SSC
The second session of the Indian National Congress, held at Calcutta in 1886, was presided over by:
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Answer: Option C — Dadabhai Naoroji
Detailed Solution
The second session of the Indian National Congress, held at Calcutta in December 1886, was presided over by Dadabhai Naoroji.
About the Calcutta session (1886):
- It was held in the Town Hall of Calcutta.
- It had many more delegates than the first session, showing the rapid growth of the Congress.
- At this session, the Indian National Conference, which had been organised by Surendranath Banerjea and others in Calcutta, merged with the Congress.
- This brought Surendranath Banerjea and other Bengal leaders into the Congress.
- The session passed resolutions on the expansion of the legislative councils, the reform of the civil services, and other issues.
- The Congress decided to form standing committees in different provinces.
Dadabhai Naoroji's presidencies:
- He was President of the Congress three times: Calcutta (1886), Lahore (1893) and Calcutta (1906).
- At the Calcutta session of 1906, he declared "Swaraj" as the goal of the Congress.
About Dadabhai Naoroji:
- He was born in Bombay in 1825.
- He was a teacher, businessman, economist and politician.
- He spent many years in England, where he worked for Indian causes.
- He was the first Asian to be elected to the British House of Commons (1892).
- He put forward the "drain theory", showing how British rule drained India's wealth.
- He was respected as a guide and elder statesman by both Moderates and Extremists.
Early Congress Presidents:
1885: W. C. Bonnerjee (Bombay).
1886: Dadabhai Naoroji (Calcutta).
1887: Badruddin Tyabji (Madras), the first Muslim President.
Why not the other options?
- ✗C. Bonnerjee, Badruddin Tyabji and George Yule presided over other early sessions.
Quick tip
Remember: second Congress session = Calcutta, 1886, President Dadabhai Naoroji (also 1893 Lahore and 1906 Calcutta); Indian National Conference merged with the Congress.
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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.