Indian National Congress Sessions: Quick Answer
The Indian National Congress (INC) held its first session in Bombay on 28 December 1885 under W.C. Bonnerjee, with 72 delegates; A.O. Hume is credited as its founder. The sessions asked most in SSC and Railway exams are Calcutta 1906 (Swaraj), Surat 1907 (split), Lucknow 1916 (Lucknow Pact), Nagpur 1920 (Non-Cooperation), Belgaum 1924 (Gandhi's only presidency), Lahore 1929 (Purna Swaraj), Karachi 1931 (Fundamental Rights) and Tripuri 1939 (Bose's resignation).
Key takeaway: Learn each session as year + place + president + one event. Firsts are favourite questions: first Muslim president Badruddin Tyabji (1887), first British president George Yule (1888), first woman president Annie Besant (1917), first Indian woman president Sarojini Naidu (1925), youngest president Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (1923 special session).
INC Sessions List 1885-1900 (Moderate Phase)
| Year | Place | President | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1885 | Bombay | W.C. Bonnerjee | First session; 72 delegates |
| 1886 | Calcutta | Dadabhai Naoroji | National Conference merged with the Congress |
| 1887 | Madras | Badruddin Tyabji | First Muslim president |
| 1888 | Allahabad | George Yule | First British (English) president |
| 1889 | Bombay | William Wedderburn | |
| 1890 | Calcutta | Pherozeshah Mehta | |
| 1893 | Lahore | Dadabhai Naoroji | Naoroji's second presidency |
| 1895 | Poona | Surendranath Banerjee | |
| 1896 | Calcutta | Rahimtulla M. Sayani | Vande Mataram sung for the first time at a Congress session |
| 1899 | Lucknow | Romesh Chunder Dutt |
INC Sessions List 1901-1919 (Extremist Phase and Home Rule)
| Year | Place | President | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1901 | Calcutta | Dinshaw E. Wacha | Gandhi attended a Congress session for the first time |
| 1905 | Benares | Gopal Krishna Gokhale | Supported the Swadeshi and Boycott movement against the Partition of Bengal |
| 1906 | Calcutta | Dadabhai Naoroji | "Swaraj" declared the goal; resolutions on Swadeshi, Boycott and National Education |
| 1907 | Surat | Rash Behari Ghosh | Surat Split between Moderates and Extremists |
| 1911 | Calcutta | Bishan Narayan Dar | Jana Gana Mana sung for the first time (27 December 1911) |
| 1916 | Lucknow | Ambica Charan Mazumdar | Lucknow Pact with the Muslim League; Moderates and Extremists reunited |
| 1917 | Calcutta | Annie Besant | First woman president |
| 1919 | Amritsar | Motilal Nehru | Held after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre |
INC Sessions List 1920-1947 (Gandhian Phase)
| Year | Place | President | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 (Sept, special) | Calcutta | Lala Lajpat Rai | Non-Cooperation resolution passed |
| 1920 (Dec) | Nagpur | C. Vijayaraghavachariar | Non-Cooperation ratified; Pradesh Congress Committees on a linguistic basis |
| 1921 | Ahmedabad | Hakim Ajmal Khan (acting for C.R. Das, who was in jail) | |
| 1922 | Gaya | C.R. Das | Split over council entry led to the Swaraj Party (1923) |
| 1923 | Kakinada | Mohammad Ali Jauhar | |
| 1923 (Sept, special) | Delhi | Maulana Abul Kalam Azad | Youngest president |
| 1924 | Belgaum | Mahatma Gandhi | Only session presided over by Gandhi |
| 1925 | Kanpur | Sarojini Naidu | First Indian woman president |
| 1926 | Guwahati | S. Srinivasa Iyengar | |
| 1927 | Madras | M.A. Ansari | Resolved to boycott the Simon Commission |
| 1928 | Calcutta | Motilal Nehru | Endorsed the Nehru Report (dominion status) |
| 1929 | Lahore | Jawaharlal Nehru | Purna Swaraj resolution; tricolour hoisted on 31 December 1929; 26 January 1930 observed as Independence Day |
| 1931 | Karachi | Vallabhbhai Patel | Resolutions on Fundamental Rights and the National Economic Programme; endorsed the Gandhi-Irwin Pact |
| 1933 | Calcutta | Nellie Sengupta | Third woman president |
| 1934 | Bombay | Rajendra Prasad | |
| 1936 (April) | Lucknow | Jawaharlal Nehru | |
| 1936 (Dec) | Faizpur | Jawaharlal Nehru | First session held in a village |
| 1938 | Haripura | Subhas Chandra Bose | Bose elected president |
| 1939 | Tripuri | Subhas Chandra Bose | Bose re-elected over Pattabhi Sitaramayya, then resigned; Rajendra Prasad took over; Bose formed the Forward Bloc |
| 1940 | Ramgarh | Maulana Abul Kalam Azad | Azad stayed president through the war years until 1946 |
| 1946 | Meerut | J.B. Kripalani | President at the time of Independence |
| 1948 | Jaipur | Pattabhi Sitaramayya | First session after Independence |
Several regular sessions were not held during the civil disobedience years (no session in 1930, and the 1932-1933 sessions met under government bans), which is why some lists show gaps.
Congress Sessions Firsts and Records (Most Asked)
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| First president | W.C. Bonnerjee (Bombay, 1885) |
| Founder | Allan Octavian Hume (A.O. Hume) |
| First Muslim president | Badruddin Tyabji (Madras, 1887) |
| First British president | George Yule (Allahabad, 1888) |
| First woman president | Annie Besant (Calcutta, 1917) |
| First Indian woman president | Sarojini Naidu (Kanpur, 1925) |
| Youngest president | Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (Delhi special session, 1923) |
| Gandhi's only presidency | Belgaum, 1924 |
| Purna Swaraj | Lahore, 1929, under Jawaharlal Nehru |
| First session in a village | Faizpur, 1936 |
| President at Independence | J.B. Kripalani |
Congress Session List Trick (Memory Aids)
- Women in order: A-S-N = Annie Besant (1917), Sarojini Naidu (1925), Nellie Sengupta (1933).
- Calcutta collects firsts: Vande Mataram (1896), Swaraj (1906), Jana Gana Mana (1911), first woman president (1917), Non-Cooperation (1920 special).
- "L" for liberty: Lucknow 1916 (pact), Lahore 1929 (Purna Swaraj).
- Surat = split (both start with S).
- Nehru's three sessions before Independence: Lahore 1929, Lucknow 1936, Faizpur 1936.
- Bose's two: Haripura 1938 and Tripuri 1939.
Indian National Congress Sessions MCQs (with Answers)
Q1. Who presided over the first session of the Indian National Congress? (a) Dadabhai Naoroji (b) A.O. Hume (c) W.C. Bonnerjee (d) Surendranath Banerjee Answer: (c). Bombay, 1885.
Q2. At which session was the Purna Swaraj resolution passed? (a) Calcutta 1928 (b) Lahore 1929 (c) Karachi 1931 (d) Lucknow 1916 Answer: (b).
Q3. Who was the first woman president of the INC? (a) Sarojini Naidu (b) Annie Besant (c) Nellie Sengupta (d) Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit Answer: (b). 1917, Calcutta. Sarojini Naidu was the first Indian woman president (1925).
Q4. The split between the Moderates and the Extremists took place at the session of: (a) Calcutta 1906 (b) Benares 1905 (c) Surat 1907 (d) Lucknow 1916 Answer: (c).
Q5. Mahatma Gandhi presided over the INC session held at: (a) Belgaum (b) Ahmedabad (c) Nagpur (d) Kanpur Answer: (a). 1924.
Q6. The resolution on Fundamental Rights and the National Economic Programme was adopted at: (a) Lahore (b) Karachi (c) Haripura (d) Faizpur Answer: (b). 1931, under Vallabhbhai Patel.
Q7. Who was the first Muslim president of the INC? (a) M.A. Ansari (b) Hakim Ajmal Khan (c) Badruddin Tyabji (d) Rahimtulla Sayani Answer: (c). 1887, Madras.
Q8. "Jana Gana Mana" was first sung at the INC session of: (a) 1896 (b) 1906 (c) 1911 (d) 1916 Answer: (c). Calcutta, 27 December 1911.
Q9. Who was the INC president at the time of Independence in 1947? (a) Jawaharlal Nehru (b) Abul Kalam Azad (c) J.B. Kripalani (d) Rajendra Prasad Answer: (c).
Q10. Which was the first INC session held in a village? (a) Haripura (b) Faizpur (c) Ramgarh (d) Tripuri Answer: (b). 1936.
Indian National Congress Sessions FAQs
When and where was the first session of the INC held?
On 28 December 1885 in Bombay (at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College), presided over by W.C. Bonnerjee, with 72 delegates.
Which INC session is called the Lucknow Pact session?
The 1916 Lucknow session under Ambica Charan Mazumdar, where the Congress and the Muslim League agreed on a joint scheme of reforms and the Moderates and Extremists came together again.
How many times did Dadabhai Naoroji preside over the INC?
Three times: 1886 (Calcutta), 1893 (Lahore) and 1906 (Calcutta).
Which session declared Swaraj as the goal of the Congress?
The 1906 Calcutta session under Dadabhai Naoroji.
Why did Subhas Chandra Bose resign from the Congress presidency?
After his re-election at Tripuri (1939) over Gandhi's candidate Pattabhi Sitaramayya, differences with Gandhi and the Working Committee led him to resign; Rajendra Prasad replaced him, and Bose formed the Forward Bloc.
Who was the youngest president of the Indian National Congress?
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, at the 1923 special session in Delhi.
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