The Indian National Congress was founded on December 28, 1885, at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College in Bombay. Ever since, today is marked at Congress Foundation Day. The official twitter handle of the Indian National Congress tweeted in honour of 136 years of the party.  

Who founded the Indian National Congress?

The founder of the Indian National Congress (INC) was actually not an Indian. Allan Octavian Hume, a retired British Indian Civil Services officer, founded the party with an aim to provide educated Indians with a platform for civil and political discussions. With 72 delegates present, the Indian National Congress was founded. Hume was the General Secretary and the president was Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee. Names like Dadabhai Naoroji, MG Ranade, Monomohun Ghose, Sundernath Banarjee and Dinshaw Wacha were also founders of the Indian National Congress. There were other two British members as well.

What was its significance back then?

Indian National Congress was the only body that represented the Indians. After 1885, the Indian National Congress passed a significant number of resolutions that fulfilled humble demands of the Indians like civil rights and policies.

Indian National Congress and its prominent leaders

The Indian National Congress was popular among people. Its leaders had a massive following. Mahatma Gandhi was a prominent name during the Indian freedom struggle. He was also the president of INC’s Belgaum session in 1924.

After earning political power and control over various provinces, Jawaharlal Nehru came up as the leader that the people wanted. He became the Prime Minister of India after independence, and continued for 17 years.

After Nehru, his daughter succeeded him. Indira Gandhi became the first female Prime Minister of India. She held the office for 15 years. After her assassination in 1984, her son Rajiv Gandhi continued the legacy. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1984 and he held the office till 1989. The party has given six Prime Ministers to the country: Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, P V Narsimha Rao and Manmohan Singh.

What is INC’s symbol?

Initially, the Election Symbol was an image of two bullocks with a plough. It changed to a cow with a sucking calf during 1971-1977 period. Then, the symbol changed to right hand facing front. It hasn’t been changed since.

What happened after Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination?

After Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, his widow, Sonia Gandhi took the office of Congress president. Following that, the INC made alliance with various regional parties and led to the formation of Congress-led UPA government. Dr. Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister.  

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Who are the current leaders of the Indian National Congress?

Currently, the party is led by Rahul Gandhi while Sonia Gandhi is the president. Since the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has come into power, influence of the Gandhi family has been reducing.

The Indian National Congress played an essential role in the Indian independence struggle. It is one of the oldest ruling parties of India.

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