Congress ( – ) (a) Rise of Nationalism The second half of the th century saw the emergence of national political consciousness among a new social class of English educated Indians. The Indian intelligentsia played a critical role in generating a national consciousness by exposing a large number of people to the idea of nation, nationalism and various democratic aspirations. The flourishing of print media both in the vernacular and in English played a significant role in circulating such ideas. Even though they were numerically small they had a national character and capacity to establish contacts on an all India scale.
They were working as lawyers, journalists, government employees, teachers or doctors. They took the initiative to float political outfits, such as Madras Native Association ( ) East India Association ( ), Madras Mahajana Sabha ( ), Poona Sarvajanik Sabha ( ), The Bombay Presidency Association ( ) and many others. (b) Economic Critique of Colonialism One of the most significant contributions of early Indian nationalists was the formulation of an economic critique of colonialism. Dadabhai Naoroji, Justice Ranade, and Romesh Chandra Dutt, played a significant role in making this criticism about colonial economy.
They clearly understood that the prosperity of the British lay in the economic and political subjugation of India. They concluded that colonialism was the main obstacle to the Indian’s economic development. (c) Objectives and Methods The formation of the Indian National Congress in was intended to establish an all India organisation. It was the culmination of attempts by groups of educated Indians politically active in three presidencies: Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta.
A.O. Hume lent his services to facilitate the formation of the Congress. Womesh Chandra Banarjee was the first President ( ) of Indian National Congress. The first session of the Indian National Congress was held on December .
The early objectives were to develop and consolidate sentiments of national unity; but also professed loyalty to Britain. The techniques included appeals, petitions and delegations to Britain, all done within a constitutional framework. Some of the key demands were the following: creation of legislative councils at provincial and central level