Congress Sessions

Year Place President/ Other Why is it important?

Leaders
1905 Banaras Gopal Krishna Gokhale Moderate-Extremist tensions come to the fore over the
question of expanding the Swadeshi movement
outside Bengal, and over the boycott of councils,
administrative machinery etc. Eventually, split avoided
by passing a mild resolution supporting the anti-
partition movement in Bengal, and opposing the
reactionary policies of Curzon
1906 Calcutta Dadabhai Naoroji Congress declared that goal of the INC was to achieve
self-government, ‘Swaraj’. This was especially
important in light of the ongoing INC internal dispute
between moderates and extremists regarding whether
or not the INC was to go beyond mere boycott of
foreign good sand become a full-fledged mass struggle
1907 Surat The Surat Split- happened due to moderate-extremist
dispute; had disastrous consequences for the Swadeshi
movement
1915 Since his release in 1914, Tilak had been actively
trying to bring about a Moderate-Extremist reunion in
the Congress. Annie Besant and him were also arguing
to start home rule movements, but Congress didn’t
agree. Besant laid the condition that if Congress didn’t
start these, she would be free to start her own league
Moderate-Extremist reunion after many efforts by
Tilak; Congress revived as an effective instrument of
President: Ambika Indian nationalism. The reunion was made possible
Charan Majumdar also by the death of Gokhale and Pherozshah Mehta,
1916 Lucknow
(Moderate); who had led the Moderate opposition to the Extremists
Tilak/ Besant Muslim League and the Congress came together, and
presented a set of common demands to the
government
1918 Bombay Hasan Imam Congress declared reforms proposed by Montford
unsatisfactory, and called for effective self-
government; GoI Act passed anyway in 1919
1920 Calcutta Special session; Congress approved a non-cooperation
(Sep.) programme till the Punjab and Khilafat wrongs were
set right, and Swaraj was granted. The Non-
Cooperation programme included boycott of
government in every sphere possible- schools,
colleges, law courts, legislative assemblies, foreign
cloth etc.
1920 Nagpur Congress declares that it’s goal is self-rule by peaceful
(Dec.) means (instead of the previously stated goal of
attainment of self-government through constitutional
means), thus committing itself to extra-constitutional
mass struggle
1922 Bardoli After the Chauri-Chaura incident, the CWC (NOT the
INC) decided to stop the NCM
1922 Gaya INC defeats the Swarajist proposal; as a consequence,
CR Das and Motilal Nehru resign from leadership
positions in the INC (but remained within the INC) and
formed the Congress-Khilafat Swarajya Party
1923 Delhi As a compromise, Swarajists were allowed to contest
elections as a group within the Congress. They
accepted the INC programme in total, but with one
difference, that they were to enter the councils.
1927 Madras Congress decides to boycott Simon Commission ‘at
every step and in every form’
1928 Calcutta Congress approved the Nehru Report with the proviso
(Dec) that if the demand for dominion status was not met
within a year, the Congress would not only change its
 demand to that of complete independence, but also
launch a Civil Disobedience Movement
1929 Lahore Jawaharlal Nehru Purna Swaraj declared as the goal of Congress; Round-
(Dec) Table Conference that was proposed by Irwin to
discuss Simon Commission recommendations was to
be boycotted (as the English had refused the Delhi
Manifesto, one of whose demands was that the British
immediately accept dominion status as a given, before
the RTC); All Congress members were to resign from
their seats in any of the legislatures, and Civil
Disobedience Movement was to be launched by non-
payment of taxes (Gandhi had been touring since the
1928 Congress meet to prepare the masses for the
coming struggle)
1931 Karachi Gandhi-Irwin Pact (Delhi Pact) endorsed; 2 major
(Mar) resolutions adopted, one on Fundamental Rights and
the other on National Economic Programme
1937 Wardha Wardha scheme of education
1940 Ramgarh “Congress would resort to civil disobedience as soon
as the Congress organization is considered fit enough
or as soon as the circumstances demand”
1942 Wardha CWC agreed to Gandhi’s proposal of launching a non-
(July) violent mass struggle; this was to be the Quit India
Movement (backdrop was failure of Cripps Mission,
which was the blueprint of India’s partition)
1942 Gowalia QIM resolution ratified, Gandhi outlines (but doesn’t
(Aug) Tank, actually issue) instructions to different sections. One of
Bombay these is ‘Do or Die’
1945 Bombay A strong resolution declaring Congress support for the
(Sep) INA cause was passed