The Surat session of the Indian National Congress (1907), which ended in a split between the Moderates and the Extremists, was presided over by:

The Surat session of the Indian National Congress (December 1907) was presided over by Dr Rash Behari Ghosh, a Moderate leader from Bengal.

Background:

• After the partition of Bengal (1905), differences grew between the Moderates (led by Gokhale and Pherozeshah Mehta) and the Extremists (led by Tilak, Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal and Aurobindo Ghosh).
• The Extremists wanted to extend the Swadeshi and boycott movement to the whole country and to adopt more militant methods, while the Moderates wanted to limit it.
• The Extremists wanted Lala Lajpat Rai or Tilak to be the President of the 1907 session.
• The Moderates chose Rash Behari Ghosh, and moved the session from Nagpur (an Extremist stronghold) to Surat (in Gujarat).

The split:

• At the session, held on the banks of the river Tapti, there was confusion and disorder when the Extremists objected to the election of Rash Behari Ghosh.
• Shoes were thrown, chairs were broken, and the session broke up in chaos.
• The Moderates and the Extremists separated.
• The Moderates held their own convention, and controlled the Congress for the next few years.
• The government took advantage of the split and repressed the Extremists; Tilak was imprisoned in 1908.

The reunion:

The two groups came together again at the Lucknow session of 1916.

About Rash Behari Ghosh:

• He was born on 23 December 1845 in the Burdwan district of Bengal.
• He was a leading lawyer of the Calcutta High Court and a great orator.
• He was a member of the Imperial Legislative Council.
• He presided over the Congress twice: at Surat (1907) and at Madras (1908).
• He was a great donor to education, and gave large sums of money to the University of Calcutta, which helped set up its science college.
• He died in 1921.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Gokhale, Naoroji and Pherozeshah Mehta were other Moderate leaders.