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{{Infobox Indian political party
|party_name        = Indian National Congress 
|logo              = [[ගොනුව:INC-flag.svg|200px]]
|colorcode         = {{Indian National Congress/meta/color}}
|leader            =  
|chairman          = [[Sonia Gandhi]]
|secretary         = 
|ppchairman        = Sonia Gandhi
|loksabha_leader   = [[Pranab Mukherjee]]<br />([[Finance Minister of India|Finance Minister]]) 
|rajyasabha_leader = [[Manmohan Singh]]<br />([[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]])
|foundation        = 1885
|dissolution       = 
|headquarters      = 24, Akbar Road, <br />[[New Delhi]], 110011 
|publication       = ''Congress Sandesh''
|students          = [[National Students Union of India]] 
|youth             = [[Indian Youth Congress]] 
|women             = [[Mahila Congress]] 
|labour            = [[Indian National Trade Union Congress]] 
|peasants          = 
|ideology          = [[Populism]]<br />[[Indian nationalism|Indian]] [[Nationalism]]<br />[[Social liberalism]]<br />[[Anti-communism]]<br />[[Democratic socialism]]<br />[[Social democracy]]<br />[[Secularism]]<br />[[Third Way (centrism)|Third Way]]<br />[[Social populism|Social Populism]]  
|international     = [[Alliance of Democrats]]<ref>[http://www.allianceofdemocrats.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=63&Itemid=26 Political Parties, International Organizations and Individuals joining the Alliance of Democrats], [[Alliance of Democrats]]</ref>  
|colours           = [[Aqua]] {{Colorsample|Aqua}}    
|position          = [[Center-left]]<ref>[http://texasliberal.wordpress.com/2009/05/16/strong-victory-for-center-left-congress-party-in-india-worlds-two-largest-democracies-now-firmly-reject-conservatives/ Strong Victory For Center-Left Congress Party In India—World’s Two Largest Democracies Now Firmly Reject Conservatives], Texas Liberal,</ref>  
|eci               = National Party 
|alliance          = [[United Progressive Alliance]] (UPA) 
|loksabha_seats    = {{Infobox political party/seats|206|545|hex=#00FFFF}} 
|rajyasabha_seats  = {{Infobox political party/seats|72|250|hex=#00FFFF}}  
|symbol            = [[ගොනුව:Indian National Congress.svg‎|INC party symbol|125px]]
|website           = [http://www.congress.org.in/ http://www.congress.org.in/] 
|country           = India  
}}
{{INCSegmentsUnderInfoBox}}

The '''Indian National Congress''' ({{lang-hi|भारतीय राष्ट्रीय कांग्रेस}}) (abbreviated '''INC''', and also known as the '''Congress party''') is one of the two [[Major party|major]] [[political parties in India]], the other being the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]]. It is the largest and one of the oldest [[Democracy|democratic]] political parties in the world.<ref>[http://books.google.co.in/books?id=OBYKAAAAMAAJ The nature and dynamics of factional conflict](p.69)By P. N. Rastogi</ref><ref>[http://books.google.co.in/books?id=VzM3AAAAIAAJ Parliamentary debates, Volume 98, Issues 1-9](p.111) Published by Parliament of India-Rajya Sabha</ref><ref>[http://books.google.co.in/books?id=LdvfAAAAMAAJ Indian National Congress: a select bibliography] By Manikrao Hodlya Gavit, Attar Chand</ref> The party's [[Social liberalism|modern liberal]] platform is largely considered [[center-left]] in [[Politics of India|Indian political spectrum]]. Founded in 1885 by [[Allan Octavian Hume]], [[Dadabhai Naoroji]], [[Dinshaw Edulji Wacha|Dinshaw Wacha]], [[Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee]], [[Surendranath Banerjee]], [[Monomohun Ghose]], [[Mahadev Govind Ranade]]<ref>http://www.rrtd.nic.in/biogovind.html</ref> and [[William Wedderburn]], the Indian National Congress became the leader of the [[Indian Independence Movement]], with over 15 million members and over 70 million participants in its struggle against [[British Raj|British rule]] in [[India]]. After independence in 1947, it became the nation's dominant [[political party]], led by the [[Nehru-Gandhi family]] for the most part; major challenges for party leadership have only recently formed. 

In the [[Indian general election, 2009|2009 general elections]], the Congress emerged as the single largest party in the [[Lok Sabha]], with 206 of its candidates getting elected to the 543-member house. Consequently, it along with a coalition of allies called the [[United Progressive Alliance]] (UPA), was able to gain a majority and form the government.

== ඉතිහාසය ==

The history of the Indian National Congress falls into two distinct eras: 
* The pre-independence era, when the party was at the forefront of the struggle for independence and was instrumental in  the whole of India;
* The post-independence era, when the party has enjoyed a prominent place in Indian politics, ruling the country for 48 of the 60 years since independence in 1947.

In the pre-independence era, the congress was divided in two groups, moderate and activist. The moderates were more educated and wanted to win people's faith to lead the nation to independence without bloodshed.the activists however wanted to follow a revolutionary path and make it a militant organization.

=== නිදහසට පෙර සමය ===
[[ගොනුව:1st INC1885.jpg|right|300px|thumb|First session of Indian National Congress, Bombay, 28-31, December, 1885.]]
{{මූලික|Indian National Congress - Freedom Era}}

Founded in 1885 with the objective of obtaining a greater share in government for educated Indians, the Indian National Congress was initially not opposed to [[United Kingdom|British]] rule. The Congress met once a year during December. Indeed, it was a [[Scotland|Scotsman]], [[Allan Octavian Hume]], who brought about its first meeting in [[Bombay]], with the approval of [[Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava|Lord Dufferin]], the then-Viceroy. 

[[Womesh Chandra Bannerjee]] was the first President of the INC. The first meeting was scheduled to be held in [[Pune]], but due to a [[bubonic plague|plague]] outbreak there, the meeting was later shifted to Bombay. The first session of the INC was held from 28–31 December 1885, and was attended by 72 delegates.

A few years down the line, the demands of INC became more radical in the face of constant opposition from the government, and the party became very active in the [[Indian independence movement|independence movement]]. By 1907 the party was split into two halves: the [[Garam Dal]] (literally "hot faction") of [[Bal Gangadhar Tilak]], or Extremists , and the ''Naram Dal'' (literally "soft faction") of [[Gopal Krishna Gokhale]], or Moderates, distinguished by their attitude towards the British. Under the influence of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, the Congress became the first integrated mass organization in the country, bringing together millions of people against the British.  The Indian National Congress was the only political party to provide harmony to all the sects of the Indian society {{Citation needed|date=May 2009}}

In its time as the nation's leader in the freedom struggle, it produced the nation's greatest leaders. Before the Gandhi Era came leaders like [[Bal Gangadhar Tilak]], [[Bipin Chandra Pal]], [[Lala Lajpat Rai]], [[Gopal Krishna Gokhale]], [[Mohammed Ali Jinnah]] (later leader of the [[All-India Muslim League|Muslim League]] and instrumental in the creation of [[Pakistan]]), all starting with the first legendary icon of Indians: [[Dadabhai Naoroji]], the president of the sister [[Indian National Association]] and later the first Indian [[Member of Parliament]] in the [[British House of Commons]]. The Congress was transformed into a mass movement by [[Surendranath Banerjea]] and Sir [[Henry John Stedman Cotton|Henry Cotton]] during the partition of Bengal in 1905 and the resultant Swadesi Movement.  Gandhi came back from South Africa in 1915 and with the help of the moderate group led by Ghokhale became the President of the Congress and formed an alliance with the Khilafat Movement. In protest a number of leaders went out of Congress. Khilafat movement ended up in a disaster and the Congress was split. A number of leaders [[Chittaranjan Das]], [[Annie Besant]], [[Motilal Nehru]], went out of The Congress to set up the Swaraj Party.
[[ගොනුව:MKGandhi.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Mahatma Gandhi]], President of Congress party (1869–1948).]]  
With the rise of [[Mahatma Gandhi]]'s popularity and his [[Satyagraha]] art of revolution came [[Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel]], [[Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru]] (the nation's first Prime Minister), [[Rajendra Prasad|Dr. Rajendra Prasad]] (the nation's first President), [[Khan Mohammad Abbas Khan]], [[Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan]], [[C. Rajagopalachari|Chakravarti Rajgopalachari]], [[Jivatram Kripalani]] and [[Maulana Abul Kalam Azad]]. With the already existing nationalistic feeling combined with Gandhi's popularity the Congress became a forceful mass organization in the country, bringing together millions of people by specifically working against caste differences, untouchability, poverty, and religious and ethnic boundaries. Although predominantly Hindu, it had members from virtually every religion, ethnic group, economic class and linguistic group. In 1939, [[Subhas Chandra Bose]], the elected president in both 1938 and 1939 was expelled from the Congress for his socialist views and The Congress was reduced to a pro-Business group financed by the business houses of Birla and Bajaj. At the time of the [[Quit India]] movement, the Congress was undoubtedly the strongest political and revolutionary organization in India, but the Congress disassociated itself from the Quit India movement within a few days. The Indian National Congress could not claim to be the true representative of the Indian people as other parties were there as well particularly the [[Hindu Mahasabha]], [[Azad Hind]] Sarkar, [[Forward Bloc]].

The 1929 Lahore session  under the presidency of [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] holds special significance as in this session "Poorna Swaraj" (complete independence) was declared as the goal of INC. 26 January 1930 was declared as "Poorna Swaraj Diwas," Independence Day although the British remained in India a number of years longer. It was to commemorate this date particularly that The Indian Constitution was formally adopted on 26 January 1950 (even though it was passed on 26 November 1949).However in 1929 Srinivas Iyenger was expelled from the Congress for demanding full independence, not just [[home rule]] as demanded by Gandhi.

After the [[World War I|First World War]] the party became associated with [[Mahatma Gandhi]], who  remained its unofficial, spiritual leader and mass icon even as younger men and women became party president. The party was in many ways an umbrella organization, sheltering within itself radical socialists, traditionalists and even Hindu and Muslim conservatives, but all the socialists (including the Congress Socialist Party, Krishak Praja Party, Swarajya Party members) were expelled along with Subhas Chandra Bose in 1939 by Gandhi.

Members of the Congress initially supported the sailors who led the [[Royal Indian Navy Mutiny]]. However they withdrew support at the critical juncture, when the mutiny failed.

During the [[INA trials]] of 1946, the Congress helped to form the [[INA Defence Committee]], which forcefully defended the case of the soldiers of the [[Azad Hind]] government. The committee declared the formation of the Congress' defence team for the INA and included famous lawyers of the time, including [[Bhulabhai Desai]], [[Asaf Ali]], and [[Jawaharlal Nehru]].

=== නිදහසට පසු සමය ===
The party remained in power for thirty continuous years between independence in 1947 and its first taste of electoral defeat (at the national level) in 1977.

==== ජවහර්ලාල් නේරු ====
[[ගොනුව:Jawaharlal Nehru.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Jawaharlal Nehru]], the first Congress [[Prime Minister of India]] (1947–1964).]] 
Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel are said to have held the view that the INC was formed only for achieving independence and should have been disbanded in 1947.<ref>Jesudasan, Ignatius. A Gandhian theology of liberation. Gujarat Sahitya Prakash: Ananda India, 1987, pp 225.</ref> However, at the time of independence, the INC (led by [[Jawaharlal Nehru]]) was a major political organization in the country, and was established as the major political party. The Congress thus, considering the perceived need for a stable leadership and guiding vision after the terrible chaos and confusion following the [[Partition of India]] and Independence, was re-established as an electoral party in independent India. Across several general elections, the party ruled uninterrupted until 1977, and has remained a major political force.

After the murder of Gandhi in 1948, and the death of Sardar Patel in 1950, Jawaharlal Nehru was the sole remaining iconic national leader, and soon the situation became so that Nehru was key to the political potency and future of the Congress. Nehru embraced secularism, socialist economic policies and a non-aligned foreign policy, which became the hallmark of the modern Congress Party. Nehru's policies challenged the landed class, the business class and improved the position of religious minorities and lower caste Hindus. A generation of freedom fighting leaders were soon replaced by a generation of people who had grown up in the shadow of Nehru. Nehru led the Congress Party to consecutively majorities in the elections of 1952, 1957 and 1962. 

After Nehru's death in 1964, the party's future first came into question. No leader was competitive enough to touch Nehru's iconic status, so the second-stage leadership mustered around the compromise candidate, the gentle, soft-spoken and Nehruvian [[Lal Bahadur Shastri]]. Shastri remained Prime Minister till his own death in 1966, and a broad Congress Party election opted for [[Indira Gandhi]], Nehru's daughter, over the right-wing, conservative [[Morarji Desai]].

=== ඉන්‍දිරා ගාන්‍ධි ===
[[ගොනුව:Indira Gandhi 1966.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Indira Gandhi]], thrice Prime Minister of India.]]

The first serious challenge to Congress hegemony came in 1967 when a united opposition, under the banner of [[Samyukt Vidhayak Dal]], won control over several states in the [[Hindi belt]]. [[Indira Gandhi]], the daughter of Nehru, and Congress president, was then challenged by the majority of the party leadership. The conflict led to a split, and Indira launched a separate INC. Initially this party was known as Congress (R), but it soon came to be generally known as the ''New Congress''. The official party became known as [[Indian National Congress (Organisation)]] led by [[Kamaraj]]. It was informally called the ''Old Congress''. As Indira Gandhi had control over the state machinery, her faction was recognized as the "real" INC by the [[Election Commission of India]], although her organization was the break-away group.

The split can in some ways be seen as a left-wing/right-wing division. Indira Gandhi wanted to use a populist agenda in order to mobilize popular support for the party. She raised slogans such as ''Garibi Hatao'' (Remove Poverty), and wanted to develop closer ties with the [[Soviet Union]]. The regional party elites, who formed the INC(O), stood for a more conservative agenda, and distrusted Soviet help. INC(O) later merged into the [[Janata Party]].

Gradually, Indira Gandhi grew more and more authoritarian. Following allegations of widespread rigging in the general elections, a court overturned Indira Gandhi's victory in the Parliamentary constituency. Facing growing opposition she proclaimed a state of [[Indian Emergency|National Emergency]] in 1975, curtailed the powers of the courts, and unleashed a police state.

After she lifted the emergency in 1977, more Congress factions were formed, the one remaining loyal to Indira Gandhi being popularly known as Congress(I) with an 'I' for Indira. The Congress (I) was routed in the general elections by the Janata Party, but the coalition government fell apart in two years. The Congress party returned to power in the ensuing 1980 elections. In 1984 Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her [[Sikh]] bodyguards, in revenge for [[Operation Blue Star]]. In the following days more than six thousand Sikhs were killed in the [[1984 Anti-Sikh riots|1984 riots]], mainly in [[Delhi]], by activists and leaders of the Congress Party.

=== පසු ඉන්‍දිරා සමය ===
[[ගොනුව:Gandhisonia05052007.jpg|thumb|upright|Chairperson of the [[United Progressive Alliance]] and President of Indian National Congress]]
Afterward, former treasurer [[Sitaram Kesri]] took over the reins of the party and oversaw the Congress support to the [[United Front]] governments that ran from 1996–1998. During his tenure, several key leaders broke away from the party, and serious infighting broke out among those left. In 1998, [[Sonia Gandhi]] finally accepted the post of Congress President, in a move that may have saved the party from extinction. 

After her election as party leader, a section of the party, which objected to the choice, broke away and formed the [[Nationalist Congress Party]]. The use of "Congress (I)" continues to denote the party run by Indira Gandhi's successors. There have been repeated attempts by the Indian nationalist groups (such as the Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP) to discredit Sonia Gandhi's leadership on the basis of her foreign origin - she is of Italian ethnicity.  

Although the Congress expedited the downfall of the NDA government in 1999 by promising an alternative, Ms. Gandhi's decision was followed by fresh elections and the Congress party's worst-ever tally in the lower house. The party spent the interval period forging alliances and overseeing changes in the state and central organizations to revive the party. It has had many electoral successes which led up to the formation of a Congress-led government in 2004. In the next general election in 2009 which made Manmohan Singh the Prime Minister once again, and Congress was the first party to get 206 seats during a coalition era of politics.

== Indian Prime Ministers from the Congress Party ==
* [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] (1947–1964)
* [[Gulzarilal Nanda]] (May - June 1964 and in January 1966) 
* [[Lal Bahadur Shastri]] (1964–1966)
* [[Indira Gandhi]] (1966–1977, 1980–1984) 
* [[Rajiv Gandhi]] (1984–1989)
* [[P.V. Narasimha Rao]] (1991–1996)
* [[Manmohan Singh]] (2004 -)

== Controversies and criticisms ==
[[ගොනුව:SINGHUSA.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Manmohan Singh|Prime Minister Manmohan Singh]] shakes hands with the then U.S. Vice President [[Dick Cheney]] after delivering a speech to the [[Joint session of the United States Congress]] as the then Speaker of the House [[Dennis Hastert]] looks on.]]
Since the party has dominated the political landscape of India for over a century, there are many charges of corruption and similar charges against it. Some examples are:

=== 1947 - anti-Godse riots ===
After the knowledge that the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, Nathuram Godse, was a Maharashtrian Brahmin, some workers of the Congress Party went on a rampage, against the supporters of Savarkar and Nathuram Godse, burning their houses and putting thousands in jail.<ref>http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?238938</ref>

=== 1975-1977 - State of Emergency ===
{{මූලික| Indian Emergency (1975-1977)}}
On 12 June 1975 the High Court of Allahabad declared Indira Gandhi's election to the Lok Sabha void on grounds of electoral malpractice. But Mrs Gandhi rejected calls to resign and announced plans to appeal to the Supreme Court. 

Indira had already been accused of authoritarianism. By using her strong parliamentary majority, her ruling Congress Party had amended the Constitution and altered the balance of power between the Centre and the States in favour of the Central Government. She had twice imposed "President's Rule" under Article 356 of the Constitution by declaring states ruled by opposition parties as "lawless and chaotic", and thus seizing control. In response to her new tendency for authoritarian use of power, public figures and former freedom-fighters like Jaya Prakash Narayan, Satyendra Narayan Sinha and Acharya Jivatram Kripalani toured India, speaking actively against her and her government.

Indira Gandhi moved to restore order by ordering the arrest of most of the opposition participating in the unrest. Her Cabinet and government then recommended that President [[Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed]] declare a state of emergency, because of the disorder and lawlessness following the Allahabad High Court decision. Accordingly, Ahmed declared a State of Emergency caused by internal disorder, based on the provisions of [[Article 352]] of the Constitution, on 26 June 1975.
It is one of the most controversial periods in the [[History of the Republic of India|history of independent India]].<ref name="MostControversial">"India in 1975: Democracy in Eclipse", ND Palmer - Asian Survey, vol 16 no 5. Opening lines.</ref> 

=== 1984 anti-Sikh riots ===
{{මූලික|1984 anti-Sikh riots}}

After the assassination of Indira Gandhi by 2 of her Sikh Body Guards following [[Operation Bluestar]], many Congress workers including [[Jagdish Tytler]] and Sajjan Kumar were accused of inciting and participating in Sikh riots.

==== Rajiv Gandhi's remarks ====
Then Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi, son of Indira Gandhi, made a statement at Boat Club in New Delhi on 19 November 1984, on the birthday of Indira Gandhi, "Some riots took place in the country following the murder of Indiraji. We know the people were very angry and for a few days it seemed that India had been shaken. But, when a mighty tree falls, it is only natural that the earth around it does shake a little.".<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20071031/nation.htm#8 The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Nation<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.hindu.com/mp/2004/08/23/stories/2004082302930400.htm When the big tree fell]</ref><ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20031102/spectrum/main1.htm Remembering 1984]</ref>

==== Allegations of conspiracy and cover-ups ====
There are allegations that the government destroyed evidence and shielded the guilty. The ''[[Asian Age]]'' front page story called the government actions "''the Mother of all Cover-ups''"<ref name=coverup-1>{{cite news | last = Mustafa  |first = Seema | title = 1984 Sikhs Massacres: Mother of All Cover-ups | work = Front page story | pages = 1| publisher =  The Asian Age | date = 2005-08-09| url =| accessdate = 2008-12-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last = Agal  |first = Renu | title = Justice delayed, justice denied | work =| pages =| publisher = BBC News | date = 2005-08-11| url =| accessdate = 2008-12-30}}</ref> There are allegations that the violence was led and often perpetrated by Indian National Congress activists and sympathizers during the riots. The government, then led by the Congress, was widely criticized for doing very little at the time, possibly acting as a conspirator.  The conspiracy theory is supported by the fact that voting lists were used to identify Sikh families.

=== Allegations of religious bias ===
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and also many [[right-wing]] Hindus have repeatedly accused the Congress Party and its allies of being pro-Muslim, pro-[[Islam]] supporting [[Sharia|Sharia Laws]] and showing unnatural favouritism to the [[Islam in India|Indian Muslim community]] and toleration, or even promotion of Islamic [[conservatism]] and [[Obscurantism]].

The BJP and many Indian Hindus have often accused Congress party and their allies of being soft on [[Islamic extremism]], [[Islamic fundamentalism]], [[Islamic terrorism]] and [[Islamism]] by scrapping [[Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act]] (POTA) immediately after it won the elections in 2004, refusing [[death penalty]] to hard-core Islamic terrorists like [[Afzal Guru]], [[Abdul Subhan Qureshi]], [[Safdar Nagori]], [[Ajmal Kasab]] and trying to scrap the ban on [[Students Islamic Movement of India]] in order to appease Indian Muslim community. It has also been accused of being soft on Indian terrorist groups like [[Indian Mujahideen]] which resulted in the resignation of  then [[Home Minister]] [[Shivraj Patil]] in 2008.

Congress has been accused of deliberately fragmenting [[Hindus]] while consolidating conservative Muslim votes (by opposing the [[Uniform Civil Code]] and allowing Muslims a separate [[All India Muslim Personal Law Board|personal code]], etc.)

The [[United Progressive Alliance]] (UPA) and previous Congress-led governments have been accused of [[NCERT controversy#UPA Government|revising history textbooks]] to present a Marxist bias, and whitewashing the record of [[Persecution of Hindus#During Islamic rule of the Indian sub-continent|Atrocities committed by Muslim Emperors and Kings on Hindus]] during [[Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent|six-hundred years of Islamic Rule]] over India and [[Persecution of Hindus#In the Indian subcontinent|during the]] [[Partition of India]] in order to "de-saffronize" textbooks and acquire Muslim votes. 

Congress has been accused{{By whom|date=June 2010}} of funding the Indian Muslims' [[Hajj]] pilgrimage to [[Mecca]] and subsidies for their religious schools ([[Madrassas]]) at the cost of the taxpayers' money. On one hand, Government of India provides subsidy to Muslims to perform Hajj; on other hand, Government of India bound them to fly through government airlines and also gets subsidy from [[Saudi Arabia]] for services providing to Indian Muslims, whereas Hindus claim they are accorded no similar privilege for their own pilgrimages or religious schools by the Government of India. 

The Congress party and its allies are accused of showing "partial" [[secularism]], in which only Hindus are expected to be secular while Muslims and other minorities remain free to practice exclusionary practices.<ref>[http://www.upiasiaonline.com/Politics/2007/12/26/a_hindu_backlash_hits_sonia_gandhi/7005/ A Hindu backlash hits Sonia Gandhi - upiasiaonline.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>.

Congress and its allies are often accused of ignoring the plea of [[Kashmiri Pandit]]s for action against Islamic terrorists in [[Kashmir]] and solely focusing on the issues of the Indian Muslim community to gain Muslim votes. Kashmiri Pandits have been in exile since January 1990 following the outbreak of terrorism in Kashmir.

The Congress-led UPA government has been accused by both Hindu and Christian organizations<ref>[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Love-Jihad-racket-VHP-Christian-groups-find-common-cause/articleshow/5117548.cms 'Love Jihad' racket: VHP, Christian groups find common cause]</ref> for completely ignoring the [[Love Jihad]]<ref>[http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Love-jihad-raises-alert-in-Karnataka-Kerala/532199/ 'Love jihad' raises alert in Karnataka, Kerala]</ref> activity allegedly perpetrated by and Islamic party [[Popular Front of India]] and its umbrella organizations under which young Muslim boys in [[Kerala]] and coastal [[Karnataka]] reportedly target college girls belonging to Hindu and Christian communities for conversion to Islam by feigning love. It has been reported that the Congress government is calling the Love Jihad activity as dubious and the allegations by Hindu and Christian organizations as un-secular for the fear of losing Muslim votes. It has been reported that local Muslim politicians have been silently supporting and promoting the 'Love Jihad' campaign in Kerala and Karnataka.

=== Charges for bidding for seats ===
In November 2008, senior Congress leader, [[Margaret Alva]], made a charge that congress seats for the elections were up for [[bidding]] as opposed to a [[meritocratic]] appointment to run. The party responded to the charge by denying such a claim, as well as dropping her as [[general secretary]] of the party, the [[Congress Working Committee]] and the party's [[Central Election Committee]]. She was also stripped of her charge of the congress party in [[Maharashtra]], [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]], [[Haryana]] and [[Mizoram]]. Congress spokesperson, [[Shakeel Ahmad]], added that "Congress president Mrs Sonia Gandhi has taken the decision on the report submitted by Mr AK Antony, chairperson of the Disciplinary Action Committee."<ref>http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=2&theme=&usrsess=1&id=230673</ref> This followed an outburst by the son of the congress chairperson, Rahul Gandhi, that "Democracy in political parties is non-existent in India. You cannot enter unless you are well connected." In response the recent allegations he said, "I had made some recommendations to include some younger boys. I am not unhappy with the distribution of tickets."<ref>http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=2&theme=&usrsess=1&id=230659</ref>

== Formation of present Government of India ==
[[ගොනුව:Congressrallydelhi (91).JPG|thumb|right|280px|A Congress rally in [[New Delhi]].]] 
In the [[Indian general elections, 2004|2004 general elections]], the [[United Progressive Alliance|Congress alliance]] won the largest number of seats and got an assurance of support from the Left Front upsetting the [[Atal Behari Vajpayee]]-led [[National Democratic Alliance (India)|National Democratic Alliance]], which was variously forecast to win outright victory or at least emerge as the largest alliance. Shortly thereafter, Sonia Gandhi was nominated by the Congress-led [[United Progressive Alliance]] to be the next Prime Minister. But in what was described as ''the dropping of a political bombshell'', Sonia Gandhi refused to take the position based on her "inner voice". She backed eminent [[economist]], former Union Finance Minister and senior Congress leader Dr. [[Manmohan Singh]] for the post of Prime Minister, and he was sworn-in as Prime Minister on 22 May 2004. [[Veerappa Moily]], the former Chief Minister of Karnataka, was named the Honourable Minister for Law, Justice, and Company Affairs and was appointed to be the All India Congress Committee's General Secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh.

Despite strong opposition from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), AIADMK, SP, RJD, LJP, TDP, [[Communist Party of India]], [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]] and [[Bahujan Samaj Party]] (BSP), the Indian National Congress won the elections again in 2009, the people gave their mandate to the Congress party and it was the only party to achieve 206 seats in 20 years. The youth supported the Congress under the leadership of [[Rahul Gandhi]]. The Congress's popularity has increased by 61% during the elections.

== Ideology and policies ==
Historically, the party has favored farmers, laborers, labor unions, and religious and ethnic minorities; it has opposed unregulated business and finance, and favored progressive income taxes. However, in recent years the party had adopted [[Centrism|centrist]] economic and [[social democratic]] agenda. Today, the INC advocates [[Neoliberalism|neo-liberal]] policies which includes populism, social liberalism, secularism and [[Capitalism|free enterprise]] system with government regulations such as [[public–private partnership]] (PPP) model. Though it still believes in eradicating poverty, illiteracy and strongly supports the weaker section of the society.   
 
=== Social policy ===
Social policy of the INC is based on Gandhian concept of [[Sarvodaya]] (upliftment of all sections of the society.) In particular INC gives special emphasis on the welfare of the economically and socially disadvantaged sections of the society. This includes "affirmative action" reservations for weaker sections of the society in education and employment, emphasis on employment generation for rural population (through schemes such as National Rural Employment Generation Scheme) etc. The party supports family planning with birth control but opposes [[elective abortion]], in particular sex selective abortions and late term abortions.

=== Economic policy ===
Traditionally, Economic policy of the INC emphasized on the importance of the public sector aimed at establishing a "socialistic pattern of society". However, since the [[economic liberalization]]s initiated by Dr. Manmohan Singh, the then Finance Minister in the early 1990s, the economic policy of INC has been changed somewhat and it is now adopted [[free market]] policies, though at the same time it is in favour of taking a cautious approach in proceeding with liberalization to ensure that the weaker sections are not affected too hard by the liberalization process.

=== Foreign policy ===
Traditionally, [[Non-Aligned Movement|nonalignment]] has been the bedrock of the foreign policy of the INC.

== Internal organization ==
The organization developed by [[Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi|Mohandas Gandhi's]] reorganization of the Congress in the years of 1918 to 1920 has largely been retained till today. 

In every Indian state and union territory or ''pradesh'', there is a [[Pradesh Congress Committee]], which is the provincial unit of the party, responsible for directing political campaigns at local and state levels and assisting the campaigns for Parliamentary constituencies. Each PCC has a Working Committee of 10-15 key members, and the state president is the leader of the state unit. The Congressmen elected as members of the states legislative assemblies form the Congress Legislature Parties in the various state assemblies, and their chairperson is usually the party's nominee for Chief Ministership. 

The [[All India Congress Committee]] is formed of delegates sent from the PCCs around the country. The delegates elect various Congress committees, including the [[Congress Working Committee]], which consists of senior party leaders and office bearers, and takes all important executive and political decisions. 

The [[Congress President|President of the Indian National Congress]] is in effect the party's national leader, head of the organization, head of the Working Committee and all chief Congress committees, chief spokesman and the Congress choice to become the [[Prime Minister of India]]. 

Constitutionally, the president is to be elected by the vote of the PCCs and members of the AICC. However, this procedure has often been by-passed by the Working Committee, choosing to elect its own candidate as an emergency measure. 

The [[Congress Parliamentary Party]] is the group of elected MPs in the [[Lok Sabha]] and [[Rajya Sabha]].It is headed by senior Congress leader [[Pranab Mukherjee]]. Since the current [[Prime Minister]] Dr.[[Manmohan Singh]] is not an elected member of the Lok Sabha, Pranab is the CPP president. Dr.Singh is Leader of the Rajya Sabha. There is also a CLP leader in each state. The CLP (Congress Legislative Party) consists of all MLAs in each state. It also comes under the CPP so Pranab is head of the MLAs also.In cases of states where the Congress is single-handedly ruling the government,the CLP leader is the [[Chief Minister]].

== Congress in various states ==

[[ගොනුව:BJP Sates 2009.png|right|thumb|Congress ruled states marked in dark green]]
Congress is currently in power in seven states ([[Andhra Pradesh]], [[Arunachal Pradesh]], [[Delhi]], [[Rajasthan]], [[Haryana]], [[Mizoram]]  and [[Manipur]]) where the party enjoys a majority of its own. In three other states — [[Assam]], [[Goa]] and [[Maharashtra]] — it shares power with other alliance partners. In [[Tamil Nadu]], where it lost power in 1967 assembly election, is not able to capture again since then. The party now provides outside support to the ruling [[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] there in return for DMK's outside support for Congress in [[Puducherry]] <ref>http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Karunanidhi-to-become-Tamil-Nadu-CM/articleshow/1527224.cms</ref>. In the remaining states and union territories, various opposition parties are in power.

== List of current Congress Chief Ministers ==
* [[Dorjee Khandu]] - [[Arunachal Pradesh]]
* [[Konijeti Rosaiah]] - [[Andhra Pradesh]]
* [[Tarun Gogoi]] - [[Assam]]
* [[Sheila Dikshit]] - [[Delhi]]
* [[Digambar Kamat]] - [[Goa]]
* [[Bhupinder Singh Hooda]] - [[Haryana]]
* [[Ashok Chavan]] - [[Maharashtra]]
* [[Okram Ibobi Singh]] - [[Manipur]]
* [[Pu Lalthanhawla]] - [[Mizoram]]
* [[Vaithilingam]] - [[Puducherry]]
* [[Ashok Gehlot]] - [[Rajasthan]]
* [[D.D. Lapang]] - [[Meghalaya]]

== List of presidents of the party ==
{{මූලික|Congress President}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name of President
! Life Span
! Year of Presidency
! Place of Conference
|-
| [[Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee]]
| 29 December 1844- 1906
| 1885
| [[Mumbai]]
|-
| [[Dadabhai Naoroji]]
| 4 September 1825- 1917
| 1886
| [[Calcutta]]
|-
| [[Badruddin Tyabji]]
| 10 October 1844- 1906
| 1887
| [[Madras]]
|-
| [[George Yule]]
| 1829–1892
| 1888
| [[Allahabad]]
|-
| [[William Wedderburn|Sir William Wedderburn]]
| 1838–1918
| 1889
| [[Mumbai]]
|-
| [[Pherozeshah Mehta|Sir Pherozeshah Mehta]]
| 4 August 1845- 1915
| 1890
| [[Calcutta]]
|-
| [[P. Anandacharlu]]
| August 1843- 1908
| 1891
| [[Nagpur]]
|-
| [[Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee]]
| 29 December 1844- 1906
| 1892
| [[Allahabad]]
|-
| [[Dadabhai Naoroji]]
| 4 September 1825- 1917
| 1893
| [[Lahore]]
|-
| [[Alfred Webb]]
| 1834–1908
| 1894
| [[Madras]]
|-
| [[Surendranath Banerjea]]
| 10 November 1848- 1925
| 1895
| [[Pune]]
|-
| [[Rahimtulla M. Sayani]]
| 5 April 1847- 1902
| 1896
| [[Calcutta]]
|-
| [[C. Sankaran Nair|Sir C. Sankaran Nair]]
| 11 July 1857- 1934
| 1897
| [[Amraoti]]
|-
| [[Ananda Mohan Bose]]
| 23 September 1847- 1906
| 1898
| [[Madras]]
|-
| [[Romesh Dutt|Romesh Chunder Dutt]]
| 13 August 1848- 1909
| 1899
| [[Lucknow]]
|-
| [[Narayan Ganesh Chandavarkar|Sir Narayan Ganesh Chandavarkar]]
| 2 December 1855- 1923
| 1900
| [[Lahore]]
|-
| [[Dinshaw Edulji Wacha|Sir Dinshaw Edulji Wacha]]
| 2 August 1844- 1936
| 1901
| [[Calcutta]]
|-
| [[Surendranath Banerjea]]
| 10 November 1825- 1917
| 1902
| [[Ahmedabad]]
|-
| [[Lalmohan Ghosh]]
| 1848–1909
| 1903
| [[Madras]]
|-
| [[Henry John Stedman Cotton|Sir Henry Cotton]]
| 1845–1915
| 1904
| [[Mumbai]]
|-
| [[Gopal Krishna Gokhale]]
| 9 May 1866- 1915
| 1905
| [[Benares]]
|-
| [[Dadabhai Naoroji]]
| 4 September 1825- 1917
| 1906
| [[Calcutta]]
|-
| [[Rashbihari Ghosh]]
| 23 December 1845- 1921
| 1907
| [[Surat]]
|-
| [[Rashbihari Ghosh]]
| 23 December 1845- 1921
| 1908
| [[Madras]]
|-
| [[Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya]]
| 25 December 1861- 1946
| 1909
| [[Lahore]]
|-
| [[William Wedderburn|Sir William Wedderburn]]
| 1838–1918
| 1910
| [[Allahabad]]
|-
| [[Bishan Narayan Dar|Pandit Bishan Narayan Dar]]
| 1864–1916
| 1911
| [[Calcutta]]
|-
| [[Rao Bahadur Raghunath Narasinha Mudholkar]]
| 1857–1921
| 1912
| [[Bankipur (Bihar)|Bankipur]]
|-
| [[Nawab Syed Muhammad Bahadur]]
| ?- 1919
| 1913
| [[Karachi]]
|-
| [[Bhupendra Nath Bose]]
| 1859–1924
| 1914
| [[Madras]]
|-
| [[Satyendra Prasanno Sinha, 1st Baron Sinha|Lord Satyendra Prasanna Sinha]]
| March 1863- 1928
| 1915
| [[Mumbai]]
|-
| [[Ambica Charan Mazumdar]]
| 1850–1922
| 1916
| [[Lucknow]]
|-
| [[Annie Besant]]
| 1 October 1847- 1933
| 1917
| [[Calcutta]]
|-
| [[Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya]]
| 25 December 1861- 1946
| 1918
| [[Delhi]]
|-
| [[Syed Hasan Imam]]
| 31 August 1871- 1933
| 1918
| [[Mumbai]] (Special Session)
|-
| [[Motilal Nehru|Pandit Motilal Nehru]]
| 6 May 1861- 6 February 1931
| 1919
| [[Amritsar]]
|-
| [[Lala Lajpat Rai]]
| 28 January 1865- 17 November 1928
| 1920
| [[Calcutta]] (Special Session)
|-
| [[C. Vijayaraghavachariar]]
| 1852- 19 April 1944
| 1920
| [[Nagpur]]
|-
| [[Hakim Ajmal Khan]]
| 1863- 29 December 1927
| 1921
| [[Ahmedabad]]
|-
| [[Chittaranjan Das|Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das]]
| 5 November 1870- 16 June 1925
| 1922
| [[Gaya, India|Gaya]]
|-
| [[Maulana Mohammad Ali]]
| 10 December 1878- 4 January 1931
| 1923
| [[Kakinada]]
|-
| [[Maulana Abul Kalam Azad]]
| 1888- 22 February 1958
| 1923
| [[Delhi]] (Special Session)
|-
| [[Mahatma Gandhi]]
| 2 October 1869- 30 January 1948
| 1924
| [[Belgaum]]
|-
| [[Sarojini Naidu]]
| 13 February 1879- 2 March 1949
| 1925
| [[Kanpur]]
|-
| [[S. Srinivasa Iyengar]]
| September 11, 1874- 19 May 1941
| 1926
| [[Gauhati]]
|-
| [[Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari|Dr. M A Ansari]]
| 25 December 1880- 10 May 1936
| 1927
| [[Madras]]
|-
| [[Motilal Nehru|Pandit Motilal Nehru]]
| 6 May 1861- 6 February 1931
| 1928
| [[Calcutta]]
|-
| [[Jawaharlal Nehru|Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru]]
| 14 November 1889- 27 May 1964
| 1929 & 30
| [[Lahore]]
|-
| [[Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel]]
| 31 October 1875- 15 December 1950
| 1931
| [[Karachi]]
|-
| [[Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya]]
| 25 December 1861- 1946
| 1932
| [[Delhi]]
|-
| [[Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya]]
| 25 December 1861- 1946
| 1933
| [[Calcutta]]
|-
| [[Nellie Sengupta]]
| 1886–1973
| 1933
| [[Calcutta]]
|-
| [[Rajendra Prasad|Dr. Rajendra Prasad]]
| 3 December 1884- 28 February 1963
| 1934 & 35
| [[Mumbai]]
|-
| [[Jawaharlal Nehru|Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru]]
| 14 November 1889- 27 May 1964
| 1936
| [[Lucknow]]
|-
| [[Jawaharlal Nehru|Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru]]
| 14 November 1889- 27 May 1964
| 1936& 37
| [[Faizpur]]
|-
| [[Subhash Chandra Bose|Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose]]
| 23 January 1897- 18 August 1945?
| 1938
| [[Haripura]]
|-
| [[Subhash Chandra Bose|Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose]]
| 23 January 1897- 18 August 1945?
| 1939
| [[Tripuri]]([[Jabalpur]])
|-
| [[Maulana Abul Kalam Azad]]
| 1888- 22 February 1958
| 1940-46
| [[Ramgarh Cantonment|Ramgarh]]
|-
| [[Jivatram Kripalani|Acharya J.B. Kripalani]]
| 1888- 19 March 1982
| 1947
| [[Delhi]]
|-
| [[Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramayya|Dr Pattabhi Sitaraimayya]]
| 24 December 1880- 17 December 1959
| 1948 & 49
| [[Jaipur]]
|-
| [[Purushottam Das Tandon]]
| 1 August 1882- 1 July 1961
| 1950
| [[Nasik]]
|-
| [[Jawaharlal Nehru|Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru]]
| 14 November 1889- 27 May 1964
| 1951 & 52
| [[Delhi]]
|-
| [[Jawaharlal Nehru|Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru]]
| 14 November 1889- 27 May 1964
| 1953
| [[Hyderabad (India)|Hyderabad]]
|-
| [[Jawaharlal Nehru|Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru]]
| 14 November 1889- 27 May 1964
| 1954
| [[Kalyani]]
|-
| [[U N Dhebar]]
| 21 September 1905- 1977
| 1955
| [[Avadi]]
|-
| [[U N Dhebar]]
| 21 September 1905- 1977
| 1956
| [[Amritsar]]
|-
| [[U N Dhebar]]
| 21 September 1905- 1977
| 1957
| [[Indore]]
|-
| [[U N Dhebar]]
| 21 September 1905- 1977
| 1958
| [[Gauhati]]
|-
| [[U N Dhebar]]
| 21 September 1905- 1977
| 1959
| [[Nagpur]]
|-
| [[Indira Gandhi]]
| 19 November 1917- 31 October 1984
| 1959
| [[Delhi]]
|-
| [[Neelam Sanjiva Reddy]]
| 19 May 1913- 1 June 1996
| 1960
| [[Bangalore]]
|-
| [[Neelam Sanjiva Reddy]]
| 19 May 1913- 1 June 1996
| 1961
| [[Bhavnagar]]
|-
| [[Neelam Sanjiva Reddy]]
| 19 May 1913- 1 June 1996
| 1962 & 63
| [[Patna]]
|-
| [[K. Kamaraj]]
| 15 July 1903- 2 October 1975
| 1964
| [[Bhubaneswar]]
|-
| [[K. Kamaraj]]
| 15 July 1903- 2 October 1975
| 1965
| [[Durgapur, West Bengal|Durgapur]]
|-
| [[K. Kamaraj]]
| 15 July 1903- 2 October 1975
| 1966 & 67
| [[Jaipur]]
|-
| [[S. Nijalingappa]]
| 10 December 1902- 9 August 2000
| 1968
| [[Hyderabad (India)|Hyderabad]]
|-
| [[S. Nijalingappa]]
| 10 December 1902- 9 August 2000
| 1969
| [[Faridabad]]
|-
| [[Jagjivan Ram]]
| 5 April 1908- 6 July 1986
| 1970 & 71
| [[Mumbai]]
|-
| [[Shankar Dayal Sharma|Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma]]
| 19 August 1918- 26 December 1999
| 1972- 74
| [[Calcutta]]
|-
| [[Dev Kant Baruah]]
| 22 February 1914- 1996
| 1975- 77
| [[Chandigarh]]
|-
| [[Indira Gandhi]]
| 19 November 1917- 31 October 1984
| 1978- 83
| [[Delhi]]
|-
| [[Indira Gandhi]]
| 19 November 1917- 31 October 1984
| 1983 -84
| [[Calcutta]]
|-
| [[Rajiv Gandhi]]
| 20 August 1944- 21 May 1991
| 1985 -91
| [[Mumbai]]
|-
| [[P. V. Narasimha Rao]]
| 28 June 1921- 23 December 2004
| 1992 -96
| [[Tirumala - Tirupati|Tirupati]]
|-
| [[Sitaram Kesri]]
| November 1919- 24 October 2000
| 1997 -98
| [[Kolkata]]
|-
| [[Sonia Gandhi]]
| 9 December 1946-
| 1998–present
| [[Kolkata]]
|}

== 2009 general elections ==

The Indian National Congress-led coalition [[United Progressive Alliance]] (UPA), headed by Ms. [[Sonia Gandhi]], won the plurality of votes in the [[Indian general election, 2009|general elections of 2009]] and formed the government under the leadership of Dr. [[Manmohan Singh]].

== මේවාත් බලන්න ==
{{Portal|Politics}} 
* [[:en:Statewise Election history of Congress Party]]
* [[:en:Jinnah's People's Memorial Hall]]
* [[:en:Nehru-Gandhi Family]]
* [[:en:List of political parties in India]]
* [[:en:Politics of India]]

== මූලාශ්‍ර ==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}} 

=== ග්‍රන්‍ථ නාමාවලිය ===
* Bipan Chandra, Amales Tripathi, Barun De. ''Freedom Struggle''. India: National Book Struggle. ISBN 81-237-0249-X.
{{Refend}}

== Further reading ==
* ''The Indian National Congress: An Historical Sketch'', by Frederick Marion De Mello. Published by H. Milford, Oxford university press, 1934.
* ''The Indian National Congress'', by Hemendra Nath Das Gupta. Published by J. K. Das Gupta, 1946.
* ''Indian National Congress: A Descriptive Bibliography of India's Struggle for Freedom'', by Jagdish Saran Sharma. Published by S. Chand, 1959.
* ''Social Factors in the Birth and Growth of the Indian National Congress Movement'', by Ramparkash Dua. Published by S. Chand, 1967.
* ''Split in a Predominant Party: The Indian National Congress in 1969'', by Mahendra Prasad Singh. Abhinav Publications, 1981. ISBN 81-7017-140-7.
* ''Concise History of the Indian National Congress, 1885-1947'',  by B. N. Pande, Nisith Ranjan Ray, Ravinder Kumar, Manmath Nath Das. Published by Vikas Pub. House, 1985. ISBN 0-7069-3020-7.
* ''The Indian National Congress: An Analytical Biography'', by Om P. Gautam. Published by B.R. Pub. Corp., 1985.
* ''A Century of Indian National Congress, 1885-1985'', by Pran Nath Chopra, Ram Gopal, Moti Lal Bhargava. Published by Agam Prakashan, 1986.
* ''The Congress Ideology and Programme, 1920-1985'', by Pitambar Datt Kaushik . Published by Gitanjali Pub. House, 1986. ISBN 81-85060-16-9.
* ''Struggling and Ruling: The Indian National Congress, 1885-1985'', by Jim Masselos. Published by Sterling Publishers, 1987.
* ''The Encyclopedia of Indian National Congress'', by A. Moin Zaidi, Shaheda Gufran Zaidi, Indian Institute of Applied Political Research. Published by S.Chand, 1987.
* ''Indian National Congress: A Reconstruction'', by Iqbal Singh, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. Published by Riverdale Company, 1988. ISBN 0-913215-32-5.
* ''INC, the Glorious Tradition'', by A. Moin Zaidi, Indian National Congress. AICC. Published by Indian Institute of Applied Political Research, 1989.
* ''Indian National Congress: A Select Bibliography'', by Manikrao Hodlya Gavit, Attar Chand. Published by U.D.H. Pub. House, 1989. ISBN 81-85044-05-8.
* ''The Story of Congress Pilgrimage: 1885-1985'', by A. Moin Zaidi, Indian National Congress. Published by Indian Institute of Applied Political Research, 1990. ISBN 81-85355-46-0. (7 vols)
* ''Indian National Congress in England'', by Harish P. Kaushik. Published by Friends Publications, 1991.
* ''Women in Indian National Congress, 1921-1931'', by Rajan Mahan. Published by Rawat Publications, 1999.
* ''History of Indian National Congress, 1885-2002'', by Deep Chand Bandhu. Published by Kalpaz Publications, 2003. ISBN 81-7835-090-4.

== External links ==
{{commons|Indian National Congress}}
* [http://www.congress.org.in/ Indian National Congress]&nbsp;— Official website 
* [http://www.congress4india.com/ Indian National Congress Discussion Group]
* [http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/freedom/congress/ Congress Archives]
* [http://www.congressmedia.net/home Congress Media]
* [http://www.congresssandesh.com Congress Sandesh]

{{Indian National Congress}}
{{Indian political parties}}
{{India topics}}

[[ප්‍රවර්ගය:Political parties in India]]
[[ප්‍රවර්ගය:Political parties established in 1885]]
[[ප්‍රවර්ගය:Indian National Congress| ]]
[[ප්‍රවර්ගය:Socialist parties]]
[[ප්‍රවර්ගය:Indian independence movement]]
[[ප්‍රවර්ගය:Subhas Chandra Bose]]
[[ප්‍රවර්ගය:Liberal parties]]

[[ar:المؤتمر الوطني الهندي]]
[[as:ভাৰতীয় জাতীয় কংগ্ৰেছ]]
[[be:Індыйскі нацыянальны кангрэс]]
[[be-x-old:Індыйскі нацыянальны кангрэс]]
[[bg:Индийски национален конгрес]]
[[bn:ভারতীয় জাতীয় কংগ্রেস]]
[[ca:Congrés Nacional Indi]]
[[cs:Indický národní kongres]]
[[da:Indian National Congress]]
[[de:Indischer Nationalkongress]]
[[en:Indian National Congress]]
[[eo:Barata Nacia Kongreso]]
[[es:Congreso Nacional Indio]]
[[eu:Indiako Kongresu Nazionala]]
[[fa:کنگره ملی هند]]
[[fi:Intian kongressipuolue]]
[[fr:Congrès national indien]]
[[he:הקונגרס הלאומי ההודי]]
[[hi:भारतीय राष्ट्रीय कॉंग्रेस]]
[[hr:Indijski nacionalni kongres]]
[[id:Kongres Nasional India]]
[[it:Congresso Nazionale Indiano]]
[[ja:インド国民会議]]
[[ka:ინდოეთის ეროვნული კონგრესი]]
[[kn:ಭಾರತೀಯ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್]]
[[ko:인도 국민 회의]]
[[ml:ഇന്ത്യൻ നാഷണൽ കോൺഗ്രസ്]]
[[mr:भारतीय राष्ट्रीय काँग्रेस]]
[[ne:भारतीय राष्ट्रिय काँग्रेस]]
[[nl:Congrespartij]]
[[no:Indias Nasjonale Kongress]]
[[or:ଭାରତୀୟ ଜାତୀୟ କଂଗ୍ରେସ]]
[[pl:Indyjski Kongres Narodowy]]
[[pms:INC]]
[[pnb:انڈین نیشنل کانگرس]]
[[pt:Partido do Congresso Nacional Indiano]]
[[ro:Indian National Congress]]
[[ru:Индийский национальный конгресс]]
[[sa:भारतीय राष्ट्रीय काङ्ग्रेस्]]
[[sh:Indijski nacionalni kongres]]
[[simple:Indian National Congress]]
[[sl:Indijski nacionalni kongres]]
[[sv:Kongresspartiet]]
[[ta:இந்திய தேசிய காங்கிரசு]]
[[te:భారత జాతీయ కాంగ్రేసు]]
[[th:พรรคคองเกรสอินเดีย]]
[[tl:Indian National Congress]]
[[tr:Hindistan Ulusal Kongresi]]
[[uk:Індійський національний конгрес]]
[[ur:انڈین نیشنل کانگریس]]
[[vi:Đảng Quốc Đại Ấn Độ]]
[[zh:印度国民大会党]]
[[zh-min-nan:Ìn-tō͘ Kok-bîn Hoē-gī]]