Important annual sessions of the Indian National Congress, their venue, president and the resolution they are remembered for, for CAPF revision
Cover the right column and recall the venue, president and significance. The Congress was founded in 1885 by A O Hume; its annual sessions track the arc of the freedom struggle. For the wider narrative see freedom struggle timeline and rise of nationalism moderates and extremists.
| Year (venue) | President | Remembered for |
|---|---|---|
| 1885 (Bombay) | W C Bonnerjee | First session; 72 delegates; A O Hume's role |
| 1886 (Calcutta) | Dadabhai Naoroji | Early Moderate consolidation |
| 1896 (Calcutta) | Rahimtullah Sayani | Vande Mataram sung for the first time |
| 1905 (Banaras) | G K Gokhale | Amid the Swadeshi upsurge |
| 1906 (Calcutta) | Dadabhai Naoroji | Word "Swaraj" adopted as the goal |
| 1907 (Surat) | Rash Behari Ghosh | The Surat Split between Moderates and Extremists |
| 1916 (Lucknow) | A C Majumdar | Lucknow Pact; Congress-Muslim League unity; reunion of the two wings |
| 1917 (Calcutta) | Annie Besant | First woman president of the Congress |
| 1920 (Nagpur) | C Vijayaraghavachariar | Non-Cooperation programme adopted; reorganisation of the Congress |
| 1924 (Belgaum) | M K Gandhi | The only session Gandhi presided over |
| 1925 (Kanpur) | Sarojini Naidu | First Indian woman president |
| 1927 (Madras) | M A Ansari | Independence resolution; opposition to the Simon Commission |
| 1929 (Lahore) | Jawaharlal Nehru | Purna Swaraj resolution; 26 January 1930 as Independence Day |
| 1931 (Karachi) | Vallabhbhai Patel | Resolution on Fundamental Rights and National Economic Programme |
| 1936 (Lucknow) | Jawaharlal Nehru | Socialist orientation |
| 1936 (Faizpur) | Jawaharlal Nehru | First session held in a village |
| 1938 (Haripura) | Subhas Chandra Bose | National Planning Committee proposed |
| 1939 (Tripuri) | Subhas Chandra Bose | Bose re-elected against Gandhi's candidate, then resigned; formed the Forward Bloc |
| 1940 (Ramgarh) | Abul Kalam Azad | Last session before Quit India; Azad's long presidency |
See personalities of the freedom struggle and gandhian era and mass movements.
| First | Session |
|---|---|
| First president | W C Bonnerjee (1885, Bombay) |
| First woman president | Annie Besant (1917) |
| First Indian woman president | Sarojini Naidu (1925) |
| First Muslim president | Badruddin Tyabji (1887, Madras) |
| Only session Gandhi presided | Belgaum (1924) |
| Purna Swaraj declared | Lahore (1929) |