<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> The Indian National Congress (pronunciation (help info)) (INC, often called Congress) is a broad - based political party in India . Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Empire in Asia and Africa . From the late 19th - century, and especially after 1920, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, Congress became the principal leader of the Indian independence movement, with over 15 million members and over 70 million participants . The Congress led India to independence from Great Britain, and powerfully influenced other anti-colonial nationalist movements in the British Empire . </P> <P> The Congress is a secular party whose social liberal platform is generally considered on the centre - left of Indian politics . The Congress' social policy is based upon the Gandhian principle of Sarvodaya--the lifting up of all sections of society--which involves the improvement of the lives of economically underprivileged and socially marginalised people . The party primarily endorses social liberalism--seeking to balance individual liberty and social justice, and secularism--asserting the right to be free from religious rule and teachings . </P>

Who was known as the father of indian national congress