"The Indian National Congress had, in the first twenty years of its existence, been a dismal failure." Evaluate this assessment in light of the INC's objectives, and discuss reasons for its failure and/ or success.

YR 1

HARI

QUES: - “The Indian National Congress had, in the first twenty years of its existence, been a dismal failure.” Evaluate this assessment in light of the INC’s objectives, and discuss reasons for its failure and/ or success.

ANS: - The Indian National Congress (INC) was formed in 1885. It comprised primarily of rich Indians whose main aim was putting forward their complains to the British. In order to answer the question as fully as possible I will examine a few of The INC’S objectives and see whether they were successful or not in light of the events that took place during the period 1885- 1905. I will then on the basis of the evidence I present evaluate whether The INC was a failure in its first twenty years.

The INC initially was comprised of about 85 people. One of its aims was to have Indians “get to know each other better”. This applied for both outside the party and inside it; as there were men from very diverse backgrounds in the party representing different groups. The INC wanted Indians to forget about their differences and unite- in essence they wished to create a feeling of national unity. Evaluating this idea shows that it was a dismal failure. However, men like Sayed Ahmed Khan (and some Muslims) were very against the formation of The INC. They believed that The INC did not have a fair representation of majority of Indians and in particular Muslims. Looking at this we can see that even before The INC had got a strong base it had already failed- it had not achieved its aim of uniting Indians; there was already a divide in The INC. We can see this as men like Tilak paid special attention to Ganesh and Shivaji and though this may have brought a feeling of unity amongst majority of the population (Hindus) it isolated the Muslim population of India.

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It can be argued that The INC was meant to be an “organisation” that helped Indians come to a solution with many of their problems. The INC leaders were all very rich men. A few of The INC aims were aimed primarily at benefiting themselves (the rich) and could have had no impact on majority of Indian population at that time. This is seen in aims such as the greater regard of Indian views/ opinions, thus allowing Indian to work in the government, etc.

The INC saw itself as a base to discuss problems around India and solve them by ...

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The INC saw itself as a base to discuss problems around India and solve them by presenting them to the British, who they hoped would solve these problems. Looking back at this aim we can see that it was truly a “dismal failure” as the British did nothing to help solve these problems. The British viewed The INC as a “body” (not even a party) that would help keep the “government in touch with public opinion.”

Indians would pay the British government money. This money paid by Indians would be used by the British to fund their army or be used as pensions for retired army officers. The INC wanted to stop this “leakage” which was known as “home- charges”. As a result of these home charges the Indian economy further suffered. In truth the Indian government were paying for British retired officers. These home charges did not stop during the first twenty years of The INC.

As well as the “home charges” stopping The INC also wanted less “Indian Money” spent on the British military. The INC realised that Indians were in fact paying the British to rule over India and other colonies of theirs. This money helped fund wars that the British were involved in. For example the British colonisation of Burma was primarily funded by “Indian Money.” The INC wanted this money to be spent on internal development.

However, it can be argued that the British did develop India. The British managed to connect Indian through their railway network, which still runs today.

As a result of the British not listening to the cries of The INC many of the members of The INC had newspapers of their own. Men like B.G. Tilak used his newspapers as a way of fighting the British. These papers would spread to the poor who would read how badly the British were. To an extent we can see that The INC were successful as it did manage to carry its problems to the people of India and illustrate to them how badly the British were treating them. This would allow for mass protest against the British. From this we see a positive thing to emerge from the early years of The INC- the role of the press. Though this did not start off as one of The INC’S aims it turned into one, as ordinary Indians could now get actively involved, as they now knew how badly they were being treated.

In Conclusion after looking at the evidence presented, I agree with the proposed statement. The INC from the start never managed to capture the imagination of the people of India, as many men disliked the idea. The party was never secular, as Hindu festivals were celebrated. This particular factor obviously created a sense of isolation amongst Muslims (in particular)- and as a result no real unity was ever formed. The INC did not always reflect the views of people. Some of the problems/ prepositions put forward to the British were aimed to benefit the wealthy instead of the poor. The INC wanted the British to change certain policies of theirs- such as the “home charges” and less money spent on the British military. The British did not change these policies and as a result the Indian population suffered and as a result The INC could not move forward. However, though The INC was a failure during its first twenty years what it did do was sow the seeds for a revolution that would take place later. The first twenty years established for the masses a group that could be supported as a way of fighting the British.

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