The Indian National Congress was formed when 72 delegates from all the presidencies and provinces of India met at Bombay from 28 to 30 December 1885.
Allan Octavian Hume, a retired British Indian Civil Servant played a leading role in the formation of the Congress. He established contact with some of the most important Indian Leaders all over the country and received their cooperation in forming the Congress.
Some of the Important leaders who attended the first session of Congress which was held at the Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College, were Dadabhai Naoroji, Kashinath Trimbak Telang, Pherozeshah Mehta, S Subramania Iyer, P Ananda Charlu, Dinshaw Edulji Wacha, Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, G Subramania Iyer, M Viraraghavachari, N G Chadavarkar, Rahimtullah M Sayani and Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee. An important leader who was absent was Surendranath Banerjee.

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He had convened a National Conference around the same time at Calcutta.
The Significance of the formation of the first national political organisation in India was immediately realised. Barely a week after the session ended, a Calcutta newspaper, The Indian Mirror wrote, “The First National Congress at Bombay forms an important chapter in the history of British rule in India. The day on which it open, namely, 18th December 1885, will form a red-letter day in the annals of the national progress of the native races. It is the nucleus of the future parliament of our country. And we lead to the good of inconceivable magnitude for the countrymen.” The first President of the INC was Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee.
The Objective of the Congress, as stated by him where to bring together leaders to different parts of the country to remove the all possible prejudice of race, religion and region, and to decide important problems facing the country and to decide on the activities that the Indian leaders should take up.
The Congress passed nine resolutions which demanded changes in British policies and reforms in administration.
The early phase of Indian National Congress
After the first session in Bombay, the Indian National Congress met every year in the month of December, usually at a different place each time.
The second session, attended by about 450 delegates was held in Calcutta in 1886.
Surendranath Banerjee and other leaders of the Indian Association joined the Congress now. The delegates attending this and a later session where now elected by various conferences which where held at local levels. The first session of the Congress had been described as Indian First National Assembly and the nucleus of future parliament for our country.

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In the course of time it did became the representative organisation of the people of the country. The second session of the Congress was presided over by Dadabai Naoroji. He was one of the foremost leaders of the Congress for over 20 years. During his stay in Britain, he had formed an association to win over the British leaders and the public in support of the demands of Indian people. He became the president of the Congress thrice. He also elected to British parliament and promoted the cause of India in that body. He was one of the earliest Indian leaders to hold the view that the poverty of Indian people was the result of the exploitation of India by British. And the drain of India’s wealth to British. He was known as the grand old man of the India.
From this inception, the Congress stood for the unity of the people, irrespective of religion and other differences. The decision to hold this session at a different place every year also had the same objective. Stressing this Badruddin Tyabji, who was the president of the Madras session in 1887, said in his address that this congress is composed of the representatives, not of any one class, or community of India, or of one part of India, but of all the different communities of India.
During this early year, the Indian National Congress had among its leaders some Englishmen. The 1888 session held at Allahabad was attended by 1300 delegates. It was presided over by George Yule, an Englishmen. Other Englishmen who became Congress were William Wedderburn, Alfred Webb, and Henry Cotton. Some other Congress Presidents during this period from 1885 to 1905 were Pherozeshah Mehta, Surendra Nath Banerjee, Rahmatullah M Sayani, Ananda Charlu, Sankaran Nair, R C Dutt, and Gopal Krishna Gokhale.
This period also saw the beginning of the participation of women in the sessions of Congress. The Indian National Congress sessions became increasingly important in the political life of the country.

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National Movement of India: 1905 to 1920

At the Surat Split 1907, congress leaders split into two groups – moderates and extremists. The Rift between these two sections became apparent at the Banaras Session (1905) when some nationalist-led by Tilak denounced the method of the moderates and suggested passive resistance. They also advocated the boycott of British goods and government institutions. At the end of this session, Lokmanya Tilak, and his followers held a separate conference and announced the formation of the Extremist Party. However, they decided to work as a part of the Indian National Congress.
In 1906, at Calcutta Session, the rift between Moderators and Extremists further widened. Both the groups put their candidates for presidentship but Dadabhai Naroji was accepted as a compromise candidate by both of groups. The Extremists group also succeeded in getting a resolution which emphasised the principle of swadeshi, boycott, and national education.

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But Moderators did not accept what had happened at the Calcutta session in 1906 and were determined to undo the same at the Surat split 1907. Extremists were also equally determined to see that the Moderates were not able to have their way. In Surat, Extremists tried to push the candidature of Lala Lajpat Rai for President-ship of congress and Moderates Dr. Ras Behari Ghosh to be the President. The situation was saved by Lala Lajpat Rai and stepping down and Dr. Ras Behari Ghosh became the President. The real trouble started when the moderates tried to repudiate the resolution on the boycott, swadeshi, and national education which has been adopted in 1906. This was not acceptable to the extremists. As a result, open clashes took place and session was suspended thereafter Moderates held a separate convention from which the extremists were excluded this marked a complete split in the Congress.
The division was further cemented in 1908 when the Indian National Congress at the madras session made a change in its constitution. It provided that the Congress delegates were not to be elected only by the congress committee and associations affiliated to the Congress. The net result of this change was that the Extremists were excluded from the Congress. Tilak and his followers remained outside the Indian National Congress till 1915 when a compromise was arrived at.
The Surat Split 1907 was a turning point in the history of Nationalist Movement in India. It meant a victory of the Extremists over the Moderates it also marked a change in the policy and attitude of the Government towards the nationalist moderates to the government side. The Minto-Morley Reform of 1909 can be said to be the direct outcome of the Surat Split 1907. The split also greatly weaken both the parties. The Extremists were hounded by official repression and liberals were abandoned by their own people.

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Place of Caste

During the Gupta period emperors and their successors social conditions endured rapid changes. This is mentioned in epigraphs referring to some of the most illustrious rulers of the age as “employed in setting the system of castes and others” and in “keeping the castes confined to their respective spheres of duty”.

However, these attempts of confining people to their ‘right places’ did not always succeed as one can find the evidences of members of priestly and artisan classes joining the profession of arms and members of soldier caste taking to the profession of merchants. One can also easily find the evidence that Vaisyas and Sudras were rulers of the mighty kingdoms: R.C.Majumdar writes, “Vasyas and Sudras figure as rulers of mighty kingdoms”.

Rules of Marriage

During the Gupta period, rules governing the marriage as a social system were somewhat elastic, following perhaps its immediate past.The cases of inter-caste marriages between people of different castes, creeds and races happened quite often. The marriage system of the society got complicated with the influx of those foreigners who were admitted into caste-framework. There are instances of some of the earlier immigrants who were ranked as degraded kshatriyas in the legal codes.

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Introduction of New Clans as Caste Hindu

The immigrants who came after the fall of early Gupta empire were usually given a place among the thirty-six clans of Rajputs. They built independent or semi-independent principalities for themselves and with the time acquired the place of the kshatriya families of the olden times.

Among these new clans Huns and Pratiharas carved out special place for themselves which they rightly deserved. Many scholar historians are or have been of the opinion that Pratiharas, who excelled into prominence for the first time in the sixth century AD, belonged to the race of Gurjaras. While the ruling families of Hinduised border tribes and foreign immigrants usually ranked as Rajputs, the rank and file remained under less valued social groups like Gujars, the Dhaki khaasyas,the Bhotiyas and others.

Grade Status of People in General

According to Fa Hien, a Chinese pilgrim, people who formed the section of higher castes in Madhya-desa(Middle-India) did not “kill any living creature, nor drink intoxicating liquor,nor eat onions or garlic”.

In contrast to these higher castes, Chandalas’ lives were sharply different. They lived in totally separate area,usually situated outside the cities. It was a social practice prevalent at that time that when Chandals entered the gate of a city or the market place, they used to or perhaps instructed to struck a piece of wood to make themselves known so that men belonging to higher echelons of society knew and avoided them, and did not come into direct contact with them.

The existence of such impure castes have been described at length not only by Indian and Chinese records but also by al-Biruni. According to al-Biruni the principle of impurity was widened to foreigners in the north-west towards the end of the Gupta empire. However, the Hindus of several interior provinces did not follow the principle of impure castes.

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Position of Women in Gupta Period

The position of women in the Gupta period reflects some very interesting characteristics. In some selected areas,women belonging to the upper classes commanded a prominent share in the field of administration. In the Gupta period the queen-consort undoubtedly possessed an important position. A Chinese author has described an Indian princes as administering the government in association with her brother. There are evidences that in some of provinces, especially in the Kanarese country, women functioned as provincial governors and heads of villages.

These facts indicate that girls belonging to the upper castes used to get a liberal education and took a keen interest in the cultural and administrative activities of the age. The practice of Svayamvara, self-choice of husband, had not gone out of use. However, Polygamy was prevalent and women were not permitted to contract a second marriage. Among the ruling clans, the customary practice of burning widows on the funeral pyre of their husbands was becoming a sanctioned social practice during the Gupta period.

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The early history of Vijayanagar is still veiled in obscurity. According to the traditional accounts, five sons of Sangama, after whom the first dynasty of Vijayanagar Empire was named, laid the foundation of the city and kingdom of Vijayanagar on the Southern bank of Tungabhadra facing the fortress of Anegundi on the northern bank. Among the five sons of Sangama, the most eminent were Harihara and Bukka. They were inspired by Madhava Vidyarnya who was the celebrated Brahman saga and scholar of the day and his brother Sayana, who was the famous commentator on the Vedas.

In the time of Harihara-I and Bukka-I, the Vijayanagar kingdom brought under its influence many principalities including most of the Haysala territory. However, as some contemporary writers have claimed, Harihara-I and Bukka-I did not take full imperial titles. In A.D. 1378-79 Bukka-I died and was succeeded by the his son Bukka-II, who assumed the imperial titles of Maharajadhiraja, Rajaparamesvara, etc. Swell in his famous work, ‘A Forgotten Empire’, has stated that Harihara’s reign was a period of “unbroken peace”. However, as a matter of fact, the history of Vijayanagar Empire is an unbroken record of bloody wars with different powers.

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Social Life in Vijayanagar Empire

The different aspects of social life of the people of Vijayanagar Empire are contained in narratives of foreign travelers, inscriptions, and literature.

The instances of the active part women, who generally occupied a high position in society, took in political, social and literary life of the country are certainly not rare. Apart from being trained in handling swards and shield, wrestling, music and other fine arts, some of them, without any doubt, got fair amount of literary education.

Having more than one wife was a recognized practice, especially among the wealthy classes. Child marriage was an usual custom. The evil practice of taking excessive dowries was prevalent at large-scale among the people who were well placed in their lives.

The State, generally, did not interfere in social issue or affairs to settle disputes among various communities. The Sati Pratha¸freely sanctioned by Brahmanas, was very common in Vijayanagar Empire.

Brahmanas, held in high esteem by the rulers, exercised a Supreme influence not merely in social and religious matters but also in the political affairs of the State.

In the matters of diet there were no strict restrictions in the Vijayanagar Empire. Apart from fruits, vegetables and oil, meat of all kind (except that of oxen or cows since people had great veneration for them), was taken by the general population. However, Brahmanas never killed or ate any “living thing”. Nunin, in his narrative, describes the diet of the Vijayanagar kings: “These kings eat all sorts of things, but not the flesh of oxen or cows, which they never kill because they worship them. They eat mutton, pork, vension, partridges, hares, doves, quail, and all kinds of birds; even sparrows and rats, and cats, and Lizards……”

On this Dr. Smith remarks that if the statement of Numiz is true, then it was “a curious dietary for princes and people, who in the time of Krishnadeva Raja and Achutya Raja were zealous Hindus with a special devotion to certain forms of Vishnu”. It is most probable that rats, cats and Lizards were eaten by the lower section of the people who constituted the non-Aryan element in the Vijayanagar population.

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Economic Condition of Vijayanagar Empire

It has been firmly established from foreign accounts and other sources as well that in the Vijayanagar Empire prevailed unbounded prosperity. In different parts of the Empire agriculture flourished and States pursued a well thought over irrigation policy.

The principal industries comprised of textiles, mining and metallurgy. Perfumery was the most important among the minor industries. In the economic life of the kingdom craftsmen’s and merchants’ guilds played a very important part.

The most remarkable characteristics in the economic condition of the kingdom was commerce, inland, coasting and overseas. According to Abdur Razzaq the Empire “possessed 300 seaports”. Calicut, on the Malabar Coast, was the most important port. It had commercial relations with the islands in the Indian Ocean. The principle articles of export were cloth, iron, rice, sugar, saltpeter, and spices. The items of imports include elephants, horses, copper, pearls, coral, mercury, china silks and velvet.

Some of the epigraphic evidences prove that the rulers of the Vijayanagar Empire maintained fleets and people, there, were familiar with the art of shipbuilding even before the advent of the Portuguese.

The Cheap means for transport for inland trade were Kavadis, head loads, pack-horse, pack-bullocks, carts and asses.

Both gold and copper types of coinage were prevalent in Vijayanagar Empire. There is only one specimen of silver coin. The coins had on them the emblems of different gods and animals that varied with the religious faith of the rulers.

The narratives of foreign travelers illustrate that the people of upper classes had a high standard of living; however, the inscriptions of the time tell that the common people ‘groaned under the weight of heavy taxation that was collated with rigour by the local Governors.

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