Indian National Congress Part - 2

Indian National Congress Part - 2 

17. 30th Session

Place : Bombay 

Date : Dec. 27-29, 1915

President : Satyendra Prasanna Sinha

Details :  The biggest achievement of the 1915 Bombay Session was that the constitution of the Congress was suitably altered so as to admit the delegates from the extremist section.    Tilak responded by announcing the willingness of his supporters to re-enter the Congress. As a result the number of delegates rose to 2259 from 866 a year back.

18. 31st Session 

Place : Lucknow 

Date : Dec.26-30, 1916

President : Ambica Charan Mazumdar

Details : The 1916 Lucknow Session represented the unification of the moderates and extremists within the Congress but also the closing of ranks between the Congress and the All India Muslim League.

19. 32nd Session 

Place : Calcutta 

Date :Dec. 26-29, 1917

President : Annie Besant

Details : The Congress got its first woman President at the Calcutta Session in 1917: Annie Besant.

20. Special Session 

Place : Bombay 

Date : Aug. 29-01, 1918

President : Romesh Chunder Dutt

Details :   The Congress, at the Special Session in Bombay, termed the Montague-Chelmsford reforms as disappointing. It demanded a Declaration of Rights for the people of India and asserted that Indian legislatures should have the same measure of Fiscal Autonomy as the Self-governing Dominions of the Empire.

21.  34th Session : 

Place : Amritsar

Date : Dec. 26-30, 1919

President : Motilal Nehru

Details :  The Congress expressed its deep solidarity with the people killed in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in the city earlier that year.        

 Under the presidentship of Motilal Nehru, the Congress condemned the massacre in the strongest of terms.

22. 35th Session

Place : Nagpur 

Date : Dec. 26-30, 1920

President : C. Vijayaraghavachariar

Details :     In this session, the Congress sought to intensify the Non-Cooperation Movement  It urged merchants to boycott any foreign trade relations and urged government servants to help the national cause.

The importance of using non-violent means was reiterated.

The party also made certain important organisational changes.

The strength of the A I. C. C. increased to 350 and a Working Committee of 15 members was constituted.

23. 36th Session 

Place : Ahmedabad

Date : Dec. 27-28, 1921

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

Details :  Hakim Ajmal Khan was unanimously elected to preside over the Session in the absence of C.R. Das, who was in jail.     

Gandhiji was appointed as the sole executive authority of the Congress and invested with full powers of the AICC.

Chairs and benches for delegates were eliminated and Khadi tents made their appearance for first time.

24. 37th Session 

Place : Gaya 

Date : Dec. 26-31, 1922

President : Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das

Details :  In this session, Congress leaders debated on the merits and demerits of continuing its boycott of the government-created councils.

 While the ‘no-changers’ led by C Rajagopalachari and those loyal, suggested to Gandhiji advocated continuing the boycott, the Swarajists led by C.R. Das suggesting participating in the councils.

25. 40th Session 

Place : Kanpur

Date : Apr. 15-17, 1925

President : Sarojini Naidu

Details : Sarojini Naidu became the second woman to preside over the Congress after Annie Besant.

26. 42nd Session 

Place : Madras

Date : Dec. 26-28, 1927

President : M.A. Ansari

Details : At the 1927 Madras Session, the Congress resolved to boycott the Simon Commission “at each stage and in every form”.

 Further, in a separate resolution, the Creed of the Congress was defined: “the goal of the Indian people is complete National Independence”.

27. 44th Session 

Place : Lahore

Date : Apr. 16-18, 1929

President : Pt Jawaharlal Nehru

Details :    In this session, the Congress went a step declaring Purna Swaraj (complete independence) as its ultimate goal.

 Also, Civil Disobedience movement was launched and Gandhi- Irwin pact was endorsed.

28. 45th Session 

Place : Karachi

Date : Mar. 21-31, 1931

President : Vallabbhai J. Patel

Details : The Congress expressed its admiration of the bravery and sacrifice of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru who were executed on March 23, 1931, while also voicing its disapproval of political violence.      

  They declared the execution of the three young men to be an act of wanton vengeance.

 Also, the Congress adopted a resolution on Fundamental Rights and Economic Policy.

29. 46th Session 

Place : Delhi

Date : April 24, 1932

President : Amrit Ranchhorddas Seth

Details :  Despite Police vigilance, over 500 delegates attended the Congress session in Delhi in April 1932.

 Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, the President elect was arrested en-route.

 Four resolutions were passed reiterating complete Independence as the goal of the Congress, endorsing the revival of Civil Disobedience, expressing complete faith in Gandhiji’s leadership and reaffirming deep faith in non-violence.

30. 48th Session 

Place : Bombay

Date : Oct. 24-28, 1934

President : Dr. Rajendra Prasad

Details : A number of changes in the Congress constitution were affected at the Bombay Session in 1934.·        

 Wearing of Khadi was made a necessary criterion for elective membership. A cap of 2000 was put for the number of Congress delegates.  A. I. C. C. was reduced to half its strength. The delegates were to be elected at the rate of 1 per every 500 primary members, thereby making them representatives of the people

31. 50th Session 

Place : Faizpur

Date : Jul. 12-14, 1937

President : Pt Jawaharlal Nehru

Details :   This was the first Congress Session in a rural area.

32. 51st Session 

Place : Haripura

Date : Feb. 19-21, 1938

President : Subhash Chandra Bose

Details :  Towards the end of the session, there was a contest for who would be the president-elect for the next session between Netaji and Pattabhi Sittaramayya.     

  Bose won with a margin even though Sittaramayya was seen as Gandhiji’s nominee.

33. 52nd Session 

Place : Tripura

Date :  Mar. 10-12, 1939

President : Subhash Chandra Bose

Details :   The Congress met at Tripuri under special circumstances as president Subhas Chandra Bose was very ill and Gandhiji was fasting in Rajkot

 As Bose was too ill to preside over some sittings, Maulana Azad conducted proceedings on his behalf  

However, differences cropped up between Bose and a section of the Working Committee and the former resigned from his presidentship.

34. 53rd Session 

Place : Ramgarh

Date : Mar. 19-20, 1940

President : Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

Details :  The Ramgarh Session was taken up entirely with the crisis brought about by the war and passed only one lengthy resolution on the issue.

  The Congress protested against the declaration of India as a belligerent country without any reference to the people and stated that the British government was carrying on the war fundamentally for imperialist ends.

 The party also declared that nothing short of complete independence is acceptable.

35. 54th Session 

Place : Meerut

Date : Nov. 23-24, 1946

President : J.B. Kripalani

Details :  This was the last session before independence