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{{Short description|none}}{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}(File:Indian National Congress Flag.svg|thumb|The present flag of the party)File:1931 Flag of India.svg|thumb|The flag adopted in 1931 and used by the Provisional Government of Free India during the Second World War]](File:Marche sel.jpg|thumb|Mahatma Gandhi with Congress activists during the Salt March)The Indian National Congress was established when 72 representatives from all over the country met at Bombay in 1885. Prominent delegates included Dadabhai Naoroji, Surendranath Banerjee, Badruddin Tyabji, Pherozeshah Mehta, W. C. Banerjee, S. Ramaswami Mudaliar,BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=rzWKAAAAMAAJ&q=Rao+Bahadur+Savalai+Mudaliar, The Encyclopaedia of Indian National Congress: 1885–1890, The founding fathers, A. Moin Zaidi, 1976, 609, en, S. Subramania Iyer, and Romesh Chunder Dutt. The Englishman Allan Octavian Hume, a former British civil servant, was one of the founding members of the Indian National Congress.

Formation and early days (1885–1905)

(File:A O Hume.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Allan Octavian Hume)Retired British Indian Civil Service (ICS) officer Allan Octavian Hume founded the Indian National Congress in order to form a platform for civil and political dialogue among educated Indians. After the Indian Rebellion of 1857, control of India was transferred from the East India Company to the British Empire. British-controlled India, known as the British Raj, or just the Raj, worked to try to support and justify its governance of India with the aid of English-educated Indians, who tended to be more familiar with and friendly to British culture and political thinking. Ironically, a few of the reasons that the Congress grew and survived, particularly in the 19th century era of undisputed British dominance or hegemony, was through the patronage of British authorities and the rising class of Indians and Anglo-Indians educated in the English language-based British tradition.{{citation needed| date=April 2014}}Hume embarked on an endeavor to get an organization started. He began by reaching-out to selected alumni of the University of Calcutta. In an 1883 letter, he wrote that, ”Every nation secures precisely as good a Government as it merits. If you, the picked men, the most highly educated of the nation, cannot, scorning personal ease and selfish objects, make a resolute struggle to secure greater freedom for yourselves and your country, a more impartial administration, a larger share in the management of your own affairs, then we, your friends, are wrong and our adversaries right, then are Lord Ripon’s noble aspirations for your good fruitless and visionary, then, at present at any rate all hopes of progress are at an end[,] and India truly neither desires nor deserves any better Government than she enjoys.“{{Citation | title=The History of the Indian National Congress | author=B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya | year=1935 | publisher=Working Committee of the Congress | url=https://archive.org/details/TheHistoryOfTheIndianNationalCongress}}{{Page needed|date=April 2014}}In May 1885, Hume secured the viceroy’s approval to create an “Indian National Union”, which would be affiliated with the government and act as a platform to voice Indian public opinion. Hume and a group of educated Indians came together on 12 October and published “An Appeal from the People of India to the Electors of Great Britain and Ireland” which asked British voters in the 1885 British general election to support candidates sympathetic to the positions of Indians. These included opposition to taxation of India to finance British campaigns in Afghanistan, and support for legislative reform in India.{{Citation | title=The History of British India: a chronology | author=John F. Riddick | year=2006 | publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group | isbn=0-313-32280-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Es6x4u_g19UC}}{{Page needed|date=April 2014}} The appeal however, was a failure, and was interpreted by many Indians as “a rude shock, but a true realization that they had to fight their battles alone.“{{Citation | title=Emergence of nationalism, Congress, and separatism | author=Madhvi Yasin | year=1996 | publisher=Raj Publications | isbn=81-86208-05-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NiJuAAAAMAAJ}}{{Page needed|date=April 2014}}On 28 December 1885, the Indian National Congress was founded at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College in Bombay, with 72 delegates in attendance. Hume assumed office as the General Secretary, and Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee of Calcutta was elected president.{{Page needed|date=April 2014}} Besides Hume, two additional British members (both Scottish civil servants) were members of the founding group, William Wedderburn and Justice (later, Sir) John Jardine. The other members were mostly Hindus from the Bombay and Madras Presidencies.{{Page needed|date=April 2016}} {{clarify|date=November 2018|reason=So, who were the “Hindu” members? The names of the Brits are important, but not the Indians? Whole thing seems written from very British POV, seems a bit backwards.}}Policies of Indian National Congress during 1885–1905Between 1885 and 1905, the Indian National Congress passed several resolutions in its annual sessions. Through the resolutions, the humble demands made by Congress included civil rights, administrative, constitutional and economic policies. A look at the resolution passed on these methods would be given an idea the directions of Congress programs were taking.a) Civil Rights: The Congress leaders realized the value of freedom of speech and press, the right to organize processions, meetings and similar other rights.b) Administrative: The Congress leaders urged the government to remove certain administrative abuses and run public welfare measures. They put emphasis on the appointment of Indians in the government services. Specific proposals are made to open agricultural banks for the relief of peasantry. The Congress leaders also raised the voice of protest against the discriminatory laws enacted by the government.c) Constitutional: The humble demand made by the early Congress leaders in respect to constitutional matters were: to increase the power of legislative councils; to include elected Indian representatives. It must be mentioned here that the British government of India paid scant regard to the above demands made by Congress.d) Economic: In the economic sphere, Congress blamed the economic policies of the British government that resulted in rising property prices and other economic issues which affected the Indian people. The Congress also put forward certain specific suggestions for the economic improvement of the country and her people. These included the introduction of modern industry, Indianization of public services, etc. The Congress also demanded the abolition of salt tax for the benefit particularly of the poor section of the people

Economic Policy

The INC’s economic policies include:

• Resetting economic policies to reiterate the advantages of an open market economy
• Supporting wealth creation
• Reducing inequality between the rich, the middle classes, and the poor
• Accelerating growth driven by the private and viable public sector enterprises

Foreign Policy

Even before independence of India, the Indian National Congress had well articulated foreign policy positions. In the words of Rejaul Karim Laskar, a scholar of Indian foreign policy and an ideologue of Indian National Congress, “Right after the establishment of the Indian National Congress, it started articulating its views on foreign affairs. In its first session in 1885, the Indian National Congress deplored the annexation of upper Burma by British Indian Government .“BOOK, Laskar, Rejaul Karim, India’s Foreign Policy: An Introduction, 2013, Paragon International Publishers, New Delhi, 978-93-83154-06-7, 5,

Muslim Response

Many Muslim community leaders, like the prominent educationalist Syed Ahmed Khan, viewed the Congress negatively, owing to its membership being dominated by Hindus.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=-Z9ODwAAQBAJ&pg=PT94, Discovery of Prehistory Ancient India: Krishna & Radha, Dr Jagat K., Motwani, 22 February 2018, iUniverse, 9781532037900, Google Books, Hindu community and religious leaders were also averse, seeing the Congress as supportive of European cultural invasion.JOURNAL,www.jstor.org/stable/20078547, On the Origins of the Indian National Congress: A Case Study of Cross-Cultural Synthesis, Hanes, W. Travis, 1993, Journal of World History, 4, 1, 69–98, 20078547, JSTOR, The ordinary people of India were not informed of or concerned about its existence on the whole, for Congress never attempted to address the issues of poverty, lack of health care, social oppression, and the prejudiced negligence of the people’s concerns by the British government. The perception of bodies like the Congress was that of an elitist, then educated and wealthy people’s institution.

Rise of Indian nationalism

(File:1st INC1885.jpg|right|300px|thumb|First session of Indian National Congress, Bombay, 28–31, December, 1885)The first spurts of nationalistic sentiment that rose amongst Congress members were when the desire to be represented in the bodies of government, to have a say, a vote in the lawmaking and issues of administration of India. Congressmen saw themselves as loyalists, but wanted an active role in governing their own country, albeit as part of the Empire.This was personified by Dadabhai Naoroji, considered by many as the eldest Indian statesman. Naoroji went as far as contesting, successfully, an election to the British House of Commons, becoming its first Indian member. That he was aided in his campaign by young, aspiring Indian student activists like Muhammad Ali Jinnah, describes where the imagination of the new Indian generation lay.NEWS,www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-52829458, The Grand Old Man of India who became Britain’s first Asian MP, BBC News, 4 July 2020, Bal Gangadhar Tilak was among the first Indian nationalists to embrace swaraj as the destiny of the nation. Tilak deeply opposed the British colonial education system in India which he thought ignored and defamed India’s culture, history, and values, defying and disgracing the Indian culture. He resented the denial of freedom of expression for nationalists and the lack of any voice or role for ordinary Indians in the affairs of their nation. For these reasons, he considered swaraj as the natural and only solution: the abandonment of all things British, which would protect the Indian economy from economic exploitation and gradually lead to eventual Indian independence. He was backed by rising public leaders like Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai, Aurobindo Ghose, V. O. Chidambaram Pillai who held the same point of view. Under them, India’s four great states – Madras, Bombay, Bengal, and Punjab region shaped the demand of the people and India’s nationalism.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=p2qFYxtq3GYC&pg=PA55, Freedom Fighters of India (in Four Volumes), M. G., Agrawal, 31 July 2008, Gyan Publishing House, 9788182054684, Google Books, The moderates, led by Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Pherozeshah Mehta, and Dadabhai Naoroji, held firm to calls for negotiations and political dialogue. Gokhale criticized Tilak for encouraging acts of violence and disorder. The Congress of 1906 did not have public membership, and thus Tilak and his supporters were forced to leave the party.The moderates, led by Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Pherozeshah Mehta, and Dadabhai Naoroji, held firm to calls for negotiations and political dialogue. Gokhale criticized Tilak for encouraging acts of violence and disorder. The Congress of 1906 did not have public membership, and thus Tilak and his supporters were forced to leave the party.With Tilak’s arrest, all hopes for an Indian offensive were stalled. The Congress lost credit with the people. Muslims formed the All India Muslim League in 1906, considering the Congress as completely unsuitable for Indian Muslims.

World War I: the battle for the soul

(File:Annie Besant.png|thumbnail|right|Annie Besant was by far the most prominently involved European in the Indian struggle.)When the British entered the British Indian Army into World War I, it provoked the first definitive, nationwide political debate of its kind in India. Voices calling for political independence grew in number.WEB,www.indiatoday.in/fyi/story/indian-soldiers-world-war-one-germany-british-army-1026848-2017-07-28, World War I: Role of Indian Army in Britain’s victory over Germany, 28 July 2017, India Today, The divided Congress re-united in the pivotal Lucknow session in 1916, with the efforts of Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Muhammad Ali Jinnah.WEB,scroll.in/article/968926/the-tilak-jinnah-pact-embodied-communal-harmony-that-is-much-needed-in-modern-day-india, The Tilak-Jinnah pact embodied communal harmony that is much needed in modern-day India, Sudheendra, Kulkarni, Scroll.in, Tilak had considerably moderated his views and now favoured political dialogue with the British. He, along with the young Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Mrs. Annie Besant launched the Home Rule Movement to put forth Indian demands for Home Rule – Indian participation in the affairs of their own country – a precursor to Swaraj. The All India Home Rule League was formed to demand dominion status within the Empire.But another Indian man with another way was destined to lead the Congress and the Indian struggle. Mohandas Gandhi was a lawyer who had successfully led the struggle of Indians in South Africa against South African discriminatory laws. Returning to India in 1915, Gandhi looked to Indian culture and history, the values and lifestyle of its people to empower a new revolution, with the concept of non-violence, civil disobedience, he coined a term, Satyagraha.WEB,www.deccanherald.com/opinion/the-making-of-gandhi-in-south-africa-and-after-852712.html, The making of Gandhi in South Africa and after, 23 June 2020, Deccan Herald,

Champaran and Kheda

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who later on became more popular as Mahatma Gandhi, had success in defeating the British in Champaran and Kheda, giving India its first victory in the struggle for freedom.NEWS,www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/gandhi-fought-the-british-with-weapons-of-truth-non-violence/article29577336.ece, Gandhi fought the British with weapons of truth, non-violence, The Hindu, 2 October 2019, Then Indian National Congress had supported that movement; Indians gained confidence in the working of that organization that the British could be thwarted through that organization, and millions of young people from across the country flooded into Congress membership.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}

The Battle for the soul

A whole class of political leaders disagreed with Gandhi. Bipin Chandra Pal, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Annie Besant, Bal Gangadhar Tilak all criticized the idea of civil disobedience. But Gandhi had the backing of the people and a whole new generation of Indian nationalists.BOOK, Singh, M.K., Encyclopaedia of Indian War of Independence, 1857–1947: Birth of Indian National Congress : establishment of Indian National Congress, Anmol Publications, 2009, 978-81-261-3745-9,books.google.com/books?id=IlYwAQAAIAAJ, In a series of sessions in 1918, 1919 and 1920, where the old and the new generations clashed in famous and important debates, Gandhi and his young supporters imbued the Congress rank-and-file with passion and energy to combat British rule directly. With the tragedy of the 1919 Amritsar Massacre and the riots in Punjab, Indian anger and passions were palpable and radical.NEWS, Prakash, Gyan, 2019-04-13, Opinion {{!, The Massacre That Led to the End of the British Empire|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/13/opinion/1919-amrtisar-british-empire-india.html|access-date=2021-08-24|issn=0362-4331}} With the election of Mohandas K. Gandhi to the presidency of the Indian National Congress, the battle of the party’s soul was won, and a new path to India’s destiny was forged.Lokmanya Tilak, whom Gandhi had called The Father of Modern India died in 1920, and Gopal Krishna Gokhale had died four years earlier.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=i7yKAAAAMAAJ&q=Lokmanya+Tilak,+whom+Gandhi+had+called+The+Father+of+Modern+India+died+in+1920,+and+Gopal+Krishna+Gokhale+had+died+four+years+earlier., Indian Political Parties, 1984, Meenakshi Prakashan, Motilal Nehru, Lala Lajpat Rai and some other stalwarts backed Gandhi as they were not sure that they can lead the people like Tilak and Gokhale. Thus it was now entirely up to Gandhi’s Congress to show the way for the nation.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}

The Mahatma Gandhi era

(File:Mahadev Desai and Gandhi 2 1939.jpg|right|thumb|210px|Mohandas Gandhi gave rise to a whole new generation of nationalists, and a whole new form of revolution.)Gandhiji dominated the Indian freedom struggle from 1919 to 1948. That is why this period is known as the Gandhian era in Indian history. During this time, Mahatma Gandhi dominated the Indian National Congress, which in turn was at the forefront of the Indian freedom struggle.Gandhi joined in 1915 and left the Indian National Congress in 1923.

Expansion and re-organization

Few years after the World War, the Congress expanded considerably, owing to public excitement after Gandhi’s success in Champaran and Kheda. A whole new generation of leaders arose from different parts of India, who were committed Gandhians Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Rajendra Prasad, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, Narhari Parikh, Mahadev Desai – as well as hot-blooded nationalists aroused by Gandhi’s active leadership – Chittaranjan Das, Subhas Chandra Bose, Srinivasa Iyengar.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}Gandhi transformed the Congress from an elitist party based in the cities, to an organization of the people:{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}

• Membership fees were considerably reduced.
• Congress established a large number of state units across India – known as Pradesh Congress Committees – based on its own configuration of India’s states on basis of linguistic groups. PCCs emerged for Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat – states that did not yet exist and were spread over hundreds of princely states outside British India.
• All former practices distinguishing Congressmen on basis of caste, ethnicity, religion and sex were eliminated – all-India unity was stressed.
• Native tongues were given official use and respect in Congress meetings – especially Urdu renamed by Gandhi as Hindustani, which was adopted for use by the All India Congress Committee.
• Leadership posts and offices at all levels would be filled by elections, and not by appointments. This introduction of democracy was vital in rejuvenating the party, giving voice to ordinary members as well as valuable practice for Indians in democracy.
• Eligibility for leadership would be determined by how much social work and service a member had done, not by his wealth or social standing.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}

Social development

During the 1920s, M.K. Gandhi encouraged tens of thousands of Congress volunteers to embrace a wide variety of organized tasks to address major social problems across India. Under the guidance of Congress committees and Gandhi’s network of ashrams in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Tamil Nadu, the Congress attacked:{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}

• Untouchability and caste discrimination
• Alcoholism
• Unhygienic conditions and lack of sanitation
• Lack of health care and medical aid
• Purdah and the oppression of women
• Illiteracy, with the organization of national schools and colleges
• Poverty, with proliferating khadi cloth, cottage industries

This profound work by M. K. Gandhi impressed the people of India particularly, formations of ashrams, that in later period he was mentioned as Mahatma, Great soul, by way of honor, by people of India.

Ascendance to power (1937–1942)

File:Katni1.jpg|left|thumb|350px| An old building in Katni commemorating India’s freedom, with statues of Nehru, Gandhi and Subhas Chandra BoseSubhas Chandra BoseUnder the Government of India Act 1935, the Congress first tasted political power in the provincial elections of 1937. It performed extraordinarily well, coming to power in eight of the eleven provinces where elections were held. Its internal organization bloomed in the diversity of political attitudes and ideologies. The focus would change slightly from the single-minded devotion to complete independence, to also entertaining excitement and theorizing about the future governance of the nation. However, when the Viceroy Lord Linlithgow declared India a belligerent in World War II without any consultation with the elected representatives of the people, the Congress ministries resigned.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}The radical followers of Subhas Chandra Bose, believers in socialism and active revolution would ascend in the hierarchy with Bose’s 1938 election to the Congress presidency.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}

Traditionalists

According to one approach, the traditionalist point of view, though not in a political sense, was represented in Congressmen like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Rajendra Prasad, C. Rajagopalachari, Purushottam Das Tandon, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Maulana Azad, who were also associates and followers of Gandhi. Their organizational strength, achieved through leading the clashes with the government, was undisputed and proven when despite winning the 1939 election, Bose resigned from the Congress presidency because of the lack of confidence he enjoyed amongst national leaders. A year earlier, in the 1938 election, however, Bose had been elected with the support of Gandhi. Differences arose in 1939 on whether Bose should have a second term. Jawaharlal Nehru, who Gandhi had always preferred to Bose, had had a second term earlier. Bose’s own differences centred on the place to be accorded to non-violent as against revolutionary methods. When he set up his Indian National Army in South-east Asia during the Second World War, he invoked Gandhi’s name and hailed him as the Father of The Nation.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}It would be wrong to suggest that the so-called traditionalist leaders looked merely to the ancient heritage of Indian, Asian or, in the case of Maulana Azad and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Islamic civilization for inspiration. They believed, along with educationists like Zakir Husain and E W Aryanayakam, that education should be imparted in a manner that enables the learners also to be able to make things with their own hands and learn skills that would make them self-supporting. This method of education was also adopted in some areas in Egypt. (See Reginald Reynolds, Beware of Africans). Zakir Husain was inspired by some European educationists and was able, with Gandhi’s support, to dovetail this approach to the one favoured by the Basic Education method introduced by the Indian freedom movement. They believed that the education system, economy and social justice model for a future nation should be designed to suit the specific local requirements. While most were open to the benefits of Western influences and the socio-economic egalitarianism of socialism, they were opposed to being defined by either model.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}

The final battles

The last important episodes in the Congress involved the final step to independence, and the division of the country on the basis of religions.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}

Quit India

{{See also|Quit India Movement}}Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari, the prominent leader from Tamil Nadu resigned from the Congress to actively advocate supporting the British war effort. It was started in 1942.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}

Indian National Army Trials

During the INA trials of 1946, the Congress helped to form the INA Defence Committee, which forcefully defended the case of the soldiers of the Azad Hind government. The committee declared the formation of the Congress’ defence team for the INA and included famous lawyers of the time, including Bhulabhai Desai, Asaf Ali, and Jawaharlal Nehru. QUIT INDIA BILL passed on 8 Aug 1942.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}

Royal Indian Navy Mutiny

Some members of the Congress initially supported the sailors who led the Royal Indian Navy Mutiny. However, they withdrew support at the critical juncture, as the mutiny failed.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}

Partition of India

Within the Congress, the Partition was opposed by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Saifuddin Kitchlew, Dr. Khan Sahib and Congressmen from the provinces that would inevitably become parts of Pakistan. Maulana Azad, an Indian Islamic scholar, opposed partition in principle, but did not wish to impede the national leadership; preferred to stay with Indian side. {{citation needed|date=October 2015}}

1947–1952: transformation

Constitution

In the Assembly and Constitution debates, the Congress attitude was marked by inclusiveness and liberalism. The Government appointed some prominent Indians who were Raj loyalists and liberals to important offices, and did not adopt any punitive control over the Indian civil servants who had aided the Raj in its governance of India and suppression of nationalist activities.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}A Congress-dominated Assembly adopted B.R. Ambedkar, a fierce Congress critic as the chairman of the Constitution draft committee. Syama Prasad Mookerjee, a Hindu Mahasabha leader became the Minister for Industry.WEB, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, the barrister who founded Bharatiya Janta Party,www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/remembering-shyama-prasad-mukherjee-the-founder-of-bharatiya-jana-sangh-that-later-became-bharatiya-janta-party-1563356-2019-07-06, 2024-03-10, India Today, en, The Congress stood firm on its fundamental promises and delivered a Constitution that abolished untouchability and discrimination based on caste, religion or gender. Primary education was made a right, and Congress governments made the zamindar system illegal, created minimum wages and authorized the right to strike and form labor unions.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}

Leadership change

In 1947, the Congress presidency passed upon Jivatram Kripalani, a veteran Gandhian and ally of both Nehru and Patel. India’s duumvirate expressed neutrality and full support to the elected winner of the 1947, 1948 and 1949 presidential races.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}However, a tug of war began between Nehru and his socialist wing, and Patel and Congress traditionalists broke out in 1950’s race. Nehru lobbied intensely to oppose the candidacy of Purushottam Das Tandon, whom he perceived as a Hindu revivalist with “problematic” views on Hindu-Muslim relations. Nehru openly backed Kripalani to oppose Tandon, but neglected courtesy to Patel upon the question.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}With Patel’s tacit support (especially in Patel’s home state of Gujarat, where due to Patel’s work, Kripalani received not one vote) Tandon won a tight contest, and Nehru threatened to resign. With Patel’s convincing, Nehru did not quit.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}However, with Patel’s death in 1950, the balance shifted permanently in Nehru’s favor. Kripalani, C. Rajagopalachari and Tandon were marginalized, and the Congress Party’s election fortunes began depending solely on Nehru’s leadership and popularity. With the 1952 election sweep, the Congress became India’s main political party.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}

Nehru and Shastri era (1952–1966)

{{see also|Premiership of Lal Bahadur Shastri}}File:Nehrucon.jpg|thumb|alt=See caption |Nehru signing the Indian Constitution, c. 1950]]From 1951 until his death in 1964, Jawaharlal Nehru was the paramount leader of the party. Congress gained power in landslide victories in the general elections of 1951–52, 1957, and 1962.WEB, Nehru Years in Indian Politics,www.sps.ed.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/38480/WP16_Suranjan_Das.pdf, sps.ed.ac.uk, School of Social and Political Science, Edinburgh, 23 June 2014, 24 September 2015,www.sps.ed.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/38480/WP16_Suranjan_Das.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20150924105051www.sps.ed.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/38480/WP16_Suranjan_Das.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20150924105051www.sps.ed.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/38480/WP16_Suranjan_Das.pdf, dead, During his tenure, Nehru implemented policies based on import substitution industrialisation, and advocated a mixed economy where the government-controlled public sector co-existed with the private sector.WEB, Economic Ideology of Jawaharlal Nehru,www.epw.in/system/files/pdf/1964_16/29-30-31/economic_ideology_of_jawaharlal_nehru.pdf, www.epw.in, Economic and Political Weekly, 23 June 2014, He believed the establishment of basic and heavy industries was fundamental to the development and modernisation of the Indian economy. The Nehru government directed investment primarily into key public sector industries—steel, iron, coal, and power—promoting their development with subsidies and protectionist policies. Nehru embraced secularism, socialistic economic practices based on state-driven industrialisation, and a non-aligned and non-confrontational foreign policy that became typical of the modern Congress Party.NEWS, History of Indian Economy Part II,www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-why-jawaharlal-nehru-is-the-root-cause-of-indias-economic-troubles-1564479, 23 June 2014, Daily News and Analysis, DNA, 11 July 2011, The policy of non-alignment during the Cold War meant Nehru received financial and technical support from both the Eastern and Western Blocs to build India’s industrial base from nothing.NEWS, Nehru: Founding member of The non-aligned movement,news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/574242.stm, news.bbc.co.uk, BBC, The British Broadcasting Corporation, 23 June 2014, WEB, History and Evolution of Non-Aligned Movement,mea.gov.in/in-focus-article.htm?20349/History+and+Evolution+of+NonAligned+Movement, mea.gov.in, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, 23 June 2014, During his period in office, there were four known assassination attempts on Nehru.BOOK, Nayantara Sahgal, Jawaharlal Nehru: Civilizing a Savage World, {{Google books, KycnN-MlfY4C, PA58, yes, |date=1 January 2010|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-670-08357-2|page=58}} The first attempt on his life was during partition in 1947 while he was visiting the North-West Frontier Province in a car. The second was by a knife-wielding rickshaw-puller in Maharashtra in 1955.BOOK, Nayantara Sahgal, Jawaharlal Nehru: Civilizing a Savage World, {{Google books, KycnN-MlfY4C, PA58, yes, |date=1 January 2010|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-670-08357-2|page=60}} A third attempt happened in Bombay in 1956.BOOK, Nayantara Sahgal, Jawaharlal Nehru: Civilizing a Savage World, {{Google books, KycnN-MlfY4C, PA58, yes, |date=1 January 2010|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-670-08357-2|page=61}} The fourth was a failed bombing attempt on railway tracks in Maharashtra in 1961. Despite threats to his life, Nehru despised having excess security personnel around him and did not like his movements to disrupt traffic. K. Kamaraj became the president of the All India Congress Committee in 1963 during the last year of Nehru’s life.WEB, K. Kamaraj – Life History, The Perun Thalaivar organization,www.perunthalaivar.org/english/life-history/, www.perunthalaivar.org, 23 June 2014, 5 July 2014,www.perunthalaivar.org/english/life-history/," title="web.archive.org/web/20140705202836www.perunthalaivar.org/english/life-history/,">web.archive.org/web/20140705202836www.perunthalaivar.org/english/life-history/, dead, Prior to that, he had been the chief minister of Madras state for nine years.WEB, The Syndicate: Kingmakers of India,pib.nic.in/feature/feyr2003/fjul2003/f150720031.html, pib.nic.in, Press Information Bureau: Government of India, 23 June 2014, Kamaraj had also been a member of “the syndicate”, a group of right wing leaders within Congress. In 1963 the Congress lost popularity following the defeat in the Indo-Chinese war of 1962. To revitalise the party, Kamaraj proposed the Kamaraj Plan to Nehru that encouraged six Congress chief ministers (including himself) and six senior cabinet ministers to resign to take up party work.{{sfn|Mahendra Prasad Singh|1981|p=46}}BOOK, Bala Jeyaraman, Kamaraj: The Life and Times of K. Kamaraj, {{Google books, BqWeAwAAQBAJ, PT55, yes, |date=2 September 2013 |publisher=Rupa Publications |isbn=978-81-291-3227-7|pages=55–56}}BOOK, N. S. Gehlot, The Congress Party in India: Policies, Culture, Performance, {{Google books, 06HLD2_3Qj4C, PA177, yes, |year=1991|publisher=Deep & Deep Publications|isbn=978-81-7100-306-8|page=180}}(File:Congress Party old symbol.png|thumb|Congress party election symbol (1952–1969))In 1964, Nehru died because of an aortic dissection, raising questions about the party’s future.NEWS, The death of Nehru, The Guardian, The Guardian archive, 28 May 2013,www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2013/may/28/death-of-nehru-archive-1964, 23 June 2014, WEB, Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964),www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/nehru_jawaharlal.shtml, bbc.co.uk, BBC, The British Broadcasting Corporation, 23 June 2014, NEWS, 1964: Light goes out in India as Nehru dies, BBC, The British Broadcasting Corporation,news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/27/newsid_3690000/3690019.stm, news.bbc.co.uk, 23 June 2014, Following the death of Nehru, Gulzarilal Nanda was appointed as the interim Prime Minister on 27 May 1964, pending the election of a new parliamentary leader of the Congress party who would then become Prime Minister.WEB, Shri Gulzari Lal Nanda,www.pmindia.gov.in/en/former_pm/shri-gulzari-lal-nanda-2/, PMO India, 24 July 2021, During the leadership contest to succeed Nehru, the preference was between Morarji Desai and Lal Bahadur Shashtri. Eventually, Shashtri was selected as the next parliamentary leader thus the Prime Minister. Kamaraj was widely credited as the “kingmaker” in for ensuring the victory of Lal Bahadur Shastri over Morarji Desai.{{sfn|Mahendra Prasad Singh|1981|p=42}}As prime minister, Shastri retained most of members of Nehru’s Council of Ministers; T. T. Krishnamachari was retained as Finance Minister of India, as was Defence Minister Yashwantrao Chavan.BOOK, R. D. Pradhan, Madhav Godbole, Debacle to Revival: Y. B. Chavan as Defence Minister, 1962–65, {{Google books, 9vDvpB_sqB0C, PA15, yes, |date=1 January 1999|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=978-81-250-1477-5|page=17}} Shastri appointed Swaran Singh to succeed him as External Affairs Minister.BOOK, Arvind Panagariya Professor of Economics and Jagdish Bhagwati Professor of Indian Political Economy Columbia University School of International & Public Affairs, India: The Emerging Giant: The Emerging Giant, {{Google books, 6eO1-yP7o4MC, PA27, yes, |date=1 February 2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-804299-0|page=27}} Shastri appointed Indira Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru’s daughter and former party president, Minister of Information and Broadcasting.WEB, History and Politics of India,www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Independent/Indira.html,www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Independent/Indira.html," title="web.archive.org/web/19991112105947www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Independent/Indira.html,">web.archive.org/web/19991112105947www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Independent/Indira.html, dead, 12 November 1999, socialsciences.ucla.edu, UCLA Division of Social Sciences, 23 June 2014, Gulzarilal Nanda continued as the Minister of Home Affairs.WEB, Biography of Gulzarilal Nanda,pmindia.gov.in/pm_gulzari.html, pmindia.gov.in, Prime Minister’s Office, 23 June 2014, dead,pmindia.gov.in/pm_gulzari.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20120828142039pmindia.gov.in/pm_gulzari.html,">web.archive.org/web/20120828142039pmindia.gov.in/pm_gulzari.html, 28 August 2012, As Prime Minister, Shastri continued Nehru’s policy of non-alignment,BOOK, Narayan Agrawal Narayan, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Vivek Misra, Subha Ravi, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Churn of Conscience, {{Google books, Lwoae1jbcc0C, PA100, yes, |year=2006|publisher=Eternal Gandhi|isbn=978-81-231-0193-4|page=88}} but built closer relations with the Soviet Union. In the aftermath of the Sino-Indian War of 1962, and the formation of military ties between China and Pakistan, Shastri’s government expanded the defence budget of India’s armed forces. He also promoted the White Revolution—a national campaign to increase the production and supply of milk by creating the National Dairy Development Board.WEB, The White Revolution: A beginning,www.unicef.org/india/media_2643.htm, unicef.org, UNICEF, 23 June 2014, 19 August 2014,www.unicef.org/india/media_2643.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20140819085943www.unicef.org/india/media_2643.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20140819085943www.unicef.org/india/media_2643.htm, dead, The Madras anti-Hindi agitation of 1965 occurred during Shastri’s tenure.BOOK, Jyotirindra Dasgupta, Language Conflict and National Development: Group Politics and National Language Policy in India, {{Google books, qGACL5YJRjEC, PA237, yes, |year=1970|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-01590-6|page=237}}JOURNAL, The Madras anti-Hindi agitation, Pacific Affairs, 39, 1/2, 19–36, Digital library of academic journals, 2755179, Forrester, Duncan B., 1966, 10.2307/2755179, Shastri became a national hero following victory in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.WEB, The Indo-Pakistan war of 1965,indiannavy.nic.in/book/1965-indo-pakistan-war, indiannavy.nic.in, Indian Navy, 23 June 2014, His slogan, “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan” (“Hail the soldier, Hail the farmer“), became very popular during the war.NEWS, Life of Lal Bahadur Shastri,www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/life-of-lal-bahadur-shastri-to-be-captured-on-celluloid-113032600267_1.html, 23 June 2014, Business Standard, Ananda Bazar Patrika (ABP) Group, ABP Group, Ananda Publishers, 26 March 2013, On 11 January 1966, a day after signing the Tashkent Declaration, Shastri died in Tashkent, reportedly of a heart attack; but the circumstances of his death remain mysterious.WEB, Controversial death of Shastri,www.wikileaks-forum.com/india/68/dead-silence-on-the-killers-and-contract-killers-of-lal-bahadur-shastri/8620/, wikileaks-forum.com, Wikileaks Forum, 23 June 2014,www.wikileaks-forum.com/india/68/dead-silence-on-the-killers-and-contract-killers-of-lal-bahadur-shastri/8620/," title="web.archive.org/web/20140501224743www.wikileaks-forum.com/india/68/dead-silence-on-the-killers-and-contract-killers-of-lal-bahadur-shastri/8620/,">web.archive.org/web/20140501224743www.wikileaks-forum.com/india/68/dead-silence-on-the-killers-and-contract-killers-of-lal-bahadur-shastri/8620/, 1 May 2014, dead, WEB, Lal Bahadur Shastri’s death in Tashkent,www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/legacy/thereporters/soutikbiswas/2009/08/was_mr_shastri_murdered.html, bbc.com, BBC, 23 June 2014, WEB, Lal Bahadur Shastri,www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Independent/Shastri.html,www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Independent/Shastri.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20000422080114www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Independent/Shastri.html,">web.archive.org/web/20000422080114www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Independent/Shastri.html, dead, 22 April 2000, socialsciences.ucla.edu/, UCLA Division of Social Science, 23 June 2014, After Shastri’s death, Congress elected Indira Gandhi as leader over Morarji Desai. Once again, K. Kamaraj was instrumental in achieving this result. The differences among the top leadership of the Congress regarding the future of the party during resulted in the formation of several breakaway parties such as Orissa Jana Congress, Bangla Congress, Utkal Congress, and, Bharatiya Kranti Dal.

Indira era (1966–1984)

{{See also|The Emergency (India)|Assassination of Indira Gandhi|Indian general election, 1977|1984 anti-Sikh riots}}File:Indira and Nixon.JPG|thumb|upright|left|Indira Gandhi with U.S. President Richard NixonRichard NixonIn 1967, following a poor performance in the 1967 Indian general election, Indira Gandhi started moving toward the political left. In mid-1969, she was involved in a dispute with senior party leaders on several issues. Notably — Her support for the independent candidate, V. V. Giri, rather than the official Congress party candidate, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, for the vacant post of the president of India{{sfn|Mahendra Prasad Singh|1981|pp=65–80}}Hardgrave, R. L., 1970. “The Congress in India: Crisis and Split”. Asian Survey, 10(3), pp. 256–262. and Gandhi’s abrupt nationalisation of the 14 biggest banks in India. Later in the year, the Congress party president, S. Nijalingappa, expelled her from the party for indiscipline.NEWS, March to socialism under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, The Economic Times, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd, The Times Group, 24 August 2011, NEWS, 1969: S. Nijalingappa expelled Indira Gandhi from the Party,indiatoday.intoday.in/story/1969-congress-splits/1/155566.html, 25 June 2014, India Today, Aroon Purie, 2 July 2007, Mrs. Gandhi as a counter-move launched her own faction of the INC. It was also known as Congress (R).{{efn|The “R” stood for Requisition or Ruling}} The original party then came to be known as Indian National Congress (O).{{efn|The “O” stands for organisation/Old Congress.}} Its principal leaders were Kamraj, Morarji Desai, Nijalingappa and S. K. Patil who stood for a more right-wing agenda.BOOK, Sanghvi, Vijay, The Congress, Indira to Sonia Gandh, 2006, Kalpaz Publications, New Delhi, 978-81-7835-340-1, 77,books.google.com/books?id=npdqD_TXucQC&q=%22indira+gandhi%22+cow++calf+symbol&pg=PA77, The split occurred when a united opposition under the banner of Samyukt Vidhayak Dal, won control over several states in the Hindi Belt.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=npdqD_TXucQC&q=%22indira+gandhi%22+cow++calf+symbol&pg=PA77, The Congress, Indira to Sonia Gandhi, Vijay, Sanghvi, 21 March 2006, Gyan Publishing House, 9788178353401, Google Books, Indira Gandhi, on the other side, wanted to use a populist agenda in order to mobilise popular support for the party. Her faction, called Congress (R), was supported by most of the Congress MPs while the original party had the support of only 65 MPs.BOOK, MIT Press, 468–470, {{Google books, y3Mr6TgalqMC, PA470, yes, |isbn=978-0-262-18234-8| last1=Rosser| first1=J. Barkley| last2=Rosser| first2=Marina V.| title=Comparative Economics in Transforming the World Economy| year=2004}} In the All India Congress Committee, 446 of its 705 members walked over to Indira’s side. This created a belief among Indians that Indira’s Congress was the Real Congress (INC-R). The “Old Congress” retained the party symbol of a pair of bullocks carrying a yoke while Indira’s breakaway faction was given a new symbol of a cow with a suckling calf by the Election Commission as the party election symbol.}}In the mid-term parliamentary elections held in 1971, the Gandhi-led Congress (R) won a landslide victory on a platform of progressive policies such as the elimination of poverty ().WEB, General Elections, India, 1971: Statistical report,eci.nic.in/eci_main/statisticalreports/LS_1971/Vol_I_LS71.pdf, eci.nic.in, Election Commission of India, 25 June 2014, dead,eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/LS_1971/Vol_I_LS71.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20140718175452eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/LS_1971/Vol_I_LS71.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20140718175452eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/LS_1971/Vol_I_LS71.pdf, 18 July 2014, The policies of the Congress (R) under Gandhi before the 1971 elections included proposals to abolish the Privy Purse to former rulers of the Princely states, and the 1969 nationalisation of India’s 14 largest banks.NEWS, Economic Milestone: Nationalisation of Banks (1969),forbesindia.com/article/independence-day-special/economic-milestone-nationalisation-of-banks-(1969)/38415/1, 17 September 2015, Forbes India, 17 September 2015, The 1969 attempt by Indira Gandhi government to abolish privy purse and the official recognition of the titles did not meet with success. The constitutional Amendment bill to this effect was passed in Lok Sabha, but it failed to get the required two-thirds majority in the Rajya Sabha. However, in 1971, with the passage of the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the Constitution of India, the privy purses were abolished.Due to Sino-Indian War 1962, India faced a huge budgetary deficit resulting in its treasury being almost empty, high inflation, and dwindling forex reserves. The brief War of 1962 exposed weaknesses in the economy and shifted the focus towards the defence industry and the Indian Army. The government found itself short of resources to fund the Third Plan (1961–1966). Subhadra Joshi a senior party member, proposed a non-official resolution asking for the nationalisation of private banks stating that nationalisation would help in mobilising resources for development.WEB, The Defining Event,rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/content/PDFs/90069.pdf, Reserve Bank of India, 10 March 2022, In July 1969, Indira Gandhi through the ordinance nationalised fourteen major private banks.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=ChrzDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA20, Banking Awareness, 2017, Arihant Publications (India) Ltd., 20, 978-93-11124-66-7, After being re-elected in 1971 on a campaign that endorsed nationalisation, Indira Gandhi went on to nationalise the coal, steel, copper, refining, cotton textiles and insurance industries. The main reason was to protect employment and the interest of the organised labour.(File:Congress Loksabha seats all time.png|thumb|alt= INC seasts in lower house of Indian parliament|Congress Loksabha seats all time)On 12 June 1975, the High Court of Allahabad declared Indira Gandhi’s election to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s parliament, void on the grounds of electoral malpractice.WEB, The Emergency, and Indian democracy,www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Independent/Indira.html,www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Independent/Indira.html," title="web.archive.org/web/19991112105947www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Independent/Indira.html,">web.archive.org/web/19991112105947www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Independent/Indira.html, dead, 12 November 1999, sscnet.ucla.edu, UCLA Division of Social Science, 25 June 2014, However, Gandhi rejected calls to resign and announced plans to appeal to the Supreme Court. In response to increasing disorder and lawlessness, Gandhi’s ministry recommended that President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed declare a State of Emergency, based on the provisions of Article 352 of the Constitution.WEB, Emergency papers found,timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-times/deep-focus/Emergency-papers-found/articleshow/20839450.cms, The Times of India, 6 June 2018, 30 June 2013, During the nineteen-month emergency, widespread oppression and abuse of power by Gandhi’s unelected younger son and political heir Sanjay Gandhi and his close associates occurred.JOURNAL, Ghildiyal, Subodh, Cong blames Sanjay Gandhi for Emergency ‘excesses’, 29 December 2010,articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-12-29/india/28661327_1_slum-clearance-sanjay-gandhi-sterilization, 30 January 2014, dead, 28 August 2011,articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-12-29/india/28661327_1_slum-clearance-sanjay-gandhi-sterilization," title="web.archive.org/web/20110828145401articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-12-29/india/28661327_1_slum-clearance-sanjay-gandhi-sterilization,">web.archive.org/web/20110828145401articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-12-29/india/28661327_1_slum-clearance-sanjay-gandhi-sterilization, The Times of India, NEWS, Express News Service, Emergency ‘propagandist’ who banned Kishore Kumar songs,archive.indianexpress.com/news/emergency-propagandist-who-banned-kishore-kumar-songs/1127804/, 17 January 2014, Indian Express, 11 June 2013, JOURNAL, Dasgupta, Swapan, The Life of Indira Gandhi, July 1985, 7, 3, Third World Quarterly, Book Reviews, 10.1080/01436598508419863, 731–778, Implemented on 25 June 1975, the Emergency officially ended on 21 March 1977.NEWS, Inder Malhotra, What Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s Emergency proved for India, 23 June 2010,www.rediff.com/news/column/inder-malhotra-on-35-years-after-the-emergency/20100623.htm, 25 June 2014, Rediff.com, All political prisoners were released and fresh elections for the Lok Sabha were called.WEB, Indian general election, 1977,www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/INDIA_1977_E.PDF, ipu.org, Inter-Parliamentary Union, 25 June 2014, In parliamentary elections held in March, the Janata alliance of anti-Indira opposition parties won a landslide victory over Congress, winning 295 seats in the Lok Sabha against Congress’ 153. Gandhi lost her seat to her Janata opponent Raj Narain. On 2 January 1978, she and her followers seceded and formed a new opposition party, popularly called Congress (I)—the “I” signifying Indira. During the next year, her new party attracted enough members of the legislature to become the official opposition.BOOK, Basu, Manisha, The Rhetoric of Hindutva, 2016, Cambridge University Press, 978-1-107-14987-8, 73–, {{Google books, E7gtDQAAQBAJ, PA73, yes, }} In November 1978, Gandhi regained a parliamentary seat. In January 1980, following a landslide victory for Congress (I), she was again elected prime minister.WEB, Statistical report general elections, 1980, eci.nic.in, Election Commission of India,eci.nic.in/eci_main/statisticalreports/LS_1980/Vol_I_LS_80.pdf, 25 June 2014, dead,eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/LS_1980/Vol_I_LS_80.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20140718175926eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/LS_1980/Vol_I_LS_80.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20140718175926eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/LS_1980/Vol_I_LS_80.pdf, 18 July 2014, The national election commission declared Congress (I) to be the real Indian National Congress for the 1984 general election. However, the designation I was dropped only in 1996.Gandhi’s premiership witnessed increasing turmoil in Punjab, with demands for Sikh autonomy by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his militant followers.NEWS, Operation Blue Star 1984,www.dnaindia.com/india/report-7-things-you-need-to-know-about-operation-blue-star-1993952, 25 June 2014, Daily News and Analysis, Dainik Bhaskar, Deepak Rathi, 6 June 2014, In 1983, Bhindranwale with his armed followers headquartered themselves in the Golden Temple in Amritsar and started accumulating weapons.NEWS, 1984: Operation Blue Star,www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10881115/Operation-Blue-Star-How-an-Indian-army-raid-on-the-Golden-Temple-ended-in-disaster.html,ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10881115/Operation-Blue-Star-How-an-Indian-army-raid-on-the-Golden-Temple-ended-in-disaster.html, 10 January 2022, subscription, live, 25 June 2014, The Daily Telegraph (UK), The Daily Telegraph, 6 June 2014, {{cbignore}} In June 1984, after several futile negotiations, Gandhi ordered the Indian Army to enter the Golden Temple to establish control over the complex and remove Bhindranwale and his armed followers. This event is known as Operation Blue Star.NEWS, Operation Blue Star,www.thehindu.com/news/national/operation-blue-star-the-untold-story/article4798102.ece, 25 June 2014, The Hindu, 10 June 2013, On 31 October 1984, two of Gandhi’s bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, shot her with their service weapons in the garden of the prime minister’s residence in response to her authorisation of Operation Blue Star. Gandhi was due to be interviewed by British actor Peter Ustinov, who was filming a documentary for Irish television.NEWS, 1984: Indian prime minister shot dead,news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/31/newsid_2464000/2464423.stm, 23 June 2014, BBC News, 31 October 1984, Her assassination prompted the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, during which 3,000–17,000 people were killed.NEWS, Violence follows Gandhi killing,news.bbc.co.uk/, BBC News, 23 June 2014, BOOK, Joseph, Paul, The SAGE Encyclopedia of War: Social Science Perspectives, 11 October 2016, SAGE, 978-1483359885, 433, around 17,000 Sikhs were burned alive or killed, NEWS, Nelson, Dean, 30 January 2014, Delhi to reopen inquiry in to massacre of Sikhs in 1984 riots, The Daily Telegraph,www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10607451/Delhi-to-reopen-inquiry-in-to-massacre-of-Sikhs-in-1984-riots.html, live, subscription, 3 May 2016,ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10607451/Delhi-to-reopen-inquiry-in-to-massacre-of-Sikhs-in-1984-riots.html, 12 January 2022, {{cbignore}}WEB, Jagdish Tytler’s role in 1984 anti-Sikh riots to be re-investigated,www.ndtv.com/cheat-sheet/jagdish-tytlers-role-in-1984-anti-sikh-riots-to-be-re-investigated-518648, 3 May 2016, NDTV.com,

Rajiv Gandhi and Rao era (1984–1998)

{{See also|Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War|Economic liberalisation in India}}File:The Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi addressing the Special Session of the United nations on Disarmament, in New York in June, 1988 (1).jpg|thumb|right|alt=refer caption|Rajiv Gandhi addressing the Special Session of the United Nations on Disarmament, in New York in June 1988]]In 1984, Indira Gandhi’s son Rajiv Gandhi became nominal head of Congress, and went on to become prime minister upon her assassination.WEB, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, complete profile,pmindia.gov.in/pm_rajiv.html, pmindia.gov.in, Prime Minister’s Office, 23 June 2014, dead,pmindia.gov.in/pm_rajiv.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20120901121841pmindia.gov.in/pm_rajiv.html,">web.archive.org/web/20120901121841pmindia.gov.in/pm_rajiv.html, 1 September 2012, In December, he led Congress to a landslide victory, where it secured 401 seats in the legislature.WEB, India General or the 8th Lok Sabha Election Results – 1984,www.elections.in/parliamentary-constituencies/1984-election-results.html, 23 June 2014, His administration took measures to reform the government bureaucracy and liberalise the country’s economy.NEWS, Resurgent India,www.dnaindia.com/india/report-hamid-ansari-launches-book-resurgent-india-glimpses-of-rajiv-gandhi-vision-of-india-1955270, 23 June 2014, Daily News and Analysis, 22 January 2014, Rajiv Gandhi’s attempts to discourage separatist movements in Punjab and Kashmir backfired. After his government became embroiled in several financial scandals, his leadership became increasingly ineffectual.WEB, Rajiv Gandhi and the story of Indian modernization,www.livemint.com/Opinion/NYPeyCrc6NyfwmlxqjtumJ/Rajiv-Gandhi-and-the-story-of-Indian-modernization.html, Mint (newspaper), Mint, 19 May 2013, 23 June 2014, Gandhi was regarded as a non-abrasive person who consulted other party members and refrained from hasty decisions.WEB, Rajiv Gandhi, History and Politics,www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Independent/Rajiv.html,www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Independent/Rajiv.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20000226203915www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Independent/Rajiv.html,">web.archive.org/web/20000226203915www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Independent/Rajiv.html, dead, 26 February 2000, UCLA, Division of Social Sciences, 23 June 2014, The Bofors scandal damaged his reputation as an honest politician, but he was posthumously cleared of bribery allegations in 2004.NEWS,news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3458319.stm, Rajiv Gandhi cleared over bribery, BBC News, 4 February 2004, 7 March 2010, On 21 May 1991, Gandhi was killed by a bomb concealed in a basket of flowers carried by a woman associated with the Tamil Tigers.WEB, The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi,www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzdoMbYnb7w,ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/CzdoMbYnb7w, 11 December 2021, live, NDTV India, YouTube, 21 June 2014, NDTV India, {{cbignore}} He was campaigning in Tamil Nadu for upcoming parliamentary elections. In 1998, an Indian court convicted 26 people in the conspiracy to assassinate Gandhi.NEWS, Rajiv Gandhi assassination case,timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Rajiv-Gandhi-assassination-case-SC-stays-release-of-4-convicts-issues-notice-to-Tamil-Nadu-govt/articleshow/31089717.cms, 21 June 2014, The Times of India, 27 February 2014, The conspirators, who consisted of Tamil militants from Sri Lanka and their Indian allies, had sought revenge against Gandhi because the Indian troops he sent to Sri Lanka in 1987 to help enforce a peace accord there had fought with Tamil Militant guerrillas.BOOK, D. R. Kaarthikenyan, Radhavinod Raju, Radhavinod Raju, Rajiv Gandhi Assassination, {{Google books, 7MqfCkBGdQ8C, yes, |year=2008|publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd|isbn=978-81-207-3265-0|pages=89–91}}NEWS, SC refers Rajiv Gandhi killers’ release case to Constitution Bench,indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/rajiv-gandhi-assassination-case-supreme-court/, 21 June 2014, The Indian Express, 25 April 2014, (File:Visit of Narasimha Rao, Indian Minister for Foreign Affairs, to the CEC.jpg|thumb|Visit of Narasimha Rao, to the CEC)Rajiv Gandhi was succeeded as party leader by P. V. Narasimha Rao, who was elected prime minister in June 1991.WEB, PV Narasimha Rao Biography,pmindia.nic.in/pm_narasimha.html, Website of the Prime Minister of India, 23 June 2014, dead,pmindia.nic.in/pm_narasimha.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20121227115219pmindia.nic.in/pm_narasimha.html,">web.archive.org/web/20121227115219pmindia.nic.in/pm_narasimha.html, 27 December 2012, His rise to the prime ministership was politically significant because he was the first holder of the office from South India. After the election, he formed minority government. Rao himself not contested elections in 1991, but after he was sworn in a prime minister, he won in a by-election from Nandyal in Andhra Pradesh.NEWS, Lakshman, Ganesh, Nandyal bypoll: It was P V Narasimha Rao’s backyard when he ..,timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/amaravati/it-was-p-v-narasimha-raos-backyard-when-he-was-the-pm/articleshow/60168304.cms, 10 March 2022, The Times of India, The Times Group, 22 August 2017, His administration oversaw major economic change and experienced several home incidents that affected India’s national security.“Narasimha Rao – a Reforming PM”. BBC News (23 December 2004). Retrieved 2 March 2007. Rao, who held the Industries portfolio, was personally responsible for the dismantling of the Licence Raj, which came under the purview of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.Arvind Kumar, Arun Narendhranath (3 October 2001). “India must embrace unfettered free enterprise” {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130312095826www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column_india-must-embrace-unfettered-free-enterprise_1594401 |date=12 March 2013 }}. Daily News and Analysis. He is often called the “father of Indian economic reforms”.“PV Narasimha Rao Remembered as Father of Indian Economic Reforms”. VOA News (23 December 2004). {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090129203559www.voanews.com/tibetan/archive/2004-12/a-2004-12-23-2-1.cfm |date=29 January 2009 }}NEWS, Narasimha Rao led India at crucial juncture, was father of economic reform: Pranab, 25 January 2013,articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-12-31/india/36078990_1_economic-reforms-president-pranab-mukherjee-finance-minister,articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-12-31/india/36078990_1_economic-reforms-president-pranab-mukherjee-finance-minister," title="web.archive.org/web/20130520071110articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-12-31/india/36078990_1_economic-reforms-president-pranab-mukherjee-finance-minister,">web.archive.org/web/20130520071110articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-12-31/india/36078990_1_economic-reforms-president-pranab-mukherjee-finance-minister, dead, 20 May 2013, The Times of India, 31 December 2012, Future prime ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh continued the economic reform policies begun by Rao’s government. Rao accelerated the dismantling of the Licence Raj, reversing the socialist policies of previous governments.WEB, PV Narasimha Rao reinvented India,www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/pv-narasimha-rao-reinvented-india-so-why-is-he-the-forgotten-man, The National (Abu Dhabi), The National, 19 May 2012, Abu Dhabi, 23 June 2014, WEB, Foreign Policies of India’s Prime Ministers,www.transnational-perspectives.org/transnational/articles/article495.pdf, Transnational Organization, 23 June 2014, 14 July 2014,www.transnational-perspectives.org/transnational/articles/article495.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20140714230255www.transnational-perspectives.org/transnational/articles/article495.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20140714230255www.transnational-perspectives.org/transnational/articles/article495.pdf, dead, He employed Manmohan Singh as his finance minister to begin a historic economic change. With Rao’s mandate, Singh launched India’s globalisation reforms that involved implementing International Monetary Fund (IMF) policies to prevent India’s impending economic collapse. Rao was also referred to as Chanakya for his ability to push tough economic and political legislation through the parliament while he headed a minority government.JOURNAL,www.hindu.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=20050114008013000.htm&date=fl2201/&prd=fline&, Obituary: A scholar and a politician, V. Venkatesan, Frontline, 22, 1, 1–14 January 2005, 30 March 2010, {{dead link|date=March 2016}}{{cbignore}}“PV Narasimha Rao Passes Away”. Retrieved 7 October 2007. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071101063203www.tlca.com/adults/obit-pvn.html |date=1 November 2007 }}By 1996, the party’s image was suffering from allegations of corruption, and in elections that year, Congress was reduced to 140 seats, its lowest number in the Lok Sabha to that point. Rao later resigned as prime minister and, in September, as party president.WEB, ABP News, Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s 13-day govt.,www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ4F8KNB3ao,ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/eQ4F8KNB3ao, 11 December 2021, live, YouTube, 24 June 2014, {{cbignore}} He was succeeded as president by Sitaram Kesri, the party’s first non-Brahmin leader.NEWS, The Sitaram Kesri case,www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report-the-sitaram-kesri-case-how-dynasty-trumped-ethics-1564149, 23 June 2014, Daily News and Analysis, 10 July 2011, During the tenure of both Rao and Kesri, the two leaders conducted internal elections to the Congress working committees and their own posts as party presidents.BOOK, Subrata Kumar Mitra, Mike Enskat, Clemens Spiess, Political Parties in South Asia,books.google.com/books?id=dObxI9xahSYC&pg=PR7, 2004, Greenwood Publishing Group, 978-0-275-96832-8, 42–43,

INC (1998–present)

File:The President Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam authorizing the Prime Minister designate Dr. Manmohan Singh to form the next Government in New Delhi on May 19, 2004.jpg|thumb|250px|right|11th President of India A. P. J. Abdul Kalam authorizing the Prime Minister designate Manmohan SinghManmohan SinghThe 1998 general elections saw Congress win 141 seats in the Lok Sabha, its lowest tally until then.WEB,archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2145_98.htm, India Parliamentary Chamber: Lok Sabha, Inter-Parliamentary Union, 4 March 2018, To boost its popularity and improve its performance in the forthcoming election, Congress leaders urged Sonia Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi’s widow, to assume leadership of the party.NEWS,www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1998/01/31/another-gandhi-comes-to-congress-partys-aid/6dd58f02-b8d2-4a1e-b6ee-32e6f26cefcf/, ANOTHER GANDHI COMES TO CONGRESS PARTY’S AID, Cooper, Kenneth J., 31 January 1998, The Washington Post, She had previously declined offers to become actively involved in party affairs and had stayed away from politics.WEB,www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/19950131-sonia-gandhi-emerges-as-cynosure-of-all-eyes-could-play-pivotal-role-in-party-politics-808336-1995-01-31, Sonia Gandhi emerges as cynosure of all eyes, could play pivotal role in party politics, M., Rahman, 31 January 1995, India Today, After her election as party leader, a section of the party that objected to the choice because of her Italian ethnicity broke away and formed the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Sharad Pawar.NEWS,www.nytimes.com/1999/05/21/world/congress-party-expels-3-who-opposed-gandhi.html, Congress Party Expels 3 Who Opposed Gandhi, Celia W., Dugger, The New York Times, 21 May 1999, Sonia Gandhi struggled to revive the party in her early years as its president; she was under continuous scrutiny for her foreign birth and lack of political acumen. In the snap elections called by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in 1999, Congress’ tally further plummeted to just 114 seats. Although the leadership structure was unaltered as the party campaigned strongly in the assembly elections that followed, Gandhi began to make such strategic changes as abandoning the party’s 1998 Pachmarhi resolution of ekla chalo (go it alone) policy, and formed alliances with other like-minded parties. In the intervening years, the party was successful at various legislative assembly elections; at one point, Congress ruled 15 states.WEB,hindustantimes.com/india-news/sonia-gandhi-s-19-years-as-congress-president-from-husband-rajiv-s-death-to-son-rahul-s-elevation/story-nmW3hNiG2zDo6abGYc38YO.html, Sonia Gandhi’s 19 years as Congress president: From husband death to son Rahul’s elevation, Naqshbandi, Aurangzeb, Hindustan Times, 16 December 2017, 4 March 2018,

UPA Governments (2004–2014)

For the 2004 general election, Congress forged alliances with regional parties including the NCP and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.WEB,www.rediff.com/election/2004/may/14congress.htm, The mathematics of politics, Rediff.com, 4 March 2018, 16 May 2004, The party’s campaign emphasised social inclusion and the welfare of the common masses{{emdash}}an ideology that Gandhi herself endorsed for Congress during her presidency{{emdash}}with slogans such as (“Congress hand in hand with the common man“), contrasting with the NDA’s “India Shining” campaign.WEB,www.news18.com/news/politics/sonia-gandhis-legacy-she-reinvented-herself-to-fight-off-challenges-but-also-had-her-share-of-failures-1606229.html, Sonia Gandhi’s Legacy: She Reinvented Herself to Fight Off Challenges but also Had Her Share of Failures, Negi, Saroj, India Today, 2 March 2018, 16 December 2017, NEWS,indianexpress.com/article/india/sonia-gandhi-congress-president-rahul-gandhi-politics-4983911/, Sonia Gandhi retires as Congress president, to remain active in politics, The Indian Express, 15 December 2017, 15 December 2017, NEWS,indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/as-sonia-gandhi-makes-way-4984673/, As Sonia Gandhi makes way, Chowdhary, Neerja, The Indian Express, 16 December 2017, 19 December 2017, The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) won 222 seats in the new parliament, defeating the NDA by a substantial margin. With the subsequent support of the communist front, Congress won a majority and formed a new government.NEWS,m.hindustantimes.com/india-news/sonia-gandhi-s-19-years-as-congress-president-from-husband-rajiv-s-death-to-son-rahul-s-elevation/story-nmW3hNiG2zDo6abGYc38YO.html, Sonia Gandhi’s 19 years as Congress president: From husband Rajiv’s death to son Rahul’s elevation, Naqshbandi, Aurangzeb, Hindustan Times, 16 December 2017, 20 December 2017, Despite massive support from within the party, Gandhi declined the post of prime minister, choosing to appoint Manmohan Singh instead.NEWS,www.reuters.com/article/us-india-election-gandhi/sonia-gandhi-keeps-congress-hopes-alive-in-india-polls-idUSTRE53D1XH20090414, Sonia Gandhi keeps Congress hopes alive in India polls, Chandra, Rina, Reuters, 14 April 2009, 19 December 2017, She remained as party president and headed the National Advisory Council (NAC).NEWS, Hands-on influence for Sonia Gandhi as NAC head,www.livemint.com/Home-Page/bwgztbqFBjfiC4WnGGye3H/Handson-influence-for-Sonia-Gandhi-as-NAC-head.html, 17 August 2016, Mathew, Liz, Mint (newspaper), Livemint, 30 March 2010, File:The Minister of State for Railways, Shri Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury addressing at the presentation of the National Awards for Outstanding Service in Railways, in Mumbai on April 16, 2013.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Lok Sabha Opposition leader|Adhir Ranjan ChowdhuryAdhir Ranjan ChowdhuryDuring its first term in office, the UPA government passed several social reform bills. These included an employment guarantee bill, the Right to Information Act, and a right to education act. The NAC, as well as the Left Front that supported the government from the outside, were widely seen as being the driving force behind such legislation. The Left Front withdrew its support of the government over disagreements about the U.S.–India Civil Nuclear Agreement. Despite the effective loss of 62 seats in parliament, the government survived the trust vote that followed.WEB, Manmohan survives trust vote,specials.indiatoday.com/trustvote/, India Today, 6 January 2014, In the Lok Sabha elections held soon after, Congress won 207 seats, the highest tally of any party since 1991. The UPA as a whole won 262, enabling it to form a government for the second time. The social welfare policies of the first UPA government, and the perceived divisiveness of the BJP, are broadly credited with the victory.WEB, Bidwai, Praful, Reading the Verdict,www.frontline.in/navigation/?type=static&page=archiveSearch&aid=20090619261209100&ais=12&avol=26, Frontline, 6 January 2014,

Defeats at national level (2014–present)

By the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the party had lost much of its popular support, mainly because of several years of poor economic conditions in the country, and growing discontent over a series of corruption allegations involving government officials, including the 2G spectrum case and the Indian coal allocation scam.NEWS, 2G spectrum scam,indiatoday.intoday.in/story/what-is-the-2g-scam-all-about/1/188832.html, 22 June 2014, India Today, 19 October 2012, NEWS, Coal Block Allocations Scam,www.dnaindia.com/india/report-what-is-the-indian-coal-allocation-scam-1828830, 22 June 2014, Daily News and Analysis, 30 April 2013, Congress won only 44 seats in the Lok Sabha, compared to the 336 of the BJP and its alliesNEWS, List of Congress winners,ibnlive.in.com/news/lok-sabha-election-results-list-of-congress-winners/472493-37-64.html,ibnlive.in.com/news/lok-sabha-election-results-list-of-congress-winners/472493-37-64.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20140519170158ibnlive.in.com/news/lok-sabha-election-results-list-of-congress-winners/472493-37-64.html,">web.archive.org/web/20140519170158ibnlive.in.com/news/lok-sabha-election-results-list-of-congress-winners/472493-37-64.html, dead, 19 May 2014, 22 June 2014, CNN-IBN, 17 May 2014, The UPA suffered heavy defeat, which was its worst-ever performance in a national election with its vote share dipping below 20 per cent for the first time.NEWS, Congress Vote Share Dips Below 20 Per Cent for First Time,www.ndtv.com/elections/article/election-2014/election-results-2014-congress-vote-share-dips-below-20-per-cent-for-first-time-526000, 22 June 2014, NDTV India, 17 May 2014, Narendra Modi succeeded Singh as Prime Minister as the head of the National Democratic Alliance. Sonia Gandhi retired as party president in December 2017, having served for a record nineteen years. She was succeeded by her son Rahul Gandhi, who was elected unopposed in the 2017 INC presidential election.Rahul Gandhi resigned from his post after the 2019 Indian general election, due to the party’s dismal performance.NEWS,www.indiatoday.in/india/story/rahul-gandhi-resignation-what-next-1561338-2019-07-03, Rahul Gandhi has resigned. For real. What next?, India Today, 14 July 2019, Ist, Following Gandhi’s resignation, party leaders began deliberations for a suitable candidate to replace him. The Congress Working Committee met on 10 August to make a final decision on the matter and passed a resolution asking Sonia Gandhi to take over as interim president until a consensus candidate could be picked.NEWS,economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/cwc-chooses-sonia-gandhi-as-interim-chief-of-congress/articleshow/70623767.cms, CWC chooses Sonia Gandhi as interim chief of Congress, The Economic Times, Economic Times, 11 August 2019, 14 September 2019, WEB,timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/rahul-had-said-no-gandhi-but-congress-goes-back-to-sonia-gandhi/articleshow/70625074.cms, Rahul had said ‘no Gandhi’, but Congress goes back to Sonia Gandhi, The Times of India, 11 August 2019, 11 August 2019, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha.NEWS, Chowdhury to stay as leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha,www.dailypioneer.com/2021/india/chowdhury-to-stay-as-leader-of-opposition-in-lok-sabha.html, 18 January 2022, The Pioneer, 15 July 2021, Gaurav Gogoi is deputy leader in Lok Sabha, Ravneet Singh Bittu is whip.NEWS, Congress appoints Gaurav Gogoi as deputy leader in Lok Sabha, Ravneet Bittu as whip,theprint.in/politics/congress-appoints-gaurav-gogoi-as-deputy-leader-in-lok-sabha-ravneet-bittu-as-whip/490567/, 18 January 2022, ThePrint, 27 August 2020, Based on an analysis of the candidates’ poll affidavits, a report by the National Election Watch (NEW) and the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) says that, the Congress has highest political defection since 2014. According to the report, a total of 222 electoral candidates have left the Congress to join other parties during polls held between 2014 and 2021, whereas 177 MPs and MLAs quit the party.NEWS, Joy, Shemin, Congress has lost six governments to BJP since PM Narendra Modi assumed power in 2014,www.deccanherald.com/national/national-politics/congress-has-lost-six-governments-to-bjp-since-pm-narendra-modi-assumed-power-in-2014-954411.html, 10 March 2022, Deccan Herald, The Printers, Mysore, 23 February 2021, Defection resulted loss of its established governments in Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Puducherry (UT), and Manipur. File:Bharat_Jodo_Yatra.webp|thumb|Bharat Jodo YatraBharat Jodo YatraIn September 2022, the party launched the Bharat Jodo Yatra, a padayatra from the southern tip of India at Kanyakumari to the northernmost territory of Kashmir, led by Rahul Gandhi.NEWS, 2023-01-30, Bharat Jodo Yatra: Rahul Gandhi’s unity march ends in Kashmir, en-GB, BBC,www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-64449569, 2023-12-24, NEWS, Yasir, Sameer, 2022-12-03, Why Is This Man With the Famous Name Walking 2,000 Miles Across India?, en-US, The New York Times,www.nytimes.com/2022/12/03/world/asia/india-rahul-gandhi.html, 2023-12-24, 0362-4331, In October, the working committee held the 2022 INC Presidential Election. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi both declined to contest, and Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor emerged as the main contenders. Kharge secured 84.14% of the votes, becoming the first non-Gandhi president in 24 years.NEWS, Dhillon, Amrit, 2022-10-19, India’s Congress party appoints first non-Gandhi president in 24 years, en-GB, The Guardian,www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/19/india-congress-party-appoints-first-non-gandhi-president-in-24-years, 2023-12-24, 0261-3077, In July 2023, the congress, along with 25 political parties made an opposition unity alliance named the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (known by its backronym as the I.N.D.I.A. alliance) for the 2024 general election against the NDA government. The alliance includes major national and regional parties such as the Trinamool Congress, AAP, RJD, CPIM, and DMK.

See also

• Indian nationalism
• Indian independence movement
• Satyagraha
• Gandhism
• Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance

Notes

{{notelist}}

References

{{reflist}}

Works cited

• BOOK, Mahendra Prasad Singh, 1981, Split in a Predominant Party: The Indian National Congress in 1969, {{Google books, UOQRWuMXyRMC, PA42, yes, |publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=978-81-7017-140-9}}

Further reading

• Patel: A Life Rajmohan Gandhi
• My Autobiography, or The Story of My Experiments with Truth, M.K. Gandhi
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Narhari Parikh

{{Indian independence movement}}{{Indian National Congress}}{{Bal Gangadhar Tilak}}{{Gandhi}}