What is the history of Congress?

April 12, 2025

Congress (Indian National)
The political party in India which was at the forefront of India’s freedom struggle, had the largest presence in the country, and remained in power for the longest period after independence. The party’s contribution to the modernization of the country after independence has been significant.

Establishment: It was founded on December 28, 1885. The Congress, or Indian National Congress, was the institutional form of nationalism that was gaining momentum in India in the nineteenth century. That century brought political and administrative unity to the country under British rule. Due to English education, people were being introduced to new sentiments like freedom, democracy and nationalism and the best aspects of India’s ancient glory and culture were being brought to light through writers, thinkers, saints and journalists; at that time, the feeling of hatred towards British rule was gaining ground among the people due to the reactionary policies of the imperialist-minded Viceroy. The Ilbert Bill was introduced to provide justice to the Indian people, but against that bill, a handful of Anglo-Indians living in India launched a systematic movement to protect their interests and they were successful in doing so. This made the national leaders of India understand the importance of organized opposition in politics and paved the way for the birth of the Congress.

However, Indian leaders understood the need for a nationwide organization. In 1876 Surendranath Banerjee founded an organization called the ‘Indian Association’ in Calcutta. Under his inspiration, a conference called the ‘National Conference’ was held in Calcutta in 1883. Leaders from Mumbai, Chennai and the United Provinces participated in it. They decided to reconvene the second session of this council in December 1885.

Around the same time, a retired British officer named Sir Allan Octavian Hume came up with the idea of establishing such a national institution in India. He felt that there was discontent among the people of India against the British rule and believed that if that discontent was given an opportunity to be expressed in a systematic and constitutional manner, it would be in the interest of the British Empire and the nation. His belief was supported by many Britishers and even the Viceroy of the time, Lord Dufferin. He believed that such an organization would enable them to better understand the growing nationalism of India and the sentiments of the Indian people.

The prominent leaders of India at that time also found Sir Hume’s idea acceptable. They founded an organization called the ‘Indian National Union’ in 1884. It was decided to convene its session in Pune in December 1885; but then due to the spread of cholera in Pune, its session was held at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit Pathshala near Gowalia Tank in Mumbai, where the organization was formally established on 28 December 1885 under the name of ‘Hindi Rashtriya Mahasabha’.

A total of 72 delegates from across the country were present in this first session of the ‘Hindi Rashtriya Mahasabha’ (which was popular by the abbreviation ‘Congress’ derived from the last word of its English name ‘Indian National Congress’). Its president at that time was Vyomesh Chandra Banerjee, a famous lawyer of Kolkata. Leaders and prominent dignitaries from Mumbai and Pune were present. The goal of building a true Indian party based on the principle of national unity, away from the barriers of religion, caste and province in the country, was accepted in this conference. Its second session was held in Kolkata in 1886 and the third session in Chennai in 1887.

Development: In the initial years, the Congress adopted a very polite attitude towards the British rulers. A branch was also opened in London in 1888 to pressurize the British government for various demands of the Congress. Attracted by his propaganda, Sir Charles Bradlow, a member of the British Parliament, came to India to attend the annual session of the Congress in 1889. He introduced a bill in the British Parliament in 1890 which proposed to reform the Legislative Assemblies in India; but in response to this the British Government also introduced its own amendment bill in the Parliament, which was passed in 1892 and became famous as the ‘Hindi Legislative Assembly Act’. Thus, the Act of 1892 can be considered as the first important achievement of the Congress in the political field.

However, the reforms of 1892 were not enough in terms of the demands and expectations of the Congress. However, this amendment gave an opportunity to nationalist leaders like Surendranath Banerjee, Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Sir Pherozeshah Mehta etc. to enter the new Legislative Assemblies. They lost faith in the British rule and gradually a political movement emerged demanding reforms. They effectively raised the demands and grievances of the people of India in the Legislative Assemblies. Through their actions they created interest in politics among the people of India and showed the world that if given the opportunity, the people of India can also rule well and implement parliamentary democracy effectively.

Congress Split at Surat (1907): During the second decade of the Congress (1895-1905) many important events took place in Indian politics which influenced the development of the Congress. The most important event among these was the rise of militant nationalism in Indian politics. The indifference of the British government towards the Congress proposals demanding reforms created great discontent among the youth of the Congress. They became increasingly aggressive against the government.

The Congress was confused by the talk of loyalty; they started believing that action would open the eyes of the government sooner than negotiations or settlement. The leader of this new radical ideology was the popular Bal Gangadhar Tilak. He did not like the polite policy of leaders like Firozshah Mehta and Gokhale of running the movement through constitutional means. He wanted to challenge the government directly through violent action and wanted to overthrow the government by organizing the masses across the country, by the immense power of the people. Thus, his program was so radical that he and his supporters were considered ‘Jahalvadi’ (extremist) as opposed to ‘Mavalwadi’. Tilak Maharaj started folk festivals like Chhatrapati Shivaji Utsav and Ganpati Utsav in Maharashtra to bring mass awareness and organization. He started a paper called ‘Kesari’ in which he strongly criticized the repressive policies of the government. Those articles and the harsh punishment given to Tilak for them, the terrible famine that hit Maharashtra in 1897, the plague that spread in the Mumbai region the very next year, etc., became the catalyst for creating mass awareness for the Congress. During this period, thousands of youth entered active politics under the leadership of Lala Lajpat Rai in Punjab and Bipin Chandra Pal and Arvind Ghosh in Bengal. In 1905, the imperialist-minded Viceroy Lord Curzon partitioned Bengal with the malicious intention of disrupting Hindu-Muslim unity on the pretext of administrative efficiency. Therefore, the Constitutionalists (Mawal) also started looking at the British rule with suspicion and hatred; meanwhile, the agitated youth in various parts of the country including Bengal adopted ‘bomb worship’ and started waiting for armed revolution.

In such a turbulent atmosphere, differences also arose among the Congress leaders. While the leaders of the old generation like Surendranath Banerjee, Dadabhai Naoroji, Ferozeshah Mehta, Gopal Krishna Gokhale etc. wanted to achieve ‘local self-rule’ on the basis of loyalty to the British Empire, the ‘Jahalos’ of the Tilak group wanted complete self-rule. In the Congress session in 1906, the conflict between the two factions stopped due to the compromising attitude of President Dadabhai. The 1907 Congress session was originally scheduled to be held in Nagpur, but fearing that Tilak Maharaj’s influence would be greater there and that the Jahals would take over the Congress, the Maval leaders shifted the venue from Nagpur to Surat. But there too, the first day of the session ended in chaos. The next day the two groups held separate meetings. They all parted ways after insulting each other badly. The following year, the Congress constitution was amended, making it easier to expel Tilak and the Jahal faction from the Congress. Tilak and his colleagues left the Congress. This split of the Congress was a real disaster for the national freedom movement.

Lucknow Pact (1916): During this time, the British were spreading the poison of separatism among a significant section of the Indian population, the Muslims, in accordance with their policy of ‘divide and rule’. Due to his influence, reformist Muslim leaders like Sir Syed Ahmad, who in spite of being an advocate of a nationwide organisation which could convey the grievances of the Indian masses to the ears of the British rule, stayed away from joining the Congress; not only this, he also advised the Muslims to stay away from the Congress. The Muslim League was born in 1906 out of the fear created by the British that the Congress was a ‘Hindu organisation’ and if it came to power, the Muslims would be crushed under the rule of the Hindu majority. The Muslim League showed a sense of loyalty to the British Government. It demanded separate electorates for Muslims in the Central and Provincial Legislatures. The British Government fulfilled this demand by enacting a law called the ‘Morley-Minto Amendment’ in 1909. Thus, a dangerous communal element entered the national politics of India.

In 1915 Mrs. Annie Besant tried to establish unity between the two factions of the Congress through her ‘Home Rule Movement’. Further, with the death of Pherozeshah Mehta and Gokhale, the Mawal faction got weakened. As a result, unity was established between the Mawal and Jahal factions of the Congress in 1916. During the same period, efforts were also made to establish Hindu-Muslim unity in national politics. Due to the influence of young nationalist Muslim leaders like Maulana Muhammad Ali, Shaukat Ali, Muhammad Ali Jinnah etc., the Muslim League changed its attitude towards the Congress. In 1915, the Congress and the Muslim League held their sessions simultaneously in Bombay, where the leaders of both delivered speeches full of nationalist spirit in each other’s meetings. As a result, an agreement was signed between the Congress and the Muslim League in Lucknow in 1916. Which came to be known as the ‘Lucknow Pact’. Under this ‘Lucknow Pact’, the Muslim League agreed to cooperate with the Congress in the struggle for national independence, while on the other hand the Congress accepted the Muslim League’s claim for separate and communal electorate. Though this was against the Congress principle of national unity, the Congress leaders compromised on this principle to convince their Muslim countrymen and to instill faith in the Congress objectives in them. Thus, for the first (and last) time in Indian national politics, Congress-League unity was achieved; but British diplomacy did not allow this unity to last for long and they passed an Act in Parliament in 1919 which was called the “Unity of the League”.

Known as the ‘Montford Amendment’, it further spread the communal poison. This act continued the communal electorate in the central and provincial legislatures; not only this, new rules were also made for other communities. Moreover, this reform included a strange experiment of establishing ‘partially responsible government’ in the provinces, while retaining the structure of the central government. The Congress leaders rejected this amendment; however, the British government started implementing these reforms in the provinces from 1921. But that was all.

By then the historic Gandhian era had begun in the Congress and the national freedom movement.

The era of Gandhiji’s leadership: Nagpur Congress: With the death of Lokmanya Tilak on 1 August 1920, the era of militancy in the Indian freedom movement ended and the era of non-cooperation and satyagraha began under the leadership of Gandhiji. Initially Gandhiji had faith in the loyalty of the British rulers; but one after another repressive actions of the British government shook his loyalty to the government. The Defence of India Act was in force during the First World War; but even after the war was over, it was continued in the name of the Rowlatt Act to suppress the nationalist movement, resulting in massive protests against this ‘black law’ across the country. As a part of this protest, General Dyer fired machine guns at the crowd gathered at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab on 13 April, leading to a massacre. When the British government defended this massacre, Gandhi lost faith in the British sense of justice. There was an uproar within him and the ‘Non-Cooperation Movement’ was born from that.

In September 1920, Gandhi passed a resolution of non-cooperation against such unjust and oppressive policies of the British government in the Calcutta session of the Congress. Although the top leaders of the Congress were skeptical about the success of this nationwide program, Gandhi’s resolution was passed. In December, the resolution was passed with an overwhelming majority in the annual session of the Congress in Nagpur. From then on, Gandhi’s dominance was established over the Congress. The Nagpur Congress also brought about a revolutionary change in the goals of the Congress. So far its goal was to achieve self-government ‘while remaining within the British Empire’. Now the goal of achieving self-government, “even by going outside the British Empire if necessary” was accepted. Further, it was decided that this goal would be achieved “by any peaceful and reasonable means”. Muslim leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah opposed this and decided to separate from the Congress. Thus the Nagpur Congress holds a very important place in the national history of India.

Non-cooperation Movement: The people of the country enthusiastically welcomed Gandhiji’s non-cooperation program. This movement had two aspects: negative and constructive. Its negative aspects included boycott of government schools, colleges, courts, offices and assemblies and elections, resignation from government posts, resignation from membership of municipalities and district boards, boycott of foreign goods, etc. Its constructive aspects included the use of swadeshi goods, khadi, abolition of untouchability, establishment of national universities imparting national education, etc. Both these types of programs were very successful; But people had still not fully digested the philosophy of satyagraha and non-violence. In February 1922, a mob in Chauri Chaura village in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh burnt alive 21 policemen in a police station. So Gandhiji immediately withdrew the non-cooperation movement. Now the government arrested Gandhiji and sentenced him to six years in prison. Then came the turn of the national independence movement; but the non-cooperation movement under the leadership of Gandhiji made the Congress a nationwide organization and spread the program of the Congress (especially the constructive) to every village. Due to this, the Congress truly became an organization of the people.

National Independence Movement under the auspices of Congress: Gandhiji’s personality and program attracted young leaders like Chakravarti Rajagopalacharya, Acharya Kripalani, Maulana Azad, Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, Rajendra Prasad etc. to the Congress and they became its prominent workers. Under Gandhiji’s guidance and leadership, Congress carried out important programmes of the national freedom movement, such as the boycott of Simon Commission (1928), acceptance of Nehru Report (1929), nationwide pledge for ‘complete independence’ on 26 January (1930), and Dandi March and Civil Disobedience Movement (1930-32). The first Round Table Conference organised by the British Government in London in 1930 failed due to Congress’ boycott; hence the then Viceroy Lord Irwin held talks with Gandhiji, as a result of which the Government released the satyagrahis unconditionally, while Congress agreed to participate in the Second Round Table Conference (Gandhi-Irwin Pact, 1931). Accordingly, Congress sent Gandhiji as its representative in the Second Round Table Conference held in London in 1931; but due to deadlock on the communal question in this conference, Gandhiji returned with great disappointment. As soon as he stepped on the border of India, he was arrested and once again the struggle of Satyagraha started throughout the country.

In the meantime, the British Government granted limited ‘autonomy’ to the provinces through the Act of 1935. Accordingly, elections to the provincial assemblies were held in 1936-37, in which the Congress got a clear majority in the assemblies of Mumbai, Chennai, United Provinces (U.P.), Bihar, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. In July 1937, the Congress formed ministries there, after the Viceroy gave an assurance that the governors of these provinces would not interfere in the day-to-day affairs of the Congress ministries. In the remaining provinces (Bengal, Assam, North-West Frontier, Sindh and Punjab) the Congress could have formed mixed ministries with the support of the Muslim League; but due to lack of support from the League, members selected by the governors became ministers.

The Congress ministries beautifully implemented parliamentary democracy in the provinces from 1937 to 1939. They provided primary education, education everywhere.

Important reforms were made in matters of finance, land reforms, rural development, debt relief for farmers, upliftment of backward classes etc. Even the British governors themselves had to appreciate their honesty, service spirit and devotion to duty; but when the Second World War broke out in September 1939, the British government involved India in the war without knowing the wishes of the people of India and despite Congress’s request, did not clarify the objectives of the war and the Congress ministries of six provinces resigned.

In August 1940, the British government proposed the formation of a Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution for India after the war and to include more Indian members in the Governor-General’s Council during the war (August Proposal); but this proposal did not clarify when self-rule would be granted to India, so the Congress rejected this proposal and in October the ‘Individual Satyagraha’ movement started under the leadership of Gandhiji. On the other hand, the Muslim League also rejected the ‘August Proposal’ and demanded Pakistan. In 1942, the British government again presented the Cripps proposal, which promised to give self-governance to India as soon as possible, to form a Constituent Assembly for a new constitution, to form a union of Indian states and provinces and as an interim plan, to include more Hindi members in the Viceroy’s Council and to hand over all departments except defense to them; but Gandhiji insisted that the Ministry of Defense should also be handed over to a Hindi member, which was not accepted and the Congress rejected the Cripps proposals. Then on August 8, Gandhiji’s historic ‘Quit India’ proposal was passed in the session of the Congress General Committee held at Mumbai Headquarters and the ‘Quit India’ movement started on August 9. This movement was extremely successful.

Quit India Movement: On the outbreak of the Second World War (1939-45), Viceroy Lord Linlithgow included India in the war without taking the Indian Federal Parliament and provincial governments into confidence. The Congress ministers resigned in protest. Under the arbitrary rule of the government bureaucrats, restrictions, black marketing, accumulation of black money and other evils took birth. The British government rejected India’s demand for colonial sovereignty. Therefore, in August 1940, the Congress Working Committee decided to launch Individual Satyagraha, but it did not yield any result. When Japan joined the war, Stafford Cripps was sent to investigate, but seeing that Cripps’ proposal accepted the demands of the Muslim League while ignoring the people of the Indian states, the Congress rejected the proposal and on August 8, 1942, the Congress General Committee met at Gowalia Tank in Mumbai (now known as August Kranti Maidan) and resolved to launch the ‘Quit India’ movement. Schools and colleges were on strike for six to eight months and the mills of Ahmedabad were on strike for three and a half months. An attempt was made to paralyze the entire government system. Bombs were made and sabotage was carried out in Ahmedabad and other places. Secret pamphlets were also published to promote the fight. This battle had a special impact in Ahmedabad, Kheda, Bharuch and Surat. Youth, especially students, took the lead in the battle. Distressed by the violence, Gandhiji fasted for 21 days. Finally, suffering from malaria, Gandhiji was released in 1944. Indians and soldiers living outside India formed the Azad Hind Fauj to fight the foreign rule in India. As a result of all this, the British authorities were convinced that they had to leave India.

On the other hand, Subhash Chandra Bose, who had left the Congress in 1939, went out of India and accepted the leadership of the Azad Hind Fauj (1942) formed with the cooperation of Japan. Under his leadership, the Azad Hind Fauj attacked the Indian border through Myanmar in 1943; this shook the British government and made another attempt to persuade India. Viceroy Lord Wavell expressed his desire to include Indians as ministers in the interim government in 1945; but this plan was abandoned due to differences between the Congress and Jinnah over Muslim members. The world war ended (August, 1945). In February 1946 the sailors revolted in Mumbai. The Congress urged the sailors to stop the revolt; (the Congress never wanted to involve the army in its struggle)

(The British government had not thought of doing this.) But the British government understood the seriousness of the situation. Meanwhile, new elections were held in England. Churchill’s Conservative Party was defeated and the Labour Party came to power. Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee sent a delegation of three prominent members of his cabinet (called the ‘Cabinet Mission’) to India with the objective of providing complete self-rule to India. The plan that this Cabinet Mission put before the Indian leaders included important matters like the formation of Akhand Hind, groups of Hindu-majority and Muslim-majority provinces, a Constituent Assembly to make a new constitution and permission to any province or group to separate from the Union after 10 years of the implementation of the Constitution. The plan also proposed that the political parties in India that accept this plan will be included as ministers in the interim government of the Center.

Due to this proposal, Congress and Muslim League accepted the plan despite being unhappy with other provisions of the plan. Soon after this, elections to the Constituent Assembly were held according to this plan. Congress got a huge majority in it. Therefore, the Muslim League, in anger, ordered to celebrate ‘Direct Action Day’ for Pakistan on 16 August 1946. This led to Hindu-Muslim riots all over the country. Meanwhile, according to the Cabinet Mission Plan, the Congress formed an interim government under the leadership of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on 21 September 1946.

The cabinet was formed. The Muslim League also decided to join this interim cabinet after initial boycott; but their ministers created an atmosphere of conflict in the cabinet instead of cooperation. The Muslim League had boycotted the Constituent Assembly, so in its absence the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly was held on 9 December 1946, in which Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected the President of the Constituent Assembly. After this, the Constituent Assembly started the work of drafting the Constitution of independent India.

On 20 February 1947, British Prime Minister Attlee announced to grant independence to India as soon as possible and to expedite this process, he sent Lord Mountbatten to India as Viceroy; But with the declaration of India’s independence, the Muslim League once again ordered ‘Direct Action’ to achieve Pakistan, resulting in communal riots throughout the country. Under such circumstances, finding it difficult to maintain the unity and integrity of India, the Viceroy Lord Mountbatten announced on June 3, 1947, the plan to partition India into two independent states, India and Pakistan. This Mountbatten plan caused dismay and shock throughout the country; however, the Congress accepted the partition of the country for some practical reasons. Thereafter in July 1947 the British Parliament passed the ‘Indian Independence Act’. Accordingly the divided India became independent on 15 August 1947. From that day onwards, the rule of the British Crown over the Indian states also ended and they were allowed to join the Indian Union or Pakistan or remain independent.

Congress after Independence: Throughout the freedom struggle and especially after the advent of Gandhiji, the political and constructive service work of the Congress (eradication of untouchability, use of Khadi and Swadeshi, eradication of illiteracy, prohibition, communal harmony, women welfare, rural upliftment etc.) developed simultaneously; not only this, both these aspects were so interlinked that one could not be imagined without the other. However, the aspect of constructive work that directly touched the lives of the people was more acceptable to the masses (at that time, the freedom struggle was also viewed from a nationalistic perspective rather than a political one). It was because of this constructive aspect of the Congress that it was able to reach thousands of villages and hearts of millions of people across the country. From the top leaders of the Congress to the smallest worker, the identity of a Congressman was established in the minds of the people that a Congressman means ‘Gandhi Bapu’s man’, a person who embodies the values of truth, honesty, service, simplicity and patriotism.

But this situation gradually started changing after independence. Even before independence, Gandhiji, as a visionary, had indicated about the future form and scope of the Congress in his article ‘Harijanbandhu’ on 3 August 1947, saying that if the Congress wanted to survive as a powerful and effective force in the country, it would have to transform itself into an organization dedicated to constructive work; but the conditions of the country at that time made this almost impossible. In fact, the political responsibilities that came upon the Congress in this situation made it purely a political party. Due to these political and social conditions of the country after independence and the dedication and excellent patriotism of the Congress leaders, the Congress Party dominated Indian politics for about a decade and a half after independence. The strength of the Congress as a nationalist organization kept on decreasing. In the first three successive elections held after the Constitution of independent India came into force on 26 January 1950, namely the first general election of 1952 and the subsequent elections of 1957 and 1962, the Congress won a landslide victory at the Centre and in most of the states, and it may be said that it ruled the entire country for a single term. This led to the development of a one-party dominant system in India. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had given the impetus to parliamentary democracy.

He set a record by being elected as the Prime Minister of the federal government as the leader of the Congress Party for 18 consecutive years from 1946 (interim government) till his death in 1964.

During the Nehru era, the Congress government at the center solved the problem of Pakistani refugees. Through the strategy of Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the merger of Indian states into the Indian Union was completed and the issues of Junagadh, Hyderabad, Goa and Kashmir were resolved. Apart from this, linguistic state reorganization, economic development through planning, establishment of democratic socialism, abolition of untouchability, abolition of zamindari, prohibition of liquor, etc. can be counted among the achievements of the Congress governments during this period. Also, during this period India gained a reputation in the world as a stable, world’s largest democratic and peace-loving country and became the leader of the Non-Aligned Movement in the world. Thus, the credit for providing political stability to India even in difficult circumstances during the transition period of independence and strengthening the foundation of child democracy goes to the leaders of the Congress Party at that time.

During this time, differences started arising within the Congress party between people who believed in different ideologies and goals. The communists were expelled from the Congress in 1945 itself due to their role in the ‘Quit India’ movement. Apart from this, progressive youth with socialist ideology like Jayaprakash Narayan, Ashok Mehta, Ram Manohar Lohia, Achyut Patwardhan, Acharya Narendra Dev etc. had established the Socialist Group as a branch of the Congress since 1934. Now in February 1948, they formally broke ties with the Congress and founded the Socialist Party. It was during this period that veteran Congressmen like Acharya Kripalani left the Congress due to differences and personal grievances. He founded the ‘Kisan Mazdoor Praja Paksha’ in 1951. In 1952, this party merged with the Socialist Party to form the ‘Praja Socialist Party’; but soon a new ‘United Socialist Party’ was formed under the leadership of Ram Manohar Lohia. Madhu Limaye, Karpoori Thakur, Rajnarayan etc. were the leaders of this party. On the other hand, the Congress adopted a program in its session held in Avadi in 1955 incorporating the revolutionary goal of a socialist style social structure and for its implementation it was decided to impose a maximum limit on land ownership in the agricultural sector. Then, angry with them, prominent leaders like Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (Rajaji), Prof. Ranga, Minu Masani, Kanhaiyalal Munshi etc. broke away from the Congress and founded the ‘Swatantra Party’ (which came to be known as the right wing or conservative party) in 1959. Thus it can be said that the Congress Party became the parent of many current political parties of the country.

The Chinese invasion of India in 1962 dealt a severe blow to the brilliance of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and the Congress. The Nehru era of the Congress ended with the death of Nehru in May 1964.

Time of internal crisis for the Congress Party: After Nehru’s death, Lal Bahadur Shastri became the captain of the Congress and the country. Shastri ji’s patience and courage played a major role in the success of the Indian Army during the Pakistani invasion in 1965. Soon after the victory in this war, Prime Minister Shastri ji, who had gone to Tashkent, Russia for India-Pakistan peace talks, died suddenly in January 1966. After this, the buried differences among the party leaders came to the surface and intense competition and infighting for leadership (and hence power) began in the party. A group of veteran leaders like Morarji Desai, Kamaraj, Sadoba Patil, Nijalingappa and Atulya Ghosh emerged in the party with the intention of taking control of the party and the government, which came to be known as the ‘Syndicate’. They pushed Morarji Desai as the party leader, but ultimately Mrs. Indira Gandhi was unanimously elected as the leader of the Congress.

Due to this internal strife, factionalism and power struggle within the Congress, the Congress party could not perform well in the fourth Lok Sabha elections held in 1967. It got a marginal majority (283 out of 518 seats) in the Lok Sabha and was unable to form state governments in Kerala, West Bengal, Chennai and Orissa. After this election, there was once again a struggle for the post of Prime Minister. Morarji Desai once again staked claim to the party leadership against Mrs. Indira Gandhi. Eventually, he was dismissed by giving him the post of Deputy Prime Minister. The crisis of the Congress Party was averted for the time being; but after this, differences between the institutional and parliamentary wings of the party increased. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi started ignoring the top leaders of the organization in many ways. As a result, the conflict between the veteran leaders of the party and the Prime Minister intensified; but in this struggle, the Prime Minister was getting support from the youth wing of the party within the party and in the Parliament. For some reason or the other, important members of the cabinet like Jagjivan Ram, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Yashwantrao Chavan etc. also became strong supporters of the Prime Minister. Finally, in the Congress General Committee meeting held in Bangalore in July 1969, internal differences within the Congress Party came out in the open on the issue of nationalization of banks. Similarly, in the Presidential election, the leaders known as the Syndicate chose Neelam Sanjiva Ray; but against him Vice-President Varahagiri Venkatagiri fielded the Prime Minister and his party.

After this, Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi took over the finance portfolio from Morarji Desai. As a result, the Congress Party Working Committee expelled Smt. Indira Gandhi from the Congress Party in November 1969! But Prime Minister Indira Gandhi proved her majority in the parliamentary party. After this, a parallel Congress came into existence under the leadership of Indira Gandhi. Later it came to be known as Indira Congress or Congress-I. Thus, the Congress was divided and the history of Surat Congress of 1907 was repeated. The Congress led by Indira Gandhi came to be known as ‘Ruling Congress’ and the old Congress as ‘Institutional Congress’.

This division in the Congress Party affected both the Houses of Parliament, State Assemblies, District level and even at the village level. Congress was divided into two parties everywhere. Congress became power-centric. Their nationalist fervour became almost invisible. Despite the Congress not getting a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi remained in power with the support of independents and some opposition parties. She nationalised 14 major banks in India. Subsequently, a bill was introduced to abolish the royal annuities and privileges of the former royal families, which was passed by a majority in the Lok Sabha but could not be passed in the Rajya Sabha as it fell short of 1 vote. As a result, the royal annuities and privileges were abolished by a presidential order; but the Supreme Court declared the ordinance unconstitutional and struck it down. Indira Gandhi then dissolved the Lok Sabha in December 1970 to secure a clear majority in Parliament. Thus, for the first time in the history of India, the Lok Sabha was dissolved before the expiry of its term.

The fifth mid-term elections to the Lok Sabha were held in March 1971. The ruling Congress Party led by Indira Gandhi won a majority in the Lok Sabha (350 out of 516 seats); When the united front of two organisations – Congress, Swatantra Party and Jana Sangh – led by Nijalingappa broke down. After this spectacular victory of the ruling Congress, the royalty and special rights of the former kings were abolished by constitutional amendments. Due to the oppression of Pakistani dictatorship in East Bengal, about 95 lakh Bengali refugees came to India, creating a big problem for the country. Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi visited Europe and America and tried to explain the problem of these Bangladeshi refugees abroad. Meanwhile, on 8 August 1971, the historic twenty-year friendship agreement was signed between India and Russia, which was an important achievement of the Indira Gandhi government. (This agreement was extended for another twenty years on 8 August 1991.) Finally in December 1971, Pakistan attacked India, resulting in a war between India and Pakistan, in which India emerged victorious and Bangladesh came into existence as an independent nation. Due to all these reasons, the influence and prestige of India and Indira Gandhi increased considerably. She benefited from this in the state assembly elections held in March 1972. In these elections, her ruling Congress party won with a huge majority everywhere. Thus, the dominance of the ruling Congress party was established not only at the centre but also in the states. Once again, the era of one-party dominance came in India and thus history repeated itself.

But in 1975, when the Allahabad High Court declared the election of Mrs. Indira Gandhi invalid, she declared internal emergency in the whole country (26 June, 1975). This emergency lasted for about two and a half years (March 1977), during which the implementation of the civil rights of the people remained suspended. Many opposition leaders including Jayaprakash Narayan and Morarji Desai were arrested. Due to all this, Indira Gandhi’s popularity decreased. Ultimately, under heavy pressure of public opinion, she had to hold mid-term elections in March 1977; but this sixth Lok Sabha election went against Indira Gandhi and her ruling Congress party; many prominent leaders of her own and ruling Congress like Shankar Dayal Sharma, Sardar Swarn Singh, K.D. Malviya, Manubhai Shah, Vidyacharan Shukla lost. The first ‘non-Congress’ government in India was formed by Morarji Desai, leader of the opposition Janata Party. Thereafter, state elections were held in which the Janata Party won a majority in 7 out of 10 states; the ruling Congress was defeated in all states; but the Janata Party experiment did not last long. The Janata government fell in July 1979 due to differences and personal animosity among the leaders of various opposition parties. The government of Charan Singh, who came to power after Janata Party leader Morarji, also did not last long and the Lok Sabha was dissolved by the President (August, 1979).

Then, in January 1980, in the seventh Lok Sabha election, ‘Congress-I’ won a spectacular victory; but by this time the old cleavage of the Congress had broken. It was reduced to a mere power-centric political party (it won 351 of the 524 seats in the Lok Sabha) and Indira Gandhi returned to power. The very next month, non-Congress governments were dismissed in nine states. Elections were held there in May 1980. In which Congress (I) got a huge majority in eight states except Tamil Nadu. In March 1983, India voted in favour of a new government.

Delhi hosted the Seventh Conference of the Non-Aligned Nations of the world; Indira Gandhi was elected its President. This led to a great increase in her prestige at home and abroad.

The Rajiv Era: On 31 October 1984, Smt. Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her bodyguards at her residence. On the same day, her eldest son and less familiar with political rhetoric, Rajiv Gandhi was elected leader of the Congress(I) Party and the Congress(I) Parliamentary Party. Soon after becoming Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi held elections to the Eighth Lok Sabha in December 1984.

The record majority (401 out of 508 seats) obtained by the Congress(I) in the Lok Sabha in these elections of December 1984 showed that the nation had unprecedented faith in the young leadership of Rajiv Gandhi. These elections were followed by Assembly elections in 11 states and 3 Union Territories in March 1985; in which the Congress(I) got a majority in all the remaining states except Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Sikkim. The old organisation, the Congress, no longer existed in name; People started calling Congress(I) as ‘Congress’. These Congress(I) leaders started identifying their Congress as the successor of Gandhiji and Nehru’s Congress. In reality, it was a new Congress whose intentions were only electoral and power-centric. Meanwhile, Rajiv Gandhi’s popularity suffered a lot due to some policy mistakes, especially the allegations of his friends’ involvement in corruption in the Bofors gun deal. Senior leaders like V.P. Singh and Chandrashekhar broke away from Congress(I) and formed a new political party called Janata Dal, which was joined by many disgruntled Congress(I) leaders. As a result of all this, Rajiv Gandhi was elected in the ninth Lok Sabha election held in November 1989; but his Congress(I) party lost its majority in the Lok Sabha. However, Congress(I) emerged as the largest party in the Lok Sabha with 192 seats out of 523; but when Rajiv Gandhi expressed his reluctance to form the government, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, leader of the National Front formed by Janata Dal and other opposition parties, formed the government with outside support from the leftist parties and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

In addition, the Janata Dal won several states in the assembly elections held in February 1990.

But in November 1990, the V.P. Singh government fell when the Bharatiya Janata Party withdrew its support from the government. In his place, Janata Dal leader Chandrashekhar formed the Janata Dal Samajwadi Party with about 30 Janata Dal members and formed a government with the support of Congress(I); but in April 1991 Chandrashekhar chose to resign rather than succumb to Congress(I) pressure on policy matters. Thus, elections for the 10th Lok Sabha were held again in 1991. After the first phase of polling in this election, Congress(I) president Rajiv Gandhi died in a bomb blast at an election rally in Tamil Nadu on 21 May. P.V. Narasimha Rao was immediately elected as the president of Congress(I) in his place. Due to the distressed atmosphere created in the country after the sudden and shocking death of Rajiv Gandhi, the Election Commission postponed the remaining two phases of polling for three weeks. Voting ended in July; But even in these elections, no party got a clear majority in the Lok Sabha. Congress (I) party emerged as the single largest party once again with 234 out of 511 seats. P. V. Narasimha Rao, the President of Congress (I), was elected. P. V. Narasimha Rao formed the Congress (I) government despite not having a clear majority in the Lok Sabha. He also obtained the vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha with the support of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.

In 1969, Mrs. Indira Gandhi broke away from the original Congress and formed the Congress (I) party, and was formally elected President of Congress (I) in 1972; but then there was never a formal election of the President or executive members and office bearers of the party until P. V. Narasimha Rao was elected President in 1991. The party held its first organisational election in 19 years at the Tirupati convention in December 1991, in which P. V. Narasimha Rao was elected Prime Minister. There is also a view in the party that one person should not hold more than one post as per the previous resolution of the party. Among the sub-organisations or affiliates of Congress(I), the Congress Seva Dal, Mahila Congress and Youth Congress can be considered the main ones. These organisations are doing important work in their respective fields. Like the original Congress, the goals of the Congress(I) Party also include (1) protection of the unity and integrity of the country, (2) eradication of poverty and unemployment, (3) establishment of social and economic justice, (4) opposition to casteism and communalism and protection of secularism, (5) eradication of untouchability, eradication of illiteracy and eradication of casteism, and (6) non-alignment, non-aggression, peaceful co-existence, world peace, world friendship and world cooperation in the international arena. However, the spirit of the constructive programme of the original Congress has almost disappeared from these goals and programmes, and the identity of Congress(I) remains as a political party. The Congress flag (tricolour with a border in the middle) and the Congress’ Vedic mantra-like ‘Vande Mataram’ still remain, but the sentiment for which many famous and unknown workers gladly sacrificed their lives during the freedom struggle has now lost its appeal and the Congress now uses its election symbol (

First a pair of bulls and then a cow and calf and finally a hand) of Indira’s Congress and identified with slogans like ‘Garibi Hatao’, ‘Working Government’ or ‘Stable Government’.

Congress: Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Finance Minister of P.V. Narasimha Rao government, abolished the license-permit state policy of socialist style social structure to take the country’s economy towards global competition and opened the doors of the country’s economy through free economy policies for tremendous economic growth, paving the way for free economic development. However, the Congress party lost its majority in the 1996 general elections and P.V. Narasimha Rao resigned. Sitaram Kesari became the President of the party in 1996. For the next three years the Congress party remained a frustrated and fragmented party. Leaders within the party kept fighting for power and ego, kept threatening to leave the party and there were indications that the party would disintegrate.

In 1998, Sonia Gandhi was invited to become the President of the party. As soon as she became the party president, the threat of a split in the party diminished. With the slogan ‘Congress ka Haath, Garib ka Saath’, the party won the state elections in 2002 and 2003 and became strong enough to form the government.

A brainstorming camp was held in Shimla in July 2003, in which the party participated in the general elections of May 2004 with the resolution of ‘Congress ka Haath, Aam Aadmi ke Saath’. After the elections, the Congress Party formed the government at the Centre under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) with the support of other parties. Mrs. Sonia Gandhi declined the offer of the post of Prime Minister and became the head of the Parliamentary Party. Former Finance Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh became the Prime Minister on 22 May 2004. Since this government was supported mainly by the leftist parties, the Congress Party was able to retain the government despite difficulties.

By observing the performance of the party it becomes clear that the Congress party, which ruled the entire country for a long time after independence, was marginalized after almost 90 years. It had to form alliances with other parties to form the government. Veteran leaders like Sharad Pawar left the party and the National Congress Party (NCP) was formed.

When Indira Gandhi’s government was re-formed in 1980, Haryana

Bhajanlal (Janata Sarkar) joined the Congress party along with his subordinate assembly members, which brought out another strong evidence of their lust for power and destruction of the norms of morality. In the 1990s, during the P.V. Narasimha Rao government, the Babri Masjid was demolished in 1993 and MPs like Shibu Soren were swayed to the party’s side by paying huge bribes. Through this, the party survived by basing itself on the values of morality. At the same time, the service-oriented Congress of the freedom movement and the early days of independence changed completely and became pro-authoritarian. The Congress party had no choice but to continue with the old name. The dominance of the so-called ‘ruling party’ Congress had almost vanished.

This long-standing party is facing its biggest national leadership crisis. Not a single credible leader with nationwide influence and charismatic leadership has been able to develop the party. Despite the success of Mrs. Sonia Gandhi in this responsibility, the party has not been able to solve the problem of universally accepted and respected leadership. If we look at the developments of 2007, Rahul Gandhi has taken over the reins of political leadership in Uttar Pradesh since April 2007. With this, the legacy of the Nehru family – Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and finally Rahul Gandhi – has dominated the Congress party. Secondly, Bhajanlal, the father of ‘Aayaram Gayaram’ in Indian politics, resigned from the Congress. Thirdly, senior Kerala leader Karunakaran rejoined the Congress party. Thus, there have been major changes in the internal structure of the Congress.

The party’s power-orientation and bargaining politics cannot remain hidden in state-level or national general elections. Other power-hungry parties and senior parties like the Congress also seem to be followers of the same faith. Serious erosion of morality, sociality and democratic values has become evident. This senior party also engages in the strategy of forming opportunistic alliances with other parties, whenever and wherever required, so that maximum benefits can be derived and minimum losses to allies are suffered. The corruption spreading in political life is eroding democratic values, pushing the common man into a deep abyss of despair. The immaturity of the party, party loyalty and its political understanding is dragging this party into new problems.

Congress (Gujarat)
The branch of the National Congress in the Gujarat region. The Indian National Congress, which started in 1885, spread to every corner of the country and became a national movement, a nationwide party and the main vehicle of India’s freedom struggle. In the background of its establishment, many small and big events had already taken place in Gujarat.

Some events that took place in the mid-nineteenth century reflect the political awareness that began among the people of that time. In 1844, a meeting, procession and then a three-day strike of about 30,000 people against the salt tax led to the repeal of the salt tax in Surat. The strike against the Bengali weighing system introduced in 1848,

Protests against income tax in 1860, protest against license tax in 1878 etc. were symbolic events.

The establishment of Manav Dharm Sabha in Surat in 1844, Gujarat Vernacular Society in Ahmedabad in 1848, Prarthana Sabha in 1871, Arya Samaj in 1875 and Theosophical Society in 1878 led to the emergence of a new consciousness and national spirit throughout Gujarat. As a result, public associations were established mainly by lawyers and merchants in Surat and Bharuch in 1871 and in Ahmedabad in 1872 to convey the voice of the people to the government. This activity ceased after a short time, but in 1882 Prajahitrakshak Sabha was established in Surat for this purpose. Harilal Harshad Dhruv was its leader. In 1875 Hargovinddas Kantawala and Ambalal Sakkarlal Desai founded Swadeshi Udyogvardhak Mandal and its branches were started in Surat, Bharuch and Rajkot. Gujarat Sabha was born in 1884 under the leadership of Ranchhodlal Chhotelal and Bechardas Laxmi. Thus preparations were made for political, social, religious and economic upheaval in Gujarat.

After the establishment of the Indian National Congress in 1885, the Gujarat Sabha established in Ahmedabad selected representatives from Gujarat for its first session. On 28 December 1885, the first session of the Congress was held at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit Pathshala Bhawan in Mumbai due to the efforts of Allan Octavian Hume. Out of the 72 delegates present, 11 delegates from Surat, Ahmedabad and Viramgam of Gujarat participated. These included Harilal Harshad Dhruv, Ambalal Sakkarlal Desai, Tribhuvan Das Gajjar, Manchersha Kekobad etc. From Mumbai were Dadabhai Naoroji, Dinsha Wacha and Ferozesha Mehta. Gujarat’s representation was special as compared to other provinces.

The Indian National Congress sessions were held in Ahmedabad in 1902 and Surat in 1907 and two factions, Jahal and Mawal, emerged in the Congress. In 1913, Sansarsudharan Parishad was organised, which helped in awakening the consciousness of the people. Governor-General Curzon’s plan of partition of Bengal and his autocratic policy gave rise to the Swadeshi movement and promoted revolutionary activities. After the Surat session, the influence of the rationalist bourgeoisie and constitutionalists in the Congress diminished and its leadership came into the hands of the liberal educated class, while the influence of revolutionary elements increased. The ‘Bombay Era’ arose in Gujarat under the influence of Aurobindo Ghosh and Barindra. Ganganath Vidyalaya in Vadodara and Dakshinamurthy Institute in Bhavnagar were established to spread the spirit of national education.

In 1914, Lokmanya Tilak came out of jail and became the leader of Jahal and Mawal Pak.

An activity was started to unite the people. Annie Besant also joined the Congress in 1914 and founded the ‘Home Rule League’ in 1915 to bring Swaraj in India. Its branches were in cities like Ahmedabad, Surat, Nadiad, Godhra, Bharuch etc. Bal Gangadhar Tilak called a conference of nationalists in Mumbai in 1915 and founded the ‘Home Rule League’ in 1916. Many meetings were held in connection with this movement at places like Surat, Abrama, Kacholi, Bharuch, Jambusar, Amod, Nadiad, Anand, Umareth, Chikhodara, Chaklashi, Godhra, Dahod etc. In Ahmedabad, a crowd of about 10,000 people gathered under the leadership of Gandhiji to protest against the arrest of Annie Besant. After the release of Annie Besant and with the growing influence of Gandhiji, this movement slowed down. This movement lasted from 1916 to 1919.

Since there was no official committee affiliated to the Congress in Gujarat, the work of implementing and propagating the orders and resolutions of the Congress throughout the year was done by the Gujarat Sabha.

After Gandhiji’s arrival in Ahmedabad, Gujarat in 1915, the leadership of Gujarat Sabha passed into the hands of Vallabhbhai Patel, Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar, Indulal Yagnik and Krishnalal Desai and consciousness spread. Gujarat Sabha became directly involved in political work.

Gujarat Provincial Council was established in Gujarat with the idea of creating provinces on linguistic basis. Now Gujarat Sabha has merged with Gujarat Council. Gandhiji was elected the President of the Council and Indulal Yagnik and Vallabhbhai were elected ministers. In November 1917, the first session of the Gujarat Council was held in Godhra. On Gandhiji’s suggestion, the proceedings of this Shakrati Parishad were published in Gujarati for the first time and the practice of showing loyalty to the British crown was stopped. In this conference, a resolution was taken to end the practice of Vet. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Lokmanya Tilak, Dada Saheb Khaparde, Vitthalbhai Patel etc. participated in this conference.

The first new constitution of the Congress was prepared in the Congress session held in Nagpur in December 1920. Accordingly, a new constitution of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee was also prepared. The responsibility of this work was on Vitthalbhai Patel. His colleagues were Vallabhbhai and Indulal Yagnik. Along with this, the party’s four anna membership fee receipt book was also printed. Within a month, a sufficient number of members were registered. Indulal Yagnik took care of the arrangements for the elections of the Congress Provincial Committee.

The first meeting of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee was held on March 13, 1921 in the hall of Sansar Sudhar Samaj in Ahmedabad under the chairmanship of Gandhiji. The first meeting was held two weeks later. Vallabhbhai Pramukh was appointed president and Indulal Yagnik and Ganesh Vasudev Mavlankar were appointed ministers. An executive or working committee of 10 members was formed. Similarly, districts and talukas across Gujarat

First a pair of bulls and then a cow and calf and finally a hand) of Indira’s Congress and identified with slogans like ‘Garibi Hatao’, ‘Working Government’ or ‘Stable Government’.

When Indira Gandhi’s government was re-formed in 1980, Haryana

Protests against income tax in 1860, protest against license tax in 1878 etc. were symbolic events.

In 1914, Lokmanya Tilak came out of jail and became the leader of Jahal and Mawal Pak.

Committees were formed at the district level.

Gujarat also passed the first resolution on non-cooperation in 1920. Sabarmati Ashram became the centre of this struggle. In 1921, the 36th session of the Congress was held in Ahmedabad. Public contributions were collected to meet the expenses of the conference.

In 1924, the Gujarat Congress passed a resolution that every member of the Congress will spin yarn 3000 times and if he could not do so, he would have to resign. Gujarat was ahead of all states in terms of the number of Congress members. Ahmedabad had 2227 members, Kheda had 1777, Panchmahal had 939, Bharuch had 769 and Surat had 1686 members. In 1931, a meeting was held to elect the executive of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee, in which Vallabhbhai Patel was elected president and Jeevanlal Diwan and Manilal Kothari were elected ministers. In addition, Bhogilal Lala and Morarji Desai were appointed as additional full-time ministers.

After the Congress session held in Ahmedabad, the additional amount received from public contribution was used to build the Congress Bhavan in front of Bhadra area. When Morarjibhai Patel became the State Office Minister, he formed the Gujarat Congress Youth League for the first time. Till that time there was an All India Youth Congress, but it had no branch in Gujarat.

In 1934, Gujarat was allotted one seat in the Delhi Central Legislative Assembly election. Bhulabhai Desai won this election. In 1935, the Golden Jubilee of the General Assembly was celebrated on completion of fifty years of the Indian National Congress. Under this, the Congress Committee organized a program to celebrate Illumination and Golden Week.

With the rise of Congress in Gujarat, the contribution of Gujarat in its development, history and various achievements has been significant, historic and successful.

Congress Sessions in Gujarat: Congress sessions were held in Gujarat in 1902, 1907, 1921, 1938 and 1961.

The first session of the Congress was held in Gujarat in 1902 under the presidency of Surendranath Banerjee. It was welcomed by Ambalal Sakkarlal Desai, with Govardhanram Tripathi, Maganbhai Chaturbhai and Kanaiyalal Yagnik as representatives and K.Mata. Munshi participated in it as a volunteer. In this session, 22 resolutions were passed on issues like poverty in India, famine, duty on cloth, discrimination against Indians abroad, apartheid policy, over-representation of Indians in government jobs and army etc.

In 1907, the Congress session was held in Surat. Mavla and Jahlo were also present. The session ended due to disagreement over the election of the president.

An exhibition of indigenous crafts was also organized in the Congress session in Ahmedabad in 1921. Sardar Patel spoke about Gujarat’s contribution in the field of Khadi, abolition of untouchability, prohibition of liquor etc. in the conference. Technical workers of Ahmedabad textile mill are preparing to give training in mill industry to the people of Bengal.

Showed.

In 1938, a session of the Indian National Congress was held under the chairmanship of Subhash Chandra Bose at Haripura village in Surat district. In this session, the Congress allowed the public institutions of the Indian states to function under the direction and control of the executive. Indulal Yagnik led the farmers’ rally and presented their questions. In this conference, the right of the farmers to form Kisan Sangathan was recognized. It was declared that India cannot join the Second World War without the explicit consent of the Indian people. A total of twenty resolutions were passed. Congress President Subhash Chandra Bose strongly criticized the government’s policy in British India, discrimination against Indians living abroad, the policy of exploitation adopted in British colonies, the demand for a responsible state in Indian states, the Viceroy’s breach of promise, etc. With the support of socialist workers and Bengali Jahal Party workers, Subhash Chandra Bose was elected president. He was given a grand welcome at the conference venue.

After the formation of Gujarat state (1960), the annual session of Congress was held on 6-1-1961 in Bhavnagar, in which Gujarat Congress leader Balwantrai Mehta took a prominent part. During the session, a detailed book titled ‘Gujarat – An Introduction’ was released and a huge exhibition was also organized. The president of this conference was Neelam Sanjiva Reddy.

Satyagraha in Gujarat: After Gandhiji’s arrival in Gujarat, the first satyagraha was done in Kheda district. This satyagraha was started in 1917 due to government efforts to collect more revenue from farmers. This struggle brought awareness among the farmers, the foundation of satyagraha was laid in Gujarat and through this struggle Vallabhbhai Patel emerged as a mass leader. In 1919, the Ahmedabad Collectorate in Gujarat was set on fire and the railway tracks near Nadiad were uprooted as part of a nationwide agitation against the Rowlatt Act.

At the Congress session held in Nagpur in 1920, Gandhiji urged people to engage in constructive activities like prohibition and abolition of untouchability. In 1923 Sardar Patel led the Nagpur Flag Satyagraha, in which many activists from Gujarat participated. The government imposed a tax on the people of Borsad taluka to counter the oppression of a foreigner named Babar Dev. The tax was repealed in the face of strong public protest. In 1926, the revenue in Bardoli taluka was arbitrarily increased by 300 times. The question was placed before Vallabhbhai with strong protest; as a result, in the face of strong protest, the government agreed to reconsider the whole question.

Awareness increased among the Koli and Ranipara people, prohibition of liquor gained strength and the campaign to end the Veth system gained strength. In December 1928, a resolution was passed in the Congress meeting in Lahore to achieve complete independence. To achieve independence, Gandhiji decided to launch the Civil Disobedience Movement. Meanwhile, since the government had increased the tax on salt, it was decided to violate the salt law by going to the Dandi beach. The Civil Disobedience Movement was carried out on 12 March 1930 by marching on foot from Ahmedabad to Dandi, symbolically carrying a little salt. This Dandi March created a huge wave of public awareness in the villages along the route and throughout Gujarat. The Dholera-Viramgam Satyagraha lasted for 10 months from April 1930 to January 1931.

Constructive Activities: Gandhiji gave equal importance to constructive activities in the people’s struggle as to non-violent Satyagraha. Bhil Seva Mandal was established in 1923 for the upliftment of the tribals. Similarly Harijan Seva Sangh was established for the upliftment of Harijans. During 1924-25 Gandhiji visited Saurashtra-Kutch for the eradication of untouchability. Shankarlal Banker of Ahmedabad worked to promote Khadi to provide livelihood to weavers and others by boycotting foreign clothes and adopting Khadi. Khadi warehouses and offices came into existence in major cities of Gujarat. Gramodyog Sangh was established. Activities like hand-pulled rice, hand-milled flour, bee-keeping, manufacture of palm jaggery, deshi ghee oil, leather industry etc., as well as hand paper making and soap making using non-edible oil etc. were started. As an innovative experiment in education, basic education was experimented in 21 schools, first at Kochrab Ashram (1915), then Sabarmati Ashram (1916) and thereafter in Surat district. Gujarat Vidyapeeth was established (1920) for national education. After the mill workers’ struggle of 1918-19, ‘Major Mahajan Sangh’ was established with the efforts of Anasuyaben Sarabhai and Shankarlal Banker. They took initiative to protect the interests of workers. Along with the activities of the study board and the work of organizing discussion meetings and lectures, Madhyastha Yuvak Sangh was established and the national movement was given momentum. Apart from this, student organizations were running in places like Ahmedabad, Surat, Bhavnagar etc. After 1937, adult education activities developed. During the 1942 movement, these groups conducted activities like meetings, processions, distribution of pamphlets etc.

Contribution of women in the activities of Gujarat Congress: After taking over the command of the Congress, Gandhiji took the help of women in many small and big works. Sisters actively contributed in Satyagraha and non-cooperation, tax and khadi, national education etc. Sisters have been in the leading role in it since the trumpet of freedom struggle was blown. During the Bardoli struggle, during seizures and other incidents, these sisters did not bow down to the police. During the Salt Satyagraha of 1930, women were in the forefront of processions shouting slogans of “Break the Salt Law”. A large number of sisters were arrested and sent to jail for picketing shops selling illegal salt, foreign cloth and liquor. Girls of the ‘Mazar Army’

Propaganda slogans were being raised in the procession. They endured insults, abuse, mockery and ridicule and were in the forefront of morning processions, flag waving and picketing. They also took up the work of promoting Khadi and selling Khadi. Women also worked as volunteers by participating in Sevadal camps. Kasturba, Saralaben Trivedi, Bhaktiben Desai, Lilavati Munshi, Maniben Patel, Chanchalben, Deviben Pattani, Mithuben Petit, Jyotsnaben Shukla, Kumudben Desai, Gangaben Zaveri, Mridula Sarabhai, Anusuyaben, Mangalaben Dani etc. participated and contributed significantly to the struggles and satyagrahas of the princely states as well as many other programmes and initiatives of the Gujarat Congress. During the 1942 movement, Ushaben Mehta took over the management of Azad Radio. The sisters of Ahmedabad played an important role in hiding and protecting the revolutionaries. The fact that the jails of Yerwada and Belgaum were so full of women activists that the government had to erect tents there shows that women were in no way less than men in the freedom struggle and many sisters even spent two to two and a half years in jail. Sisters from villages and cities made unique contributions to the freedom struggle.

Native Princely States and Gujarat Congress: Except for 25888.8 sq km area of British districts, most of the remaining territory of Gujarat was under native princely states. Monopoly and autocracy prevailed in other states except Bhavnagar, Vadodara and Gondal. People’s voices were suppressed. Satyagraha struggles were conducted in states like Dhrol, Malia, Dhrangadhra, Jamnagar, Vanod, Vadodara, Limbdi, Rajkot etc. due to insult of the national flag, heavy taxes, sale of foreign clothes and liquor, ban on creative work, monopoly and lack of personal freedom. To prevent the spread of the spirit of independence in Indian states, strict restrictions were imposed on the entry of British Indian leaders into Indian states and their participation in political movements.

Gandhiji believed that even if the British rule is removed, the question of native states will not remain. Due to this policy, Congress does not interfere in the affairs of native states.

The Congress used to remain aloof from the conflict with the royalists but after the Haripur Congress this policy changed and the Congress supported the movement in the native states and organisations like Prajamandal, Kathiawar Hitvardhak Sabha (1919) and Kathiawar Political Council (1921) emerged in various states of Gujarat. A body of citizens of the native states was formed on an all India basis. Balwantrai Mehta A.B. He was the secretary of the All India State People’s Conference. During the Rajkot Satyagraha Gandhiji personally participated and gave impetus to the struggle in the Indian states, and this led to the existence of assemblies with limited powers in states like Bhavnagar, Palitana, Rajkot and Vadodara, which could only discuss issues. Before independence, the Vadodara state had entrusted limited powers to the representatives of the people, with the support of the leaders of the Prajamandal. At the time of independence, the princely states of Vadodara, Bhavnagar and Dhrangadhra accepted the merger of their states and as a result, the state of Saurashtra existed from April 1948 to September 1956. In Vadodara too, a democratic cabinet was formed by making Jivraj Mehta the Chief Minister and an experiment of democracy was carried out. Thereafter, all the princely states of Gujarat joined the Indian Union with the support of Jam Saheb of Rajpipla, Jamnagar and Pratapsinhrao of Vadodara. These leaders played a leading role in the movements of Praja Mandals of the princely states in Gujarat.

Congress rule in Gujarat during 1937-38: In 1937 B.A. assurance was received from the then Government of India that the Governor would exercise his special powers within limits. A cabinet of people’s representatives was formed in the Bombay province under the leadership of G. Kher. Leaders like A. M. Munshi and Dinkar Rao Desai were members of this cabinet. This cabinet took steps to get back the confiscated land of the farmers of Bardoli. Panchayat Act was passed and 1500 village panchayats were established. A mechanism was created to resolve industrial disputes of workers. Prohibition was implemented. Foundation was laid for settlement of tribal people, working class etc. In the field of education, basic education was experimented in 21 selected schools of Surat district. Adult education agenda was also started. Through the Land Acquisition Act and Debt Relief Act, the rights of farmers were protected and exploitation of farmers was stopped. The condition of the weak was improved by raising voice against the system of oppression.

But when Britain involved India in the Second World War, the Bombay Cabinet resigned on 30 October 1939.

After independence on 15 August 1947, the question of merger of Junagadh in the Union of India arose. This decision was taken despite the fact that 80% of the population of Junagadh is Hindu. Hence, the Kathiawar Political Council decided to establish a provisional government under the leadership of Amritlal Seth, Shamaldas Gandhi etc. on 25-9-1947 and the Nawab fled to Pakistan with his family after an armed struggle led by Shamaldas Gandhi. Junagadh State formally joined India after a plebiscite in February 1948.

After the resolution of this issue, ten districts of Gujarat came under Bombay State, while the ‘B’ class state of Saurashtra was created on 15-2-1948. Uchrangrai Dhebar was the Chief Minister and Balwantrai Mehta was the Deputy Minister. Since Kutch was a border state, it came into existence as a ‘C’ class state as a Commissioner Province.

In the first election held in 1952 under the new Constitution implemented in the country after independence, the Gujarat Congress was elected with a huge majority. At that time Gujarat was a part of Bombay State and Saurashtra and Kutch were separate units. Complete

In Gujarat, Congress won 20 out of a total of 22 seats. At this time Kanjibhai Desai was the President of Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee. In 1956, a large bilingual state called Maharashtra-Gujarat was formed. In the second election of 1957, Gujarat Pradesh Congress Party also won a landslide victory in the Legislative Assembly and Lok Sabha. But the Maha Gujarat Movement (1956-60) demanding a separate Gujarat state resulted in the establishment of a separate Gujarat state on 1 May 1960. Dr. Jivraj Mehta held the post of Chief Minister of Gujarat from 1 May 1960 to 8 March 1962 under the leadership of Congress.

In 1962, there was a slight decline in the Gujarat Congress. But the majority remained with them. Once again, Dr. Jivraj Mehta and then Balwantrai Mehta became the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Due to different historical traditions and some other reasons, there were people with different ideas and goals in the party and with time differences started arising in it and various political parties came into existence in Gujarat too. These factors were also driven by organisational differences and personal grievances. In 1969 the Congress split into two wings: the ruling Congress (Indicate) and the organisational wing (Syndicate). After the Congress split, the impact of the split was felt at the district and taluka levels. The symbol of the United Congress, which was a pair of bulls, was replaced by the Congress (I) with a hand and the organisational wing was a woman spinning a charkha.

The Congress Party in Gujarat has been influential and dominant in Gujarati politics since its inception, formation and growth, as it inherited the historical and national legacy. It has established a strong institutional framework in Gujarat through its long-term dominance in all spheres.

Gujarat Congress has had a major impact on the politics of the country as a party. During and after independence, this party, while in power, has contributed significantly to the elimination of social evils through legislation and the upliftment of the exploited and oppressed classes, farmers and labourers, etc.

Despite being a part of the National Congress, Gujarat Congress largely maintained its autonomous existence. This situation could be maintained for a long time due to the leadership of Gandhiji and Sardar Patel. After the split of the party in 1969 and especially after 1971 (Bangladesh conflict), the rise of Indira Gandhi had a profound impact on Gujarat, to such an extent that after the 1972 assembly elections, Indira Gandhi appointed Ghanshayambhai Oza as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, which gave a new turn to the parliamentary system and further strengthened the process of centralization in the party. Along with “One country, one party, one leader”, the mantra of “Indira means India” also resonated.

With this new national trend, Gujarat Congress made its new equations. Navnirman, which began in 1973, had its roots in rivalry between factions within the Gujarat Congress.

The Gujarat response was the Janata Morcha and the Janata government. But five years later (1980) the Gujarat Congress adopted the principle of KHAM (Kshatriya, Harijan, Adivasi and Muslim – the four minorities) and regained power.

The Congress government survived; but the Gujarat Congress was also adversely affected by the events at the national level. As the Congress weakened at the national level, its popularity in Gujarat also declined.

In the 1989 elections, the Congress suffered a massive defeat against the joint front of the Janata Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party and a United Front government came into being, with V.P. Singh as the Prime Minister.

This experiment in Gujarat did not last long and the Janata Dal government broke ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and continued to rule with the support of the Congress. With time, the Janata Dal (Gujarat) changed and eventually the Janata Dal (Gujarat) and the Gujarat Congress merged.

The Congress party has faced continuous defeat in the Gujarat assembly elections from 1990 to 2007. In the elections of 1990, 95, 98 and 2002, the internal factionalism of the Congress party caused it great harm and the anti-incumbency wave i.e. popular discontent against the long rule of the BJP did not benefit the Congress in any way. Even in the 2007 assembly election, the Congress party did not get the benefit of this factor. This party, which has been out of power for the last 17 years, will have to sit in the opposition for the next five years (from 2007 to 2012). In the December 2007 elections, the Congress party came second by winning 59 seats out of the total 182 assembly seats, while the BJP won a clear majority by winning 117 seats.

Despite the ability of the Gujarat Congress to adapt to the changing times, its current influence is diminishing compared to its past career due to internal weaknesses and several external factors. Moreover, despite such a long time, the party has not been able to develop a statewide, universally accepted and credible leadership. Overall, there is an urgent need for the Congress party to make a fresh effort to regain its old influence and effectiveness.

Kiritkumar J. Patel

Devendra Bhatt

Raksha. Vyas

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