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Mahatma Gandhi appeared on the platform of the Indian National Congress for the first time, moving a resolution on the Indians of South Africa, at its session held at:
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Answer: Option B — Calcutta, 1901
Detailed Solution
Mahatma Gandhi first appeared on the Congress platform at the Calcutta session of December 1901, presided over by Dinshaw Wacha, where he moved a resolution on the condition of Indians in South Africa.
About the 1901 session:
- Gandhi was then working as a lawyer and leader of the Indian community in South Africa.
- He had come to India for a short visit, and attended the session to bring the problems of Indians in South Africa to the notice of the Congress.
- With the support of Gokhale, he moved the resolution, which was passed.
- He stayed with Gokhale in Calcutta for about a month, and the two became close.
- In his autobiography, Gandhi describes the dirty conditions at the session, and how he volunteered to clean the latrines.
Gandhi and Gokhale:
- Gandhi regarded Gopal Krishna Gokhale as his political guru.
- Gokhale advised him, after his return to India, to travel across the country for a year with his "ears open and mouth shut".
Gandhi's later role in the Congress:
- Gandhi returned to India permanently some years later.
- He attended the Lucknow session (1916), where Rajkumar Shukla asked him to come to Champaran.
- He became the main leader of the Congress from 1920, when the Congress accepted his programme of non-cooperation.
- He presided over only one session of the Congress: Belgaum (1924).
- He resigned from the primary membership of the Congress in 1934, but continued to guide it.
About Dinshaw Wacha:
He was a Parsi leader from Bombay, one of the founders of the Congress, and an expert on economic and financial questions.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Gandhi did not first appear on the Congress platform at Bombay (1904), Lucknow (1916) or Belgaum (1924); he presided over the Belgaum session.
Quick tip
Remember: Gandhi's first appearance on a Congress platform = Calcutta session (1901, President Dinshaw Wacha), resolution on South African Indians; Gandhi presided only at Belgaum (1924).
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Indian National Congress & Its Sessions — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Indian National Congress & Its Sessions, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
The Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 by A. O. Hume, and its first session was held in Bombay under W. C. Bonnerjee. This topic covers the important Congress sessions and their presidents, the moderate and extremist phases, the Surat split, and the founding and role of the Muslim League. Questions commonly ask who presided over a session, where a session was held, or what was decided there. For example, the 1929 Lahore session under Jawaharlal Nehru adopted the goal of Purna Swaraj, and the 1931 Karachi session passed the resolution on Fundamental Rights. The first woman president of the Congress was Annie Besant (Calcutta, 1917). Practise the Indian National Congress questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.