Congress: Benaras, Calcutta, and Surat Session Notes with PDF

These notes are your ultimate revision weapon to revise Congress: Benaras, Calcutta, and Surat Session. We’ve distilled years of previous exam questions (PYQs) into one powerful, concise resource. Everything you need to know, nothing you don’t.

• PYQs, Decoded: All key concepts from past exams, organized and simplified.
• Revise in Record Time: Short, precise, and designed for last-minute review.
• Focus on What Matters: Master high-probability topics and boost your confidence.
• Free PDF to download.

Key Leaders of the Indian National Movement & The Surat Split (1907)

I. Key Leaders

A. Gopal Krishna Gokhale

• Early Life & Education:
  • Born on May 9, 1866, in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra.
  • Graduated from Elphinstone College at the age of 18 (1884).
• Career & Positions:
  • Professor of Economics and History at Ferguson College, Poona, at age 20.
  • Associate editor of the ‘Sudharak’ newspaper.
  • Secretary of the Sarvajanik Sabha and the Provincial Conference at age 25.
  • Secretary of the Indian National Congress at age 29.
  • A leading witness before an important Royal Commission at age 31.
  • Member of the Bombay Legislative Council at age 34.
  • Member of the Imperial Legislative Council at age 36.
• Role in Indian National Congress:
  • President of the Indian National Congress in 1905 (Benaras Session).
• Associations & Ideology:
  • Protege of social reformer Mahadev Govind Ranade.
  • Member of the Deccan Education Society.
  • Campaigned for greater Indian influence in political decisions.
  • Founded the ‘Servants of India Society’ in 1905.
• Legacy:
  • Mahatma Gandhi regarded him as his political guru (master).

B. Dadabhai Naoroji

• Titles & Recognition:
  • Formally known as the ‘Grand Old Man of India’.
• Career & Positions:
  • First Indian to be appointed Professor of Mathematics and Physics at Elphinstone College, Bombay.
  • Worked as a Professor of Gujarati at University College, London.
  • First Asian to be elected to the British House of Commons (1892) as a member of the Liberal Party.
• Role in Indian National Congress:
  • President of the INC three times: 1886 (Calcutta), 1893 (Lahore), and 1906 (Calcutta).
• Contributions & Writings:
  • Laid the foundation for women’s education in Bombay.
  • Started a Gujarati journal, ‘Rast Goftar’.
  • Wrote the famous book ‘Poverty and Un-British Rule in India’, published in 1901.
• Ideology:
  • At the 1906 Calcutta Session, he declared Swaraj (self-government) as the goal of the Congress.

C. Bal Gangadhar Tilak

• Role in the Indian National Congress:
  • A prominent Extremist leader.
  • Never presided over a session of the Indian National Congress.
• Ideology & Slogans:
  • Famously said, “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it.”
  • Often credited with popularizing the demand for Swaraj.

II. Indian National Congress Sessions and Resolutions

III. Important Organizations

Servants of India Society

• Founded by Gopal Krishna Gokhale in 1905.
• Produced notable social workers like Srinivas Shastri, N.M. Joshi, and others.

IV. The Surat Split of the Indian National Congress (1907)

1. The Event:
   • The formal division of the Indian National Congress into two factions in December 1907.
   • Occurred during the Surat Session of the Congress.
2. The Factions and Their Leaders:
   • The Moderates (Soft-liners):
     • Led by Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Ras Bihari Ghosh, Ferozeshah Mehta, and Surendranath Bannerjee.
   • The Extremists (Hard-liners):
     • Led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, and Bipin Chandra Pal (collectively known as Lal-Bal-Pal).
3. Leadership of the Session:
   • The President of the contentious 1907 Surat Session was Ras Bihari Ghosh (a Moderate leader).
4. Causes of the Split:
   • Primary reason: The extremists’ lack of faith in the capacity of the moderates to negotiate with the British Government.
   • Triggered by disagreements over:
     • Strategies of the Congress movement.
     • Objectives and goals of the Congress.
     • The level of participation of the people in the movement.
   • Key immediate issue: The Extremists’ desire to extend the Swadeshi and Boycott Movement beyond Bengal, which the Moderates opposed.
5. Outcome and Later History:
   • The split led to a period of separation between the two groups.
   • The two factions eventually reunited in 1916 at the Lucknow Session of the Congress.

Know More About Congress: Benaras, Calcutta, and Surat Session:

• Congress: Benaras, Calcutta, and Surat Session -Old Year Questions and Answers
• Congress: Benaras, Calcutta, and Surat Session One Liner Questions & Answers