Lalmohan Ghosh (1849 – 18 October 1909) was the nineteenth President of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

and Bengali

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and also Co-Founder of

Early life

He was born in Krishnagar,

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

in 1849, the second son of Ramolochan Ghose, gentleman. After passing the Entrance examination in the first division, Ghosh left for England in 1869 to qualify as a barrister. He was admitted to the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

on 19 November 1870 and was

Called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

on 7 June 1873, joining the Calcutta Bar in that same year. His elder brother Monomohun Ghose was also a barrister and well known political personality of India.

Political career

Ghosh was elected president of the Madras session (1903) of the Indian National Congress. His social and political ideals were derived mostly from the liberal humanism of Victorian England. He strongly believed the importance of Western education for the people of India as a force to unite the people into one nation and he pleaded for compulsory primary education in India in his presidential address at the Madras session of the Congress. Ghosh never thought of a severance of relation between England and India, but he also believed that it was necessary to acquire by constitutional means, rights for Indians to the British type rules of law and justice, to free expression of opinion, to opportunities of trade and service, and to democratic legislative institutions. In 1885, Ghosh stood as the Liberal candidate for the newly created parliamentary constituency of

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...

, London. Although he was unsuccessful in his attempt, he became the first Indian to stand for election to the British Parliament.Bose, K. (1991). 'Lalmohan Ghosh and the Emergence of Indian Nationalism' in ''Proceedings of the Indian History Congress''. Vol. 52, p.553.

Death

Lalmohan Ghosh died on 18 October 1909 in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

References

Lalmohan Ghosh
1849 births 1909 deaths Bengali politicians Bengali Hindus University of Calcutta alumni Presidents of the Indian National Congress People from Krishnagar Krishnagar Government College alumni {{WestBengal-INC-politician-stub