INC Sessions - Venue and Presidents

Year

Place

President

Significance

1885

Bombay

Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee

- 72 social reformers, journalists, and lawyers convened at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College in Bombay for the INC's inaugural session.

1886

Calcutta

Dadabhai Naoroji

- Merger of INC and National Conference

-Decided to set up Provincial Congress Committees across the country.

1887

Madras

Badruddin Tyabj 

To promote unity and cooperation among the various regional groups, the appeal was made to the Muslims to join INC.

1888

Allahabad

George Yule

First English President of INC.

1889

Bombay

Sir William Wedderburn

INC's British Committee was founded in Britain.

1890

Calcutta

Pherozeshah Mehta

The first woman to graduate from Calcutta University, Kadambini Ganguly, spoke at the Congress in 1890.

1891

Nagpur

P. Ananda Charlu

—

1892

Allahabad

Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee

Congress criticized the Indian Councils Act of 1892

1893

Lahore

Dadabhai Naoroji

—

1894

Madras

Alfred Webb

—

1895

Pune

Surendranath Banerjee

There was a significant increase in the number of attendees for this session.

1896

Calcutta

Rahimatullah M. Sayani

“Vande Mataram”, the national song was sung for the first time; Passed a resolution blaming the British for the famine that had devastated many parts of India.

1897

Amraoti

C. Sankaran Nair

Congress slammed the British for the arrest of Bal Gangadhar Tilak.

1898

Madras

Ananda Mohan Bose

—

1899

Lucknow

Romesh Chunder Dutt

Congress demanded that the British government should stop the 'drain of wealth’ from India to England.

1900

Lahore

N.G. Chandavarkar

—

1901

Calcutta

Dinshaw Eduljee Wacha

- For the first time, Mahatma Gandhi appeared on the Congress platform. 

- Gandhi ji, a South Africa-based lawyer, then pleaded with Congress to back the fight against racial exploitation and injustice in the Country.

1902

Ahmedabad

Surendranath Banerjee

—

1903

Madras

Lal Mohan Ghosh

—

1904

Bombay

Sir Henry Cotton

Congress expressed strong disapproval of Lord Curzon's misuse of Indian revenues for his aggressive policy in Tibet and vehemently protested the Curzon administration's plan to partition Bengal.

1905

Banaras

Gopal Krishna Gokhale

- The divisions between the moderates and the extremists came to the fore; 

- Adopted Swadeshi resolution.

1906

Calcutta

Shri Dadabhai Naoroji

For the first time, Congress declared Swaraj as its aim.

1907 (Suspended)

Surat

Rash Behari Ghosh

Congress was split into two – the moderates and the extremists.

1908

Madras

Rash Behari Ghosh

—

1909

Lahore

Madan Mohan Malaviya

Congress opposed the Indian Councils Act of 1909's proposal to create separate electorates based on religion.

1910

Allahabad

Sir William Wedderburn

—

1911

Calcutta

Bishan Narayan Dar

It was the first time that "Jana Gana Mana," the national anthem of India, was performed.

1912

Bankipore

Raghunath Mudholkar

—

1913

Karachi

Nawab Syed Mohammed Bahadur

—

1914

Madras

Bhupendra Nath Bose

Congress demanded that Indians be allowed to have higher positions in the army.

1915

Bombay

Satyendra Prasanna Sinha

To allow the delegates from the extremist section to be admitted, the Congress's constitution was appropriately changed.

1916

Lucknow

Ambica Charan Mazumdar

Unification of the moderates and extremists.

1917

Calcutta

Annie Besant

Congress got its first woman President.

1918 

Delhi

Madan Mohan Malaviya

—

1918 (Special Session)

Bombay

Syed Hasan Imam

Congress expressed disappointment with the Montague-Chelmsford Reform. It called for the Indian people to have a Declaration of Rights.

1919

Amritsar

Motilal Nehru

Congress declared that it was in sympathy with the victims of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

1920 (Special Session)

Calcutta

Lala Lajpat Rai

INC approved the Non-Cooperation Movement (NCM).

1920

Nagpur

C. Vijayaraghavachariar

- Congress intensified the NCM.

-The importance of using non-violent means was emphasized.

1921

Ahmadabad

Hakim Ajmal Khan (Acting President for C.R. Das)

Gandhiji was declared the only executive authority of the Congress and given full AICC authority.

1922

Gaya

Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das

Intense debate on the issue of council entry led to CR Das and others breaking away from INC and forming the Swaraj party. 

1923 (Special Session)

Delhi

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

Decided to permit members to run for office in the next elections.

1924

Belgaum

M.K. Gandhi

The Only INC session presided over by Mahatma Gandhi.

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Mrs. Sarojini Naidu

Sarojini Naidu became the first Indian woman to preside over the Congress.

1926

Guwahati

S. Srinivasa Iyengar

—

1927

Madras

M.A. Ansari

Congress resolved to boycott the Simon Commission.

1928

Calcutta

Motilal Nehru

- The first All India Youth Congress was formed.

- Resolution to adopt the Motilal Nehru report's suggestion to grant Dominion Status to India within two years. 

1929

Lahore

Jawaharlal Nehru

Congress declared Purna Swaraj as its ultimate goal.

1931

Karachi

Vallabbhai J. Patel

- Congress passed a resolution on Fundamental Rights and the National Economic Program. 

-It also endorsed the Gandhi-Irwin Pact.

1933

Calcutta

Mrs. Nellie Sengupta

—

1934

Bombay

Dr. Rajendra Prasad

Wearing a Khadi was established as a rule for elected members.

1936

Lucknow

Jawaharlal Nehru

Urged Congressman to adopt Socialism.

1937

Faizpur (Bombay Presidency)

Jawaharlal Nehru

The first Congress Session in a rural area.

1938

Haripura

Subhash Chandra Bose

- Rejcted the federal structure given by GoI 1935.

- Under the chairmanship of Nehru the National Planning Committee formed. 

1939

Tripuri

Subhash Chandra Bose

Following Subhas Chandra Bose's resignation, Rajendra Prasad assumed the presidency.

1940

Ramgarh

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

The Congress objected to India being labelled as a belligerent nation to the war efforts.

1946

Meerut

J.B. Kripalani

Last INC session before Independence.