Previous Year Question

The Indian National Congress elected Annie Besant as its President at the Calcutta Session of 1917. She thereby became the first woman President of the Indian National Congress.

It was the 32nd Session of the Congress and was held at Calcutta in December 1917. The session gave prominence to the demand for self-government and increased political pressure for the establishment of Responsible Self-Government in India.

Annie Besant had already emerged as a major political figure through the Home Rule Movement. She started a Home Rule League in 1916 and extensively propagated the demand for self-government through newspapers such as New India and Commonweal.

The British authorities interned Annie Besant in June 1917. Her internment provoked widespread protests and substantially increased her political stature. She was subsequently released, and in the same year the Congress elected her to preside over its Calcutta Session.

An important distinction is that Annie Besant was the first woman President of the Congress, whereas Sarojini Naidu became the first Indian woman President at the Kanpur Session of 1925.