The President of the first session of the Indian National Congress, held at Bombay in December 1885, was:

The first session of the Indian National Congress, held at Bombay from 28 to 31 December 1885, was presided over by Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee (W. C. Bonnerjee).

About the first session:

• It was held at the Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College in Bombay.
• It was originally planned to be held at Poona, but was moved to Bombay because of an outbreak of cholera in Poona.
• The delegates came from different parts of India; most of them were lawyers, journalists, teachers and businessmen.

The session passed resolutions demanding reforms, such as the expansion of the legislative councils with elected members, the holding of the Indian Civil Service examination in India as well as in England, a reduction in military expenditure, and an inquiry into the working of the Indian administration.

About W. C. Bonnerjee:

• He was born on 29 December 1844 in Calcutta.
• He studied law in England, and became one of the first Indian barristers.
• He was a leading lawyer of the Calcutta High Court, and was the first Indian to act as Standing Counsel.
• He was President of the Congress twice: at its first session (Bombay, 1885) and at the Allahabad session (1892).
• He later settled in England, where he worked for Indian causes, and contested the election to the British House of Commons (unsuccessfully).
• He died in England on 21 July 1906.

The early phase of the Congress:

• In its early years (1885-1905), the Congress was led by the Moderates, who believed in constitutional methods, petitions and appeals to the British sense of justice.
• Leaders of this phase included Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, Surendranath Banerjea, Gopal Krishna Gokhale and others.

NCERT on the Congress:

NCERT notes that the Congress was formed by educated Indians from different regions who wanted a common all-India platform.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Naoroji, Surendranath Banerjea and Badruddin Tyabji presided over later sessions.