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The first session of the Indian National Congress (INC) was attended by:
72 DELEGATES.
The session was held at:
GOKULDAS TEJPAL SANSKRIT COLLEGE BOMBAY
on:
28 DECEMBER 1885.
The delegates came from different regions of British India and represented an important transition from regional political activity to organised all-India politics.
Thus:
REGIONAL POLITICAL LEADERS ↓ 72 DELEGATES ↓ COMMON NATIONAL PLATFORM ↓ FIRST SESSION OF INC ↓ ORGANISED INDIAN NATIONALISM.
TOTAL DELEGATES → 72.
Although the number was small, the historical importance of the delegates lay in their attempt to represent political opinion across different regions.
The significance was therefore not merely:
LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE
but:
REPRESENTATIVES FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF INDIA.
Thus:
72 DELEGATES + REGIONAL REPRESENTATION ↓ ALL-INDIA POLITICAL CHARACTER.
The delegates primarily belonged to the educated middle and professional classes.
They included many:
• Lawyers. • Journalists. • Teachers and educators. • Social reformers. • Professionals. • Public workers.
Lawyers formed an especially important component of the early Congress leadership.
Thus:
WESTERN EDUCATION ↓ EDUCATED MIDDLE CLASS ↓ PROFESSIONAL POLITICAL LEADERS ↓ EARLY INDIAN NATIONALISM.
The first Congress therefore largely reflected the character of the emerging educated middle class.
The delegates were not representative of all social classes in India.
The early Congress was dominated by educated elites and professional groups.
There was limited participation of:
• Peasants. • Industrial workers. • Poorer sections of society.
Thus:
EARLY CONGRESS ↓ EDUCATED MIDDLE CLASS + PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP ↓ LIMITED MASS PARTICIPATION.
IMPORTANT INTERPRETATION:
LIMITED SOCIAL BASE ≠ NO NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE.
Despite its limited social composition, the Congress created an institutional framework that later expanded into a mass national movement.
The delegates represented different parts of British India.
Important regions included:
• Bombay Presidency. • Madras Presidency. • Bengal. • North-Western Provinces and Awadh. • Punjab.
The Bombay Presidency had the largest representation, partly because the first session was held in Bombay.
Thus:
DIFFERENT REGIONS ↓ REPRESENTATIVES ↓ COMMON POLITICAL PLATFORM ↓ NATIONAL COOPERATION.
This inter-regional participation was one of the most important features of the first Congress.
Among the prominent personalities associated with the first session were:
• W.C. Bonnerjee. • Dadabhai Naoroji. • Pherozeshah Mehta. • Badruddin Tyabji. • Dinshaw Edulji Wacha. • K.T. Telang. • N.G. Chandavarkar. • G. Subramania Iyer. • P. Ananda Charlu. • Gopal Ganesh Agarkar. • Ganesh Vasudeo Joshi.
These personalities represented different regions and streams of early political activity.
IMPORTANT:
For UPSC, the most reliable fact is the TOTAL NUMBER OF DELEGATES and the broad character of their representation.
A complete list of all 72 names is generally not required unless specifically asked.
Many delegates had experience in regional political associations.
These associations had earlier developed:
• Political leadership. • Public discussion. • Constitutional methods. • Organisational experience.
Thus:
REGIONAL POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS ↓ EXPERIENCED POLITICAL LEADERS ↓ DELEGATES TO FIRST INC ↓ ALL-INDIA POLITICAL COOPERATION.
The first Congress therefore did not emerge suddenly.
Its delegates represented the political awakening that had already developed through earlier associations.
Bombay was an important centre of early political nationalism.
Prominent leaders associated with Bombay included:
• Dadabhai Naoroji. • Pherozeshah Mehta. • Badruddin Tyabji. • Dinshaw Wacha. • K.T. Telang. • N.G. Chandavarkar.
Bombay's strong political leadership helped make it an important centre of early Congress politics.
Thus:
BOMBAY POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS + EDUCATED LEADERSHIP ↓ STRONG PARTICIPATION ↓ FIRST CONGRESS SESSION.
The participation of delegates associated with Madras demonstrated that the Congress was not merely a Bombay-based political organisation.
Prominent South Indian leaders associated with the early Congress included:
• G. Subramania Iyer. • P. Ananda Charlu. • S. Subramania Iyer.
Their participation contributed to:
REGIONAL POLITICAL ACTIVITY ↓ INTER-REGIONAL COOPERATION ↓ NATIONAL POLITICAL PLATFORM.
Bengal had already developed an important tradition of political activity.
W.C. Bonnerjee, the first President of the INC, was from Bengal.
Other prominent Bengali political leaders and political organisations played an important role in the development of all-India political consciousness.
Thus:
BENGAL POLITICAL AWAKENING + BOMBAY POLITICAL ACTIVITY + MADRAS POLITICAL ORGANISATION ↓ ALL-INDIA NATIONAL MOVEMENT.
The first Congress represented cooperation among these emerging regional centres.
The coming together of delegates from different regions had an important psychological and political effect.
Before the Congress:
LARGELY REGIONAL.
After the establishment of the Congress:
REGIONAL LEADERS ↓ REGULAR INTERACTION ↓ COMMON POLITICAL DEMANDS ↓ NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS.
The delegates therefore helped establish the idea that political problems in different regions could be discussed through a common national organisation.
The delegates represented the politically active sections of society rather than the entire Indian population.
Their role was to:
• Discuss political issues. • Formulate common demands. • Develop public opinion. • Communicate regional grievances. • Coordinate constitutional political action.
Thus:
REGIONAL PROBLEMS ↓ DELEGATES ↓ NATIONAL DISCUSSION ↓ COMMON DEMANDS ↓ POLITICAL REPRESENTATION.
The representation of the first session had limitations.
These included:
• Small number of delegates. • Dominance of educated elites. • Limited representation of peasants. • Limited participation of industrial workers. • Limited direct mass involvement.
Therefore:
FIRST INC SESSION = NATIONAL IN POLITICAL ASPIRATION
BUT
LIMITED IN SOCIAL REPRESENTATION.
This distinction is important for UPSC Mains.
The importance of the first 72 delegates lies in their historical role.
They represented the beginning of:
SCATTERED REGIONAL POLITICAL ACTIVITY ↓ COORDINATION ↓ ALL-INDIA POLITICAL ORGANISATION ↓ NATIONAL MOVEMENT.
The delegates helped create:
• Personal connections among leaders. • Political cooperation. • National political consciousness. • Common demands. • Organisational continuity.
72 DELEGATES
│
├────► LAWYERS
│
├────► JOURNALISTS
│
├────► EDUCATORS
│
├────► SOCIAL REFORMERS
│
├────► PROFESSIONALS
│
└────► POLITICAL WORKERS
↓
EDUCATED MIDDLE CLASS
↓
EARLY CONGRESS LEADERSHIP
↓
ORGANISED INDIAN NATIONALISM.
BOMBAY ┐ MADRAS │ │ BENGAL ├────► 72 DELEGATES │ ↓ NORTH │ COMMON PLATFORM INDIA │ ↓ │ NATIONAL UNITY PUNJAB │ ↓ ┘ ALL-INDIA POLITICS.
The first Congress delegates largely reflected the political approach of early Moderate nationalism.
Their methods emphasised:
• Constitutional reform. • Political discussion. • Petitions. • Resolutions. • Public opinion. • Representation.
Thus:
POLITICAL GRIEVANCES ↓ DISCUSSION ↓ RESOLUTION ↓ REPRESENTATION ↓ REFORM.
The composition of the delegates therefore influenced the constitutional and Moderate character of the early Congress.
MOST IMPORTANT FACT:
FIRST INC SESSION, 1885 → 72 DELEGATES.
OTHER ASSOCIATED FACTS:
VENUE → Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College.
CITY → Bombay.
PRESIDENT → W.C. Bonnerjee.
GENERAL SECRETARY → A.O. Hume.
DELEGATE CHARACTER:
MAINLY → Lawyers. → Journalists. → Educated professionals. → Social reformers.
IMPORTANT REGIONS:
• Bombay Presidency. • Madras Presidency. • Bengal. • North-Western Provinces and Awadh. • Punjab.
TRAP 1:
FIRST INC SESSION → Attended by hundreds of delegates.
INCORRECT.
Correct figure:
72 DELEGATES.
TRAP 2:
THE FIRST CONGRESS WAS A MASS MOVEMENT FROM THE BEGINNING.
INCORRECT.
The first session was dominated largely by educated middle-class and professional groups.
TRAP 3:
THE DELEGATES REPRESENTED ONLY BOMBAY.
INCORRECT.
Delegates came from different regions of British India.
TRAP 4:
ALL MAJOR NATIONALIST LEADERS OF THE PERIOD WERE PRESENT AT THE FIRST SESSION.
INCORRECT.
Not every prominent nationalist leader attended. For example, Surendranath Banerjee and Anand Mohan Bose were engaged with the Indian National Conference in Calcutta at the same time.
"The 72 delegates of the first Congress session symbolised the transition from fragmented regional political activity to organised all-India political cooperation. Although socially limited, the gathering created a framework through which educated political elites could gradually develop a wider national consciousness."
The 72 delegates of the first Congress session represented the emerging educated political leadership of different regions and played a foundational role in transforming regional political associations into an organised all-India nationalist movement.