert Bill Controversy of 1883: The Hinge to Organised Nationalism

The White Mutiny and the Lesson of Organisation

What is the significance of the Ilbert Bill: it was the hinge to organised nationalism. The bill of 1883 proposed to remove the bar that prevented Indian magistrates and judges from trying Europeans in the country districts, a simple measure of equality before the law.

Distinguishing the white mutiny: the European community erupted in a furious agitation, the so-called white mutiny, and forced the government to dilute the bill. The lesson was not lost on Indians: they saw that a small, organised community could bend the government, and that only an organised, all-India agitation could win their own demands. The controversy is set out below.

The Ilbert Bill Controversy of 1883The proposal and the European backlash that taught the lesson of organisationWhat the bill proposedTo remove the bar onIndian magistrates andjudges trying Europeansin the country districtsA measure of equalityThe white mutinyA furious Europeanagitation against itThe bill was diluted,but Indians learned thepower of organisationThe controversy showed Indians that only organised, all-India agitation could move the government.
Figure 3. The Ilbert Bill controversy of 1883.

The Founding of the Indian National Congress, 1885

From Many Associations to One National Body

What is the significance of the founding of the Congress: it brought the scattered associations together into one all-India body. With the help of Allan Octavian Hume, a retired civil servant, the first session of the Indian National Congress met at Bombay in December 1885, with seventy-two delegates and W. C. Bonnerjee as its first president.

Distinguishing the safety-valve debate: it was once held that Hume meant the Congress as a safety valve to drain off discontent. Whatever his intent, the Congress at once became a genuine national platform that voiced Indian grievances and demands, and within a generation it would lead the freedom struggle. The founding is set out below.

The Founding of the Congress, 1885The first session of the Indian National CongressAllan Octavian HumeA retired civil servantwho brought the leaderstogetherBombay, December 1885The first session, withseventy-two delegatesfrom across IndiaW. C. BonnerjeeThe first president ofthe Indian NationalCongressThe safety valveSaid to channel discontent;but it became a genuinenational platformFrom many local associations grew one all-India body, the Indian National Congress.
Figure 4. The founding of the Congress, 1885.

Significance: The Stage Set for 1885

The Convergence of the Streams

What is the significance of the road to 1885: it was the convergence of many streams, the associations, the economic critique, the new education and press, and the lessons of repression, into a single national movement. Each had taught Indians a part of the art of politics; the Congress gathered them into one.

Distinguishing the character of the new movement: it was led at first by the educated middle class and worked by petition and persuasion, the method of the early or moderate phase. Its base was still narrow, but for the first time India had an all-India political organisation. The road to 1885 is set out below.

The Road to 1885From the first association to the founding of the Congress1838Landholders’ SocietyThe first political body1866East India Assoc.Naoroji in London1876Indian AssociationSurendranath Banerjee1878Vernacular Press ActLytton’s repression1883Ilbert BillThe lesson of organisation1885Indian National CongressThe all-India platformThe scattered associations and the lessons of repression converged on the Congress of 1885.
Figure 5. The road to 1885.

The Bridge to the National Movement

Contemporary linkages run from 1885 straight into the great age of the national movement. The Congress founded in this year would pass through the Moderate and Extremist phases, the Swadeshi movement and the era of Gandhi, a story carried forward in the series on the national movement from 1885.

The larger significance is that the founding of the Congress in 1885 was the culmination of the whole story of modern India before 1885, the point at which the social, economic and intellectual awakening became an organised demand for a share in government. The table and points below gather the threads, and the next part turns back to the great watershed of the Revolt of 1857.

Table 1. The road to the Indian National Congress.
Association Place Year Founder or leader
Landholders' Society Bengal 1838 The landlords of Bengal
British Indian Association Calcutta 1851 Radhakanta Deb
East India Association London 1866 Dadabhai Naoroji
The Indian Association Calcutta 1876 Surendranath Banerjee
Indian National Congress Bombay 1885 A. O. Hume; W. C. Bonnerjee
  • The early associations, from the Landholders’ Society (1838) to the Indian Association (1876, Surendranath Banerjee), taught organised politics.
  • The economic critique of Naoroji and the drain theory gave the movement its rallying argument.
  • Lytton’s repression (Vernacular Press Act, Arms Act 1878) and the Ilbert Bill controversy of 1883 taught the need to organise.
  • The Indian National Congress was founded at Bombay in December 1885, with A. O. Hume’s help and W. C. Bonnerjee as president.
  • The safety-valve theory of its origin is contested; the Congress at once became a genuine national platform.

Prelims MCQ practice

Each question below tests one specific concept on the topic. Click to reveal the answer and a full option-wise explanation.

Q1. The Indian Association, founded in 1876, was led by:

  1. Dadabhai Naoroji
  2. Surendranath Banerjee
  3. A. O. Hume
  4. Radhakanta Deb
Show answer and explanation

Answer: Surendranath Banerjee

Explanation.

Option (b) is correct. The Indian Association (1876) was founded by Surendranath Banerjee and Ananda Mohan Bose. Hence option (b).

Q2. The Ilbert Bill of 1883 sought to allow Indian magistrates to:

  1. carry arms freely
  2. publish in the vernacular press
  3. try European subjects in the country districts
  4. sit in the legislative councils
Show answer and explanation

Answer: try European subjects in the country districts

Explanation.

Option (c) is correct. The Ilbert Bill proposed that Indian magistrates be able to try Europeans. Hence option (c).

Q3. The Indian National Congress held its first session in 1885 at:

  1. Calcutta
  2. Bombay
  3. Madras
  4. Lahore
Show answer and explanation

Answer: Bombay

Explanation.

Option (b) is correct. The first session of the Congress was held at Bombay in December 1885. Hence option (b).

Q4. The drain theory and the work Poverty and Un-British Rule in India are associated with:

  1. Surendranath Banerjee
  2. Dadabhai Naoroji
  3. W. C. Bonnerjee
  4. M. G. Ranade
Show answer and explanation

Answer: Dadabhai Naoroji

Explanation.

Option (b) is correct. The drain theory and Poverty and Un-British Rule in India are associated with Dadabhai Naoroji. Hence option (b).

Q5. Consider the following statements about Lord Ripon:

  1. He repealed the Vernacular Press Act in 1882.
  2. He is known as the father of local self-government in India for the Resolution of 1882.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer and explanation

Answer: Both 1 and 2

Explanation.

Both statements are correct: Ripon repealed the Vernacular Press Act in 1882 and is called the father of local self-government for the Resolution of 1882. Hence option (c).

Q6. The first president of the Indian National Congress, at its session of 1885, was:

  1. A. O. Hume
  2. W. C. Bonnerjee
  3. Dadabhai Naoroji
  4. Surendranath Banerjee
Show answer and explanation

Answer: W. C. Bonnerjee

Explanation.

Option (b) is correct. W. C. Bonnerjee was the first president of the Indian National Congress (1885); A. O. Hume helped convene it. Hence option (b).

Sources and Further Reading

Editorial Disclaimer

This article is prepared for UPSC examination preparation. Verify key facts and interpretations against standard reference histories before relying on them.

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Part 16 of 18 · Modern India to 1885

Previous Part 15: Tribal and Peasant Uprisings before 1885 Next Part 17: The Revolt of 1857: The Great Watershed
All 18 parts in this cluster
  1. 1 Part 1: Decline of the Mughal Empire and Eighteenth-Century India
  2. 2 Part 2: The Rise of the Regional States in Eighteenth-Century India
  3. 3 Part 3: The Advent of the Europeans in India
  4. 4 Part 4: The Carnatic Wars and the British Conquest of Bengal
  5. 5 Part 5: British Expansion I: The Conquest of Mysore and the Marathas
  6. 6 Part 6: British Expansion II: Punjab, the Frontiers and Consolidation
  7. 7 Part 7: The Colonial Constitutional Framework, 1773 to 1861
  8. 8 Part 8: Governor-Generals I: From Warren Hastings to Lord Bentinck
  9. 9 Part 9: Lord Dalhousie and the Machinery of Modern Administration
  10. 10 Part 10: Land Revenue Systems and the Agrarian Economy
  11. 11 Part 11: Deindustrialisation, the Drain of Wealth and the Famines
  12. 12 Part 12: Socio-Religious Reform I: The Bengal Renaissance and Hindu Reform
  13. 13 Part 13: Socio-Religious Reform II: Muslim, Sikh, Anti-Caste Reform and the Woman Question
  14. 14 Part 14: Education and the Press under Colonial Rule
  15. 15 Part 15: Tribal and Peasant Uprisings before 1885
  16. 16 Part 16: Early Political Associations and the Road to the Indian National Congress (this article)
  17. 17 Part 17: The Revolt of 1857: The Great Watershed
  18. 18 Part 18: Colonialism Assessed: Analytical Themes, Ready-Reckoners and the Verdict