Previous Year Question

The remark describing the Indian National Congress as representing only a ‘microscopic minority’ of the people is associated with Lord Dufferin.

Lord Dufferin served as the Viceroy and Governor-General of India from 1884 to 1888. It was during his tenure that the Indian National Congress was founded in December 1885, with its first session being held at Bombay.

During its early years, most active members of the Congress came from the educated middle class, including lawyers, journalists, teachers and other professionals. Dufferin targeted this limited social base while criticising the representative claims of the Congress and characterised the class associated with it as a “microscopic minority.”

The early Congress presented its demands to the British Government through petitions, resolutions and constitutional methods. Its major demands included expansion of the Legislative Councils, greater Indian participation in administration and increased opportunities for Indians in the higher services.

In 1888, during the final phase of his tenure, Dufferin's public criticism of the political demands and representative character of the Congress became more explicit. In the same year, George Yule, President of the fourth Congress session at Allahabad, also responded in his address to Dufferin's criticism of Congress demands.