Indian National Congress

The Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 in Bombay, then part of British India. Its first session opened on 28 December at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College, with 72 delegates, and was chaired by Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee. Among its early participants were lawyers, journalists, social reformers and public figures. In its early years, the organization pursued political and constitutional reforms, including greater Indian participation in administration. It used meetings, petitions and public campaigns to present demands to the colonial government.

Over time, the Congress became a wider national political organization, with members who held differing strategies and views. The 1905 partition of Bengal helped spur the Swadeshi movement, which promoted Indian-made goods and boycotts of British imports. In the 1920s and 1930s, under the influence of leaders including Mohandas K. Gandhi, the party supported mass noncooperation and civil disobedience. The Salt March of 1930 became one of the best-known campaigns in this period. Congress activity and leadership were not monolithic: political divisions and disagreements over methods were part of its history.

At its Lahore session in December 1929, the Congress adopted Purna Swaraj, or complete independence, as its goal, moving beyond the earlier demand for dominion status. The public declaration was made on 26 January 1930, a date the party urged people to observe as Independence Day. In 1942 the organization supported the Quit India campaign, demanding an end to British rule. India became independent in August 1947, amid the partition of the subcontinent into India and Pakistan. The Congress was an important organization in the independence movement, alongside many other groups, leaders and popular efforts.

After independence, the Congress became a dominant political party in the early decades of the Republic and formed several national governments. Its leaders included Jawaharlal Nehru, who served as India's first prime minister. The party's history since independence has included electoral victories and defeats, internal divisions, leadership changes and periods in opposition. Its post-independence organization and role in politics should be distinguished from its earlier position as an anti-colonial movement: it has continued as a political party in India's competitive electoral system.

The organization is commonly called the Congress Party or simply Congress; Britannica also lists names such as the All-India Congress Party and Congress (I) in its historical account. The party's importance derives both from its role in the freedom movement and from its long participation in government and opposition after 1947. Its history reflects the changing character of Indian politics—from constitutional demands under colonial rule to mass anti-colonial campaigns and, after independence, party competition within a sovereign republic. Historical descriptions should account for the diversity of people and organizations involved in India's independence struggle.