Indian National Congress

Indian National Congress, political party that led the struggle for India’s independence and later dominated the country’s government. Founded in 1885, the Congress originally advocated limited democratic reforms under British rule. Beginning in 1905, it called for swaraj, or self-government, and in 1920 it adopted the strategy of nonviolent resistance to the British devised by Mohandas K. Gandhi. By 1929, led by Jawaharlal Nehru, the Congress was demanding total independence. During World War II it refused to support the British war effort, launching instead a “Quit India” campaign that led to violent confrontations and prison terms for nearly 60,000 of its supporters. After India gained independence, in 1947, the Congress controlled the central government and most of the Indian state governments for 20 years. In 1955 it adopted a program of democratic socialism. The party split in 1969, but the dominant faction (the New Congress Party) remained in office under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Voted out in 1977, it again split. Gandhi’s Congress (I) Party (I for Indira) regained power in 1980, holding it until 1989, and then again from 1991 to 1996. Corruption allegations plagued the party in the mid-1990s, contributing to a loss of power in 1996.