Why no function on 100 years of Nagpur session, ask Congress leaders as party plans ‘selfie with Tiranga’ on its foundation day
The Congress at the session debated and adopted a resolution steered by Mahatma Gandhi for Poorna Swaraj (complete independence) from the British through non-violence and non-cooperation
The Congress will organise Tiranga (tricolour) yatras and a “selfie with the tricolour” campaign on social media to mark the party’s foundation day on Monday to showcase its version of nationalism. But a section of the leaders, particularly from Maharashta, is upset that no programme has been planned to celebrate the 100 years of the party’s Nagpur session that was held from December 26 to 30, 1920.

The Congress at the session debated and adopted a resolution steered by Mahatma Gandhi for Poorna Swaraj (complete independence) from the British through non-violence and non-cooperation.
“No programme has so far been planned to mark the historic event [Nagpur session]. Even the Maharashtra unit appears to have completely forgotten the session that changed the course of our freedom struggle and culminated in India gaining independence in 1947,” said a Congress leader from Nagpur, who did not wish to be named.
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Another functionary lamented that Congress general secretary K C Venugopal’s circular on the events for the party’s foundation day made no mention of the completion of 100 years of the Nagpur session. “It is strange. Have we forgotten our history?”
In a circular on celebration related to Congress’s 136th foundation day on December 28, Venugopal asked state units and leaders to organise and participate in Tiranga yatras across the country besides joining the party’s social media campaign by taking a “selfie with Tiranga”.
The Nagpur session, chaired by the then Congress president C Vijayaraghavachariar, also gave the go-ahead to the changes in the party constitution to open the organisation for the common people by reducing its membership fee. A resolution was passed at the session to promote Hindi and the formation of linguistic provinces was also discussed.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)’s first chief Keshav Baliram Hedgewar also attended the session. A group of volunteers known as Bharat Swayamsevak Mandal Hedgewar formed helped the Congress workers in managing the event.
Hedgewar’s proposed resolution that said the “goal of the Congress is to establish a republic in India and free the countries of the world from exploitation by capitalist countries” was rejected. He went on to found the RSS in September 1925.
