Previous Year Question

During Indian Freedom Struggle, the National Social Conference was formed. What was the reason for its formation?

Different social reform groups or organisations of Bengal region united to form a single body to discuss the issues of larger interest and to prepare appropriate petitions/representations to the Government.

Indian National Congress did not want to include social reforms in its deliberations and decided to form a separate body for such a purpose.

Behramji Malabari and M.G. Ranade decided to bring together all the social reform groups of the country under one organisation.

None of the statements A), B) and C) given above is correct in this context.

Correct Answer: B

Detailed Solution

The early leaders of the Indian National Congress differed over whether the Congress platform should discuss only political and administrative reforms or should also include social reform in its programme.

A large section of the Congress leadership believed that controversial social questions such as child marriage, widow remarriage and caste practices could create differences among representatives of different communities and regions. Their inclusion in Congress deliberations could consequently weaken political unity.

A platform organisationally separate from the Congress was therefore created to discuss social reform. Against this background, the Indian National Social Conference, associated principally with M.G. Ranade and Raghunath Rao, came into existence.

Its important features were:

Its first session was held at Madras in December 1887.

Sir T. Madhava Rao presided over the inaugural session.

It generally held its session immediately after the annual Congress session and at the same venue.

It has been described as the social-reform side or social-reform wing of the Congress movement, although it remained an organisationally separate institution.

It addressed subjects such as child marriage, widow remarriage, women’s education, inter-caste marriage, polygamy and caste restrictions.

Why is option C incorrect? Behramji Malabari was an important social reformer who campaigned on issues such as child marriage and the age of consent. However, the foundation of the National Social Conference was principally associated with M.G. Ranade and Raghunath Rao. Its immediate background was the decision to keep social reform outside the main political deliberations of the Congress.

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