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Question 45 of 60 · Indian National Congress & Its Sessions
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The special session of the Indian National Congress held at Calcutta in September 1920, which accepted Gandhi's programme of non-cooperation, was presided over by:

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Answer: Option D — Lala Lajpat Rai

Detailed Solution

The special session of the Indian National Congress held at Calcutta in September 1920 was presided over by Lala Lajpat Rai.

The Calcutta special session (September 1920):

  • It was called to consider Gandhi's programme of non-cooperation with the British government.
  • The background was the Rowlatt Act (1919), the Jallianwala Bagh massacre (April 1919), the Hunter Committee report, and the Khilafat issue.
  • The session accepted the programme of non-cooperation, including the boycott of government schools, colleges, law courts, legislative councils and foreign cloth, and the surrender of titles.

Some leaders, such as C. R. Das, opposed the boycott of the councils at this session, and Lajpat Rai himself had doubts about some parts of the programme.

The Nagpur session (December 1920):

The regular annual session at Nagpur, presided over by C. Vijayaraghavachariar, confirmed the decision.

It changed the goal of the Congress to the attainment of swaraj by peaceful and legitimate means.

It reorganised the Congress, with provincial committees on a linguistic basis and a Working Committee of fifteen members.

About Lala Lajpat Rai:

  • He was born at Dhudike, in Punjab.
  • He was called "Punjab Kesari" (Lion of Punjab), and was one of the trio "Lal-Bal-Pal".
  • He was deported to Mandalay in 1907.
  • He lived in the USA during the First World War, where he founded the Indian Home Rule League of America.
  • He founded the Punjab National Bank (with others) and the Servants of the People Society.
  • He wrote "Unhappy India", in reply to Katherine Mayo's "Mother India".
  • He was injured in a police lathi charge during the protest against the Simon Commission at Lahore (October 1928), and died on 17 November 1928.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗Vijayaraghavachariar presided over the Nagpur session; Motilal Nehru and Hakim Ajmal Khan presided over other sessions.

Quick tip

Remember: Calcutta special session (September 1920) = Lala Lajpat Rai, accepted non-cooperation; Nagpur session (December 1920) = C. Vijayaraghavachariar, confirmed it.

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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.

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