Study Guide · Chapter 7
6. "FIRSTS" — QUICK CALL-OUT BOXES
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6. "FIRSTS" — QUICK CALL-OUT BOXES
These are extremely popular one-line MCQ formats: "Who was the first ___ to preside over the INC?"
| "First" | Session / Person |
|---|---|
| First President of INC | W.C. Bonnerjee (Bombay, 1885) |
| First session of INC | Bombay, 1885 |
| First Muslim President of INC | Badruddin Tyabji (Madras, 1887) |
| First Englishman/British President of INC | George Yule (Allahabad, 1888) |
| First woman President of INC (overall, though British-born) | Annie Besant (Calcutta, 1917) |
| First Indian-born woman President of INC | Sarojini Naidu (Kanpur, 1925) |
| First session at which "Vande Mataram" was sung | Calcutta, 1896 |
| First session at which "Jana Gana Mana" was sung | Calcutta, 1911 |
| First and only Congress session Mahatma Gandhi presided over | Belgaum, 1924 |
| First session held in a village/rural area | Faizpur, 1937 |
| Youngest President of INC | Abul Kalam Azad (Delhi special session, 1923 — approx. 35 years old) |
| First session where "Swaraj" was declared the goal of Congress | Calcutta, 1906 (Dadabhai Naoroji) |
| Session at which Purna Swaraj (complete independence) was formally adopted as the goal | Lahore, 1929 (Jawaharlal Nehru) |
| Session that fixed 26 January as "Independence Day" | Lahore, 1929 (observed first from 26 Jan 1930) |
| Session with the Fundamental Rights/Economic Policy Resolution | Karachi, 1931 (Vallabhbhai Patel) |
| Longest continuously serving Congress President (unbroken years in office) | Abul Kalam Azad (~1940–1946) |
| The session marking the Moderate-Extremist split | Surat, 1907 |
| The session marking Moderate-Extremist reunion + Congress-League Pact | Lucknow, 1916 |
| First time INC and Muslim League signed a joint pact | Lucknow, 1916 (Lucknow Pact) |
| Founder/organiser (not President) of INC | Allan Octavian Hume |
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