The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : `Indians, not Hume, conceived Congress'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 29, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

`Indians, not Hume, conceived Congress'

By Our Staff Reporter

MADURAI, SEPT. 28. The Indian National Congress had its origin at Mylapore in Madras, where a group of 17 Indians conceived the idea and it was not A.O. Hume who formed the movement, as mentioned in history textbooks, says S. Gopalakrishnan, former professor of history, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati.

"It is actually a handful of Indians who conceptualised the idea of forming the INC at a meeting held on Ramakrishna Mutt Road during December, 1884, where a plaque with a relevant inscription is still there." Historians including Bipan Chandra shared this view, he said delivering the keynote address at the inauguration of a national seminar on `popular movements of modern south India — a study of sources,' at the School of Historical Studies of Madurai-Kamaraj University here yesterday.

The idea of a national political organisation was conceived during a Theosophical Society convention.

But that information was not available in archives. Historians must throw light on material remains.

Prof. Gopalakrishnan said historians should use native and unconventional sources also apart from the conventional archives, for accurate results.

The thought that south India played no role in the national movement should go and it could happen only "if we tap the native sources in different languages."

The Vice-Chancellor, P.K. Ponnuswamy, who inaugurated the seminar, said research scholars should critically evaluate sources.

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