Q82
Indian National MovementRise of Nationalism & the Congress
The word Congress was borrowed from
- a.The Congress (Parliament) of the USA
- b.North American History, to connote an assembly of people
- c.The Congress of Trade Unions
- d.The Congress of World Religions at Chicago
Answer: (B) North American History, to connote an assembly of people
At the first session in Bombay in December 1885 the proposed "Indian National Union" was renamed the Indian National Congress, a suggestion credited to Dadabhai Naoroji. The word was taken from North American history, where "Congress" meant an assembly of the people's delegates, rather than copied from the name of the US legislature as such. The Chicago Parliament of the World's Religions (1893) and the All India Trade Union Congress (1920) both came later. Basics: the Congress was founded on 28 December 1885 at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College, Bombay, with 72 delegates; W. C. Bonnerjee was the first President, A. O. Hume the founder and Lord Dufferin the Viceroy.