First President of Indian National Congress

Womesh Chandra Banerjee was the first President of Indian National Congress (INC). Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 by educated Indian elite. The first session of the Indian National Congress was held in Bombay in December 1885. Retired British ICS officer AO Hume played a key role in the formation of INC. The formation of Indian National Congress initially had the blessings of the British Government. The government welcomed the establishment of an organisation by the western educated upper class Indians to function as a 'safety valve' for the escape of growing resentment of Indians against British rule. The birth of INC heralded the entry of new educated middle-class into politics and transformed the Indian political horizon.