Who was the President of the special session of Indian National Congress held in Calcutta in September, 1920 in which the resolution of Non-Cooperation Movement was passed ?

Correct — option (3), Lala Lajpat Rai.

The Congress met in special session at Calcutta from 4 to 9 September 1920. B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya's History of the Indian National Congress, published by the Congress Working Committee in 1935, records that Lala Lajpat Rai was elected President of that session.

The same session carried the Non-co-operation resolution. Sitaramayya records that Gandhi moved it and that it was carried by 1,886 delegates against 884.

The resolution adopted Gandhi's policy of progressive, non-violent non-co-operation until the Punjab and Khilafat wrongs were righted and Swarajya was established.

Sitaramayya adds that the Calcutta session 'was presided over by an avowed opponent of N.C.O.' In December 1920, at Nagpur, the resolution was moved by C. R. Das and seconded by Lala Lajpat Rai.

The idea to remember: Calcutta, September 1920 (special session) = Lajpat Rai; Nagpur, December 1920 (annual session) = C. Vijayaraghavachariar.

Why the others are wrong

• (1)
  Dadabhai Naoroji — Sitaramayya records that Dadabhai Naoroji presided over the Congress three times, in 1886, 1893 and 1906. The Congress's list of past presidents places them at Calcutta (2nd session), Lahore (9th) and Calcutta (22nd).

  Option (1) is the answer for the Calcutta sessions of 1886 and 1906, and the Lahore session of 1893. The Calcutta special session of September 1920 was chaired by Lala Lajpat Rai.

• (2)
  Maulana Abul Kalam Azad — Sitaramayya names Maulana Abul Kalam Azad as President of the special session at Delhi in September 1923, three years after Calcutta. The Congress's own profile of him calls 1923 his first term and adds a second from 1940, which ran until 1946.

  The same profile says that in 1920 Azad was elected President of the All-India Khilafat Committee at the Calcutta session. That office belonged to the Khilafat Committee, not the Congress.

• (4)
  Vijaya Raghavachari — C. Vijayaraghavachariar of Salem presided over the annual session at Nagpur in December 1920. The Congress's own profile of him gives his presidency as 'Nagpur, 1920'.

  Nagpur came three months after Calcutta and re-affirmed the Non-co-operation resolution passed there. Both sessions belong to the same year and the same programme, but the special session in September had Lala Lajpat Rai in the chair.

The Congress met in an annual session and, when a pressing issue arose, in a special session between annual sessions. Bipan Chandra's Modern India (NCERT, 1971) records that from 1886 the Congress met every year in December.

The special sessions of these years include Bombay in August 1918 under Hasan Imam, Calcutta in September 1920 under Lala Lajpat Rai, and Delhi in September 1923 under Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.

In 1920 the pressing issue was non-co-operation. Bipan Chandra writes that the Khilafat Committee launched a non-cooperation movement on 31 August 1920. The Calcutta special session adopted the programme, and the Nagpur annual session endorsed it in December.

Key facts

• Sitaramayya's History of the Indian National Congress (1935) dates the Calcutta special session to 4–9 September 1920, with Lala Lajpat Rai elected President.
• At Calcutta, Gandhi's Non-co-operation resolution was carried by 1,886 delegates against 884, according to Sitaramayya.
• C. Vijayaraghavachariar of Salem presided over the Nagpur session of December 1920, which re-affirmed the Non-co-operation resolution.
• At Nagpur the Non-co-operation resolution was moved by C. R. Das and seconded by Lala Lajpat Rai, according to Sitaramayya.
• Maulana Abul Kalam Azad presided over the Delhi special session of September 1923, and was Congress President again from 1940 to 1946.

Common traps

• Mixing up the two sessions of 1920: the September special session at Calcutta had Lajpat Rai in the chair, the December annual session at Nagpur had C. Vijayaraghavachariar.
• Treating 'Calcutta' as a clue to Dadabhai Naoroji: he presided at Calcutta in 1886 and 1906, not in 1920.
• Assuming the president backed the resolution: Sitaramayya calls the Calcutta chair an opponent of non-co-operation; Lajpat Rai seconded the resolution at Nagpur.

UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2018 and 2013 here once those papers are published on this site.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Who presided over the annual session of the Indian National Congress held at Nagpur in December 1920?

  • (a)Lala Lajpat Rai
  • (b)C. Vijayaraghavachariar
  • (c)Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
  • (d)Dadabhai Naoroji
  Answer(2) — C. Vijayaraghavachariar of Salem presided at Nagpur in December 1920. Option (1) presided over the Calcutta special session of September 1920; option (3) over the Delhi special session of September 1923; option (4) over the sessions of 1886, 1893 and 1906.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  Consider the following statements about the special session of the Indian National Congress held at Calcutta in September 1920: A. The Non-co-operation resolution was moved by Gandhi. B. The session was presided over by C. Vijayaraghavachariar. Choose the correct option:

  • (a)Only A is correct.
  • (b)Only B is correct.
  • (c)Both A and B are correct.
  • (d)Neither A nor B is correct.
  Answer(1) — Sitaramayya records that Gandhi moved the resolution at Calcutta, so A is correct. B is wrong: Lala Lajpat Rai presided at Calcutta, while C. Vijayaraghavachariar presided at Nagpur in December 1920. That rules out options (2), (3) and (4).