In which session was the Congress divided into Moderates and Extremists?

Question

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Correct — B, Surat. At the 1907 annual session of the Indian National Congress held in Surat, the simmering tension between the Moderates (who favoured constitutional agitation) and the Extremists (led by Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai, who wanted more assertive Swadeshi/boycott methods after the 1905 Partition of Bengal) came to a head over the choice of session president, splitting the party into two rival factions for nearly a decade.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Bombay hosted the founding 1885 session of the INC (under W.C. Bonnerjee) and several later sessions, but not the 1907 Moderate–Extremist split.  (c) The 1906 Calcutta session (under Dadabhai Naoroji) adopted the Swaraj, Swadeshi, boycott and national-education resolutions whose fate triggered the split — but the actual split happened at the following year's session, at Surat.  (d) Nagpur hosted the 1920 session where the Non-Cooperation programme was adopted — a different event, unrelated to the 1907 split.

Concept: The Surat Split (1907) was the first major internal rupture in the Indian National Congress. After the 1905 Partition of Bengal, Extremists (Tilak, Pal, Lajpat Rai) pushed for Swadeshi, boycott and passive resistance, while Moderates (Gokhale, Pherozeshah Mehta) preferred petitions and dialogue with the British. The immediate trigger was disagreement over retaining the 1906 Calcutta resolutions and over the choice of session president — the Extremists walked out.

State PCS 2023 Q61 — History PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2023 Q61 — History PYQ with Answer