INC Sessions & Revolutionary Movement

Congress Sessions in UP — Why They Matter

The Indian National Congress (INC), founded in 1885, held several landmark sessions in Uttar Pradesh. These sessions shaped the direction of the national movement, forged alliances, and launched major campaigns. For the UPSSSC AGTA exam, knowing which sessions were held in UP and what they decided is essential.

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Lucknow Session — 1916

The Lucknow Pact

• The INC and the All India Muslim League held simultaneous sessions in Lucknow
• They signed a joint scheme of political reforms demanding self-governance
• Muhammad Ali Jinnah played a key role as mediator (he was then called the “Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity”)
• The pact accepted separate electorates for Muslims as a compromise
• Congress was represented by moderates and extremists united after the Surat Split (1907) healed

This was the first formal political agreement between Congress and the Muslim League, marking a high point of Hindu-Muslim cooperation.

• Annie Besant’s Home Rule League movement was at its peak during this session
• Bal Gangadhar Tilak re-entered the Congress mainstream at Lucknow

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Kanpur Session — 1925

• Sarojini Naidu was known as the “Nightingale of India”
• Her election as president was a landmark moment for women’s participation in Indian politics
• The session focused on communal harmony and constructive programme
• It came in the backdrop of growing communal tensions across North India

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Lucknow Session — 1936

• Nehru used his presidential address to push a left-leaning, socialist programme
• He called for land reforms, nationalization of key industries, and workers’ rights
• The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) was founded during this session (11 April 1936)
• Congress Socialist Party members gained significant influence
• This session set the ideological tone for the Congress leading up to independence

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Other INC Sessions Connected to UP

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Revolutionary Movement in UP

While the Congress worked through constitutional means, a parallel revolutionary movement operated underground. UP was a nerve centre of revolutionary activity.

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Mainpuri Conspiracy (1918)

• Also known as the Mainpuri Dacoity Case
• Revolutionaries collected funds through dacoities (robberies) targeting British treasury
• Bismil distributed his poem “Mainpuri Ki Pratigya” (The Vow of Mainpuri) to inspire revolt
• This was Bismil’s first major revolutionary action, five years before Kakori

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Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) — 1924

• The HRA was inspired by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) model
• Its manifesto, “The Revolutionary,” was written by Sachindra Nath Sanyal
• After the Kakori case, the organization was reorganized as the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) in 1928 by Chandrashekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh
• The name change reflected a shift toward socialist ideology

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Kakori Conspiracy (1925)

This was the most famous revolutionary action in UP and one of the most celebrated events in Indian revolutionary history.

Key Participants

The Trial

• The Kakori Conspiracy Case trial lasted 18 months
• British used it to crush the revolutionary movement by sentencing key leaders to death
• The trial generated enormous public sympathy for the revolutionaries
• Ram Prasad Bismil recited his verse “Sarfaroshi ki tamanna” before execution

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Anushilan Samiti Connections

The Anushilan Samiti, originally a Bengal-based revolutionary group (founded 1902), had networks extending into UP:

• Members operated in Varanasi, Allahabad, and Lucknow
• They helped establish arms supply chains for UP revolutionaries
• Sachindra Nath Sanyal (HRA founder) had Anushilan Samiti links
• The organization combined physical training (gymnastics, wrestling) with revolutionary ideology
• British intelligence classified UP-based Anushilan operatives as “most dangerous”

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Revolutionary Underground Network in UP

UP served as a logistics and safe-house corridor for revolutionaries from across India:

• Prayagraj (Allahabad): Base for Chandrashekhar Azad, printing presses for revolutionary literature
• Kanpur: HRA headquarters, industrial workers sympathized with revolutionaries
• Shahjahanpur: Home base of Bismil and Ashfaqullah Khan
• Varanasi: Student recruitment ground, Anushilan Samiti presence
• Lucknow: Congress-revolutionary coordination, safe houses

The dense railway network in UP made it ideal for revolutionary operations — fighters could move quickly between cities and escape British surveillance.

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Key Takeaways

• Lucknow Session 1916 produced the Lucknow Pact (Congress-League unity)
• Kanpur Session 1925 — Sarojini Naidu became the first woman INC president
• Lucknow Session 1936 — Nehru pushed socialist agenda; AIKS founded
• Mainpuri Conspiracy (1918) was Bismil’s first revolutionary action
• HRA was founded in Kanpur (1924); later became HSRA
• Kakori Conspiracy (9 Aug 1925) — four revolutionaries hanged; Azad escaped
• UP was the operational hub of India’s revolutionary underground

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Summary Cheat Sheet