List of Indian National Congress (INC) Sessions Year-Wise – Static GK & General Awareness for Competitive Exams with Memory Tricks

Introduction

The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded on 28 December 1885 at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College, Bombay, by retired British ICS officer Allan Octavian Hume (A.O. Hume), with Lord Dufferin as the Viceroy of India at the time. The first session was attended by 72 delegates — social reformers, journalists, and lawyers — and was presided over by Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee (W.C. Bonnerjee). From this modest beginning, the INC evolved into the principal political organisation that led India's freedom struggle, holding annual sessions almost every December across different parts of the country.

The sessions of the Indian National Congress are one of the most frequently asked topics in UPSC Prelims, SSC CGL, IBPS PO, RRB NTPC, SBI Clerk, State PCS, NDA, CDS, and various Insurance exams. Questions typically ask which president presided over a particular session, where a specific session was held, in which session "Vande Mataram" or "Jana Gana Mana" was sung for the first time, where the Surat Split or Lucknow Pact took place, and which session adopted the Purna Swaraj resolution. For a structured revision of similar Modern History topics, you can refer to the Static GK section on Jobsme.in.

The presidents of the INC initially served a one-year term from 1885 to 1933, after which no fixed term was followed. The sessions were rotated across regions so that the Congress could grow into a truly national platform, and as a convention, the president usually belonged to a region other than the host city. These sessions shaped the trajectory of the freedom struggle — from moderate petitions in the early years to Swaraj, Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience, and finally Quit India.

Core Concepts: Why the INC Sessions Matter

The annual sessions of the Indian National Congress were formal conferences where delegates from across British India met to discuss political, economic, and social issues, frame resolutions, and decide the direction of the national movement. Understanding the key phases of these sessions helps students remember presidents and outcomes more effectively.

Phases of INC Sessions

• Moderate Phase (1885-1905): Constitutional methods, petitions, and prayers; demands for greater Indian representation in legislatures and civil services. Key leaders: Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, W.C. Bonnerjee, Gopal Krishna Gokhale.
• Extremist / Swadeshi Phase (1905-1916): Adoption of Swaraj, Boycott, Swadeshi, and National Education; rise of Lal-Bal-Pal; the Surat Split of 1907.
• Gandhian Phase (1917-1947): Mass movements — Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience, Quit India; Purna Swaraj resolution at Lahore; Karachi resolution on Fundamental Rights.
• Post-Independence Phase (1948 onwards): Congress as the ruling party; sessions held in Jaipur, Nasik, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, and other cities to consolidate organisational policy.

Important Conventions

• Founder: Allan Octavian Hume (A.O. Hume), a retired British ICS officer.
• First President: Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee (Bombay, 1885).
• First Muslim President: Badruddin Tyabji (Madras, 1887).
• First English / European President: George Yule (Allahabad, 1888).
• First Woman President: Annie Besant (Calcutta, 1917).
• First Indian Woman President: Sarojini Naidu (Kanpur, 1925).
• First Parsi President: Dadabhai Naoroji (Calcutta, 1886).
• Youngest President: Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (Delhi Special Session, 1923, at age 35).
• Only Session presided over by Mahatma Gandhi: Belgaum, 1924.

Complete List of Indian National Congress Sessions (1885-1947)

The following table lists every major INC session from its foundation in 1885 to the last session before Independence in 1946, along with the venue, president, and key outcome of each session.

Moderate Phase Sessions (1885-1905)

Extremist Phase Sessions (1906-1916)

For more detailed coverage of these landmark events, you can explore the Daily Current Affairs section on Jobsme.in for related themes.

Gandhian Phase Sessions (1917-1947)

Important Post-Independence INC Sessions

Memory Tricks and Mnemonics

Trick 1: "BCMABCB" — The First Eight Sessions (1885-1892)

To remember the venues of the first eight INC sessions in order, use the acronym "BCMABCB Bombay-Calcutta-Madras-Allahabad-Bombay-Calcutta-Nagpur-Allahabad":

• B → 1885 Bombay (W.C. Bonnerjee).
• C → 1886 Calcutta (Dadabhai Naoroji).
• M → 1887 Madras (Badruddin Tyabji).
• A → 1888 Allahabad (George Yule).
• B → 1889 Bombay (W. Wedderburn).
• C → 1890 Calcutta (Pherozeshah Mehta).
• N → 1891 Nagpur (P. Ananda Charlu).
• A → 1892 Allahabad (W.C. Bonnerjee).

Trick 2: "Four Firsts" — The First-of-Their-Kind Presidents

Use this acronym "WBGA SDH" — Womesh, Badruddin, George, Annie, Sarojini, Dadabhai, Hakim:

• W → First President — Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee (1885 Bombay).
• B → First Muslim President — Badruddin Tyabji (1887 Madras).
• G → First English / European President — George Yule (1888 Allahabad).
• A → First Woman President — Annie Besant (1917 Calcutta).
• S → First Indian Woman President — Sarojini Naidu (1925 Kanpur).
• D → First Parsi President — Dadabhai Naoroji (1886 Calcutta).
• H → Only President of INC + Muslim League + Khilafat Committee — Hakim Ajmal Khan.

Trick 3: "Vande Jana" — Songs Sung for the First Time

To remember the sessions where the National Song and National Anthem were first sung:

• Vande Mataram → 1896 Calcutta Session (Rahimtullah Sayani) → sung by Rabindranath Tagore.
• Jana Gana Mana → 1911 Calcutta Session (Bishan Narayan Dar).

"Both anthems were born in Calcutta — 1896 sang Vande, 1911 sang Jana."

Trick 4: "Surat-Lucknow-Lahore-Karachi" — Four Landmark Sessions

Use the chain "S-L-L-K" to remember the four most-asked sessions in exams:

• S — Surat 1907 (Rash Behari Ghosh): Surat Split — Moderates vs Extremists.
• L — Lucknow 1916 (A.C. Mazumdar): Lucknow Pact and Moderate-Extremist reunion.
• L — Lahore 1929 (Jawaharlal Nehru): Purna Swaraj resolution; 26 January 1930 = Independence Day.
• K — Karachi 1931 (Vallabhbhai Patel): Fundamental Rights + Economic Programme + Gandhi-Irwin Pact.

Trick 5: "Naoroji Three Times" — The Hat-Trick President

Dadabhai Naoroji, the Grand Old Man of India, presided over the INC three times. Remember as "86-93-06: Calcutta-Lahore-Calcutta":

• 1886 → Calcutta (Second session, merger with National Conference).
• 1893 → Lahore.
• 1906 → Calcutta (Swaraj declared as goal).

Trick 6: "Gandhi One, Bose Two, Nehru Many" — Presidents Counted

A useful contrast trick for the Big Three of the freedom struggle:

• Mahatma Gandhi → Presided only once at Belgaum (1924).
• Subhash Chandra Bose → Presided twice — Haripura (1938) and Tripuri (1939, resigned).
• Jawaharlal Nehru → Presided multiple times — Lahore (1929), Lucknow (1936), Faizpur (1937), and again after Independence.

Trick 7: "Three Women" — Female Presidents of the INC

Only a handful of women have led the INC before Independence:

• 1st → Annie Besant (1917 Calcutta) — first woman, of Irish origin.
• 2nd → Sarojini Naidu (1925 Kanpur) — first Indian woman.
• 3rd → Nellie Sengupta (1933 Calcutta) — British-born; wife of J.M. Sengupta.

"Annie, Sarojini, Nellie — A-S-N."

Trick 8: "Village-Youth-Plan-Pact" — One-Word Cues for Famous Sessions

• Village → 1937 Faizpur (Nehru) — first rural session.
• Youth → 1928 Calcutta (Motilal Nehru) — first All India Youth Congress.
• Plan → 1938 Haripura (Bose) — National Planning Committee.
• Pact → 1916 Lucknow (Mazumdar) — Lucknow Pact with Muslim League.

Additional Notes

Frequently Confused Facts

• First Woman President vs First Indian Woman President: Annie Besant (1917 Calcutta) was the first woman President; Sarojini Naidu (1925 Kanpur) was the first Indian woman President. Annie Besant was Irish-born.
• Founding Year vs First Session: Both are the same — 28 December 1885, Bombay. There is no earlier session.
• Founder of INC vs First President: A.O. Hume founded the INC; W.C. Bonnerjee was the first president. They are often confused.
• 1923 Two Sessions: 1923 had two sessions — Special Session at Delhi (Maulana Abul Kalam Azad) and the regular Kakinada Session (Maulana Mohammad Ali). Do not confuse the two.
• Surat 1907 vs Lucknow 1916: Surat caused the Moderate-Extremist split; Lucknow brought the reunion. Surat = split; Lucknow = unity.
• Vande Mataram vs Jana Gana Mana: Vande Mataram first sung in 1896 (Calcutta); Jana Gana Mana first sung in 1911 (Calcutta). Both in Calcutta, fifteen years apart.
• Swaraj first mentioned vs Purna Swaraj declared: Swaraj first mentioned in 1906 (Calcutta, Naoroji); Purna Swaraj (Complete Independence) declared in 1929 (Lahore, Nehru).
• Only session by Gandhi: Belgaum 1924 — not any other session. Gandhi never presided over the Congress again.
• Faizpur 1937: First village session, not Wardha or Haripura. Faizpur is near Jalgaon in Maharashtra (then Bombay Presidency).
• Karachi 1931 vs Lahore 1929: Lahore declared Purna Swaraj; Karachi adopted Fundamental Rights and Economic Programme resolutions.
• Tripuri 1939: Bose was re-elected but resigned; Rajendra Prasad replaced him as president — both names are linked to this session.
• Youngest President: Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (age 35 at the 1923 Delhi Special Session). After Independence, Rajiv Gandhi (age 41) was the youngest INC President.

Repeating PYQ Patterns

Certain INC sessions appear almost every year in competitive exams. 1885 Bombay (W.C. Bonnerjee), 1906 Calcutta (Naoroji - Swaraj), 1907 Surat (Rash Behari Ghosh - Split), 1916 Lucknow (Mazumdar - Lucknow Pact), 1917 Calcutta (Annie Besant - first woman), 1920 Nagpur (Vijayaraghavachariar - Non-Cooperation), 1924 Belgaum (Gandhi), 1925 Kanpur (Sarojini Naidu), 1929 Lahore (Nehru - Purna Swaraj), 1931 Karachi (Patel - Fundamental Rights), 1937 Faizpur (Nehru - first village session), 1938 Haripura (Bose), and 1946 Meerut (Kripalani - last before Independence) appear most frequently in UPSC Prelims, SSC CGL, RRB NTPC, and IBPS PO. Banking and Insurance exams often ask matching-type questions linking presidents with venues. State PCS exams give extra weight to sessions held in their region — Maharashtra PCS focuses on Bombay, Nagpur, Faizpur; West Bengal PCS on Calcutta sessions; UP PCS on Lucknow, Allahabad, Kanpur, Meerut. Aspirants can practise more such questions through the Static GK Quiz on Jobsme.in.

Quick Insight

The journey of the INC sessions is essentially the journey of modern India — from a polite assembly of 72 delegates seeking minor reforms in 1885, to a mass movement declaring Purna Swaraj at Lahore in 1929, to the inheritor of state power in 1947. Each session marks a turning point: Calcutta 1906 (Swaraj as goal), Surat 1907 (the split that radicalised the movement), Lucknow 1916 (Hindu-Muslim joint demand), Nagpur 1920 (Non-Cooperation), Lahore 1929 (Complete Independence), Karachi 1931 (Fundamental Rights — the blueprint of Part III of our Constitution), and Faizpur 1937 (taking politics to the village). Understanding these sessions is essential not only for Prelims but also for UPSC Mains essays on the freedom struggle, federalism, and minority rights. To stay updated on related topics, check the Banking Awareness notes and the latest Government Job Notifications on Jobsme.in.

One-Liners for Quick Revision

• INC Founded → 28 December 1885 by A.O. Hume at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College, Bombay.
• Viceroy at INC's founding → Lord Dufferin.
• 1885 Bombay → 1st Session; President: W.C. Bonnerjee; 72 delegates.
• 1886 Calcutta → Dadabhai Naoroji; merger with Indian National Conference.
• 1887 Madras → Badruddin Tyabji, first Muslim President.
• 1888 Allahabad → George Yule, first English President.
• 1889 Bombay → Sir William Wedderburn; British Committee of INC founded.
• 1890 Calcutta → Pherozeshah Mehta; Kadambini Ganguly addressed Congress.
• 1891 Nagpur → P. Ananda Charlu.
• 1892 Allahabad → W.C. Bonnerjee (2nd time); Congress criticised Indian Councils Act 1892.
• 1893 Lahore → Dadabhai Naoroji (2nd time).
• 1894 Madras → Alfred Webb (Irish nationalist).
• 1895 Pune → Surendranath Banerjee.
• 1896 Calcutta → Rahimtullah Sayani; Vande Mataram sung for the first time.
• 1897 Amravati → C. Sankaran Nair (first and only Keralite President).
• 1898 Madras → Ananda Mohan Bose.
• 1899 Lucknow → R.C. Dutt; demand for permanent fixation of land revenue; "Drain of Wealth" protest.
• 1900 Lahore → N.G. Chandavarkar.
• 1901 Calcutta → Dinshaw Wacha; Gandhi appeared on Congress platform for the first time.
• 1902 Ahmedabad → Surendranath Banerjee (2nd time).
• 1903 Madras → Lal Mohan Ghosh.
• 1904 Bombay → Sir Henry Cotton; protest against Lord Curzon.
• 1905 Banaras → Gopal Krishna Gokhale; Swadeshi resolution against Partition of Bengal.
• 1906 Calcutta → Dadabhai Naoroji (3rd time); Swaraj declared as INC's goal for the first time; four resolutions — Swaraj, Boycott, Swadeshi, National Education.
• 1907 Surat → Rash Behari Ghosh; Surat Split — Moderates vs Extremists; session adjourned.
• 1908 Madras → Rash Behari Ghosh; Constitution of Congress drawn.
• 1909 Lahore → Madan Mohan Malaviya; Congress opposed separate electorates of Indian Councils Act 1909.
• 1910 Allahabad → William Wedderburn (2nd time); Jinnah opposed separate electorates.
• 1911 Calcutta → Bishan Narayan Dar; Jana Gana Mana sung for the first time.
• 1912 Bankipore → Raghunath Mudholkar.
• 1913 Karachi → Nawab Syed Mohammed Bahadur.
• 1914 Madras → Bhupendra Nath Bose; demand for higher army positions for Indians.
• 1915 Bombay → S.P. Sinha; Constitution amended to readmit Extremists.
• 1916 Lucknow → A.C. Mazumdar; Lucknow Pact with Muslim League; Moderate-Extremist reunion.
• 1917 Calcutta → Annie Besant, first woman President of INC.
• 1918 Delhi → Madan Mohan Malaviya (2nd time).
• 1918 Special Bombay → Syed Hasan Imam; opposition to Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms.
• 1919 Amritsar → Motilal Nehru; condemned Jallianwala Bagh massacre; supported Khilafat Movement.
• 1920 Special Calcutta → Lala Lajpat Rai; Non-Cooperation Movement approved.
• 1920 Nagpur → C. Vijayaraghavachariar; linguistic reorganisation of Congress committees; Jinnah left INC.
• 1921 Ahmedabad → Hakim Ajmal Khan (acting for C.R. Das); Gandhi given full AICC authority; Hasrat Mohani demanded Complete Independence.
• 1922 Gaya → C.R. Das; Swaraj Party formed by C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru.
• 1923 Special Delhi → Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, youngest President at age 35; All India Khadi Board formed.
• 1923 Kakinada → Maulana Mohammad Ali Jouhar; resolution against untouchability; Hindustan Seva Dal founded.
• 1924 Belgaum → M.K. Gandhi; only session presided over by Mahatma Gandhi.
• 1925 Kanpur → Sarojini Naidu, first Indian woman President.
• 1926 Guwahati → S. Srinivasa Iyengar; first session in North-East India; Khadi made compulsory.
• 1927 Madras → M.A. Ansari; boycott of Simon Commission; complete independence adopted as goal.
• 1928 Calcutta → Motilal Nehru; first All India Youth Congress formed; Nehru Report's Dominion Status accepted.
• 1929 Lahore → Jawaharlal Nehru; Purna Swaraj declared; 26 January 1930 = Independence Day; Civil Disobedience authorised.
• 1931 Karachi → Vallabhbhai Patel; Fundamental Rights and National Economic Programme resolutions; Gandhi-Irwin Pact endorsed.
• 1932 Delhi → Amrit Ranchhoddas Seth; Congress declared illegal.
• 1933 Calcutta → Nellie Sengupta, third woman President.
• 1934 Bombay → Dr. Rajendra Prasad; Khadi compulsory for elected members; Congress Socialist Party formed.
• 1936 Lucknow → Jawaharlal Nehru; urged Congress to adopt Socialism.
• 1937 Faizpur → Jawaharlal Nehru; first INC session in a village / rural area.
• 1938 Haripura → Subhash Chandra Bose; National Planning Committee set up under Nehru.
• 1939 Tripuri → Bose re-elected but resigned; Rajendra Prasad took over; Bose formed Forward Bloc.
• 1940 Ramgarh → Maulana Abul Kalam Azad; protest against India being declared belligerent in WWII.
• 1941-1945 → No session; period of Quit India Movement, RIN Mutiny, INA trials, Cripps Mission, Wavell Plan, Cabinet Mission.
• 1946 Meerut → J.B. Kripalani; last session before Independence; Kripalani was president at the time of 15 August 1947.
• 1948 Jaipur → B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya; first session after Independence.
• 1950 Nasik → Purushottam Das Tandon.
• 1955 Avadi → U.N. Dhebar; "Socialistic Pattern of Society" adopted.
• 1985 Bombay → Rajiv Gandhi; INC Centenary Session.
• Hakim Ajmal Khan → Only person to have been President of INC, All India Muslim League, and All India Khilafat Committee.
• C. Sankaran Nair → First and only Keralite President of the INC (1897 Amravati).
• Sessions not held in 1930, 1935, and 1941-1945 → due to Civil Disobedience, Government of India Act 1935 transition, and WWII / Quit India period respectively.

For more Static GK topics like Modern History, Indian polity, and freedom fighters, explore the Static GK section on Jobsme.in. You can also test your knowledge with the Daily Current Affairs Quiz and stay updated through the Daily Current Affairs notes. Aspirants preparing for banking exams can also brush up on the Computer Awareness section before attempting their next mock test.