The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party or simply the Congress, is a political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Empire in Asia and Africa. From the late 19th century, and especially after 1920, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, the Congress became the principal leader of the Indian independence movement. The Congress led India to independence from the United Kingdom, and significantly influenced other anti-colonial nationalist movements in the British Empire.
First session of Indian National Congress, Bombay, 28–31 December 1885
Bal Gangadhar Tilak speaking in 1907 as the Party split into moderates and extremists. Seated at the table is Aurobindo Ghosh and to his right (in the chair) is G. S. Khaparde, both allies of Tilak.
Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru during a meeting of the All India Congress, in 1946
Azad, Patel and Gandhi at an AICC meeting in Bombay, 1940
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule. He inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. The honorific Mahātmā, first applied to him in South Africa in 1914, is now used throughout the world.
Gandhi in 1931
Gandhi (right) with his eldest brother Laxmidas in 1886
Commemorative plaque at 20 Baron's Court Road, Barons Court, London
Gandhi in London as a law student
