Indian National Conference and National Politics

The Indian National Conference was established in 1883 in Kolkata as an all-India political gathering. The Indian Association, founded by Surendranath Banerjea and Ananda Mohan Bose in 1876, organized the conference. By the late 1870s and early 1880s, regional political bodies like the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha, the Bombay Association, and the Madras Native Association operated independently in their respective presidencies. The Indian Association recognized the need for a central platform to unite these regional groups into a single national movement. The immediate impulse for convening the conference arose from aggressive colonial policies. Policies under Viceroy Lord Lytton, such as the Vernacular Press Act of 1878, the Arms Act of 1878, and the reduction of the Indian Civil Service exam age limit to 19 years, created widespread discontent. Later, the racial backlash by Anglo-Indian groups against the Ilbert Bill in 1883 demonstrated the necessity of a coordinated national political body.

The First National Conference (1883)

The First Indian National Conference took place from December 28 to December 30, 1883, at Albert Hall in Kolkata. Ramtanu Lahiri, a veteran Derozian and leader of the Young Bengal movement, presided over the inaugural gathering. Over one hundred delegates attended, representing various provinces including Bengal, Bombay, Madras, and the United Provinces.

Core Agenda and Resolutions

The 1883 conference served as a prototype for modern parliamentary-style political assemblies in India. Delegates discussed national issues and passed resolutions through formal voting procedures.

• Civil Service Reforms: The conference demanded raising the maximum age limit for the Indian Civil Service examination to 21 years and holding simultaneous exams in London and India.
• Legislative Expansion: Delegates advocated for the expansion of provincial legislative councils and called for greater representation of elected Indian members.
• Judicial and Administrative Equality: The gathering expressed strong support for the original Ilbert Bill, demanding the total removal of racial disqualifications for Indian judges.
• Technical and Industrial Education: Resolutions emphasized the establishment of technical institutes to promote native industrial growth and reduce dependence on foreign imports.

The Second National Conference (1885)

The Second Indian National Conference met in Kolkata from December 25 to December 27, 1885. Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, a British anti-imperialist writer and politician attending as an observer, described the assembly as the first real National Parliament of India. The conference brought together delegates from major organizations, including the Indian Association, the British Indian Association, and the Central National Muhamedan Association. Surendranath Banerjea and Ananda Mohan Bose managed the organizational proceedings, focusing on building a permanent executive structure to coordinate political activities across provinces.

Merger with the Indian National Congress

The timing of the Second National Conference overlapped directly with the first session of the Indian National Congress, which convened in Bombay from December 28 to December 31, 1885. Because Surendranath Banerjea and his associates were organizing the Kolkata assembly, they could not attend the founding meeting of the Congress in Bombay. Recognizing that two parallel national organizations would divide political resources, leaders of both bodies agreed to integrate their operations. During the second session of the Indian National Congress held in Kolkata in December 1886 under the presidency of Dadabhai Naoroji, the Indian National Conference formally merged with the Indian National Congress. This merger provided the nascent Congress with an established network of regional branches, experienced organizers, and a clear program of constitutional agitation.

Key Facts for Revision

The venue of the First National Conference, Albert Hall in Kolkata, later became famous as the College Street Coffee House, an intellectual hub for political discussions in Bengal. Lalmohan Ghose served as an envoy for the Indian Association and the National Conference network, traveling to England in 1879 to deliver speeches to the British public on Indian civil service grievances. Surendranath Banerjea organized a national tour in 1877–1878 covering cities like Agra, Lahore, Amritsar, Meerut, Allahabad, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai. This tour built the political contacts that enabled the gathering of delegates for the 1883 National Conference. Ananda Mohan Bose, co-founder of the Indian Association and key organizer of the National Conference, became the first Indian Wrangler in Mathematics at Cambridge University before returning to India to practice law and enter politics. The newspaper Bengalee, edited by Surendranath Banerjea, functioned as the primary press organ that published the proceedings, resolutions, and delegate calls for both the 1883 and 1885 National Conferences.