The Moderate Phase (1885–1905): Politics of Petition

2.1 Founding and Objectives

The Indian National Congress was founded at the initiative of Allan Octavian Hume (1829–1912), a retired ICS officer, in December 1885. Hume corresponded with Viceroy Dufferin — historians debate whether the Congress was meant to provide a "safety valve" for Indian political discontent (the "safety valve theory," rejected by most nationalist historians) or was a genuine nationalist initiative.

First session (28–30 December 1885):

• W.C. Bonnerjee (Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee) presided; held at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College, Bombay
• 72 delegates attended
• Early demands: expansion of legislative councils, Indianisation of the civil service
• Also demanded reduction of military expenditure and trial by jury for Indians

2.2 Key Moderate Leaders

Dadabhai Naoroji (1825–1917)

• Called the "Grand Old Man of India"
• First Indian elected to the British House of Commons (1892, Finsbury Central, as Liberal MP)
• Three times INC president (1886, 1893, 1906)
• Developed the Drain of Wealth theory; his book Poverty and Un-British Rule in India (1901) became a primary text of nationalist economics

Gopal Krishna Gokhale (1866–1915)

• From Maharashtra; INC president 1905
• Founded Servants of India Society (1905) to train social workers
• Was Gandhi's acknowledged political guru — Gandhi dedicated his autobiography to him
• Worked within constitutional channels for incremental reform; influenced the Morley-Minto Reforms (1909)

Surendranath Banerjee (1848–1925)

• "Rashtraguru"; passed ICS exam (1869) but was dismissed on racial grounds
• Founded Indian Association (1876) — one of the first political organisations
• Edited the newspaper Bengalee; organised first political conferences
• Later became a "Liberal" after Partition of Bengal was reversed

Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856–1920)

• Born in Maharashtra, trained in law; editor of Kesari (Marathi) and Mahratta (English)
• Instituted Ganesh Chaturthi (1893) and Shivaji Festival (1895) as platforms for mass political mobilisation
• Called "The first popular leader in India" (Gokhale's description)
• Famous declaration: "Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it"; imprisoned by British twice (1897, 1908)
• Note: While he belongs more to the Extremist phase, he straddles both

2.3 Limits and Critiques of Moderate Approach

The moderates achieved limited concrete results in 20 years of constitutional agitation. The Indian Councils Acts of 1892 gave only marginal expansion of councils with no real power. By 1905, a new generation of leaders argued that "mendicancy" (constant petitioning) was undignified and ineffective. The Partition of Bengal (1905) crystallised the break between Moderates and Extremists.

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