RAS question
The first session of INC in 1885 was attended by how many delegates?
Correct answer: (C) 72 delegates.
The first session of the Indian National Congress, held at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College in Bombay from 28 to 31 December 1885, was attended by 72 delegates.
Explanation
The first Indian National Congress session was held at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College, Bombay, from 28 to 31 December 1885, with W.C. Bonnerjee presiding. The delegate count at that first session was 72. The Ministry of Culture's Amrit Kaal repository supports this figure through its profile of Panapakkam Anandacharlu, describing him as one of the 72 delegates at the first INC session held in Bombay in 1885. The delegates included 54 Hindus, 2 Muslims, and the remaining delegates from other communities. Only 72 matches the historically recorded attendance.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 200 delegates overstates the attendance; the first INC session in Bombay in 1885 had 72 delegates.
- (B) 50 delegates understates the attendance; the recorded count for the first INC session was 72 delegates.
- (D) 100 delegates is not the recorded figure; the first session was attended by 72 delegates.
Concept
The early institutional phase of the Indian National Congress includes factual markers from its 1885 founding session. RAS often returns to such foundation facts because they anchor later themes in modern Indian political history.