Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee

Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee (or Umesh Chandra Banerjee by current English orthography
of Bengali names) (29 December 1844 21 July 1906) was an Indian barrister and was the
first president of Indian National Congress. He was the first Indian to contest the election
for the British House of Commons although he lost the election. He made two unsuccessful
attempts to enter the British parliament.

Early days
Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee was born on 29 December 1844 at Calcutta (now Kolkata), in
the present-day state of West Bengal in an upper middle class Bengali Hindu Kulin
Brahmin family of considerable social standing. His ancestors belong from the village
named Baganda situated in Hooghly district. His father Grees Chunder Bonnerjee was an
attorney at the Calcutta High Court. He studied at the Oriental Seminary and the Hindu
School. In 1859, he married Hemangini Motilal. His career began in 1862 when he joined
the firm of W. P. Gillanders, attorneys of the Calcutta Supreme Court, as a clerk. In this
post he acquired a good knowledge of law which greatly helped him in his later career. In
1864 he was sent to England through a scholarship from Mr. R. J. Jijibhai of Bombay where
he joined the Middle Temple and was called to the Bar in June, 1867. On his return to
Calcutta in 1868, he found a patron in Sir Charles Paul, Barrister-at-Law of the Calcutta

High Court. Another barrister, J. P. Kennedy, also greatly helped him to establish his
reputation as a lawyer. Within a few years he became the most sought after barrister in the
High Court. He was the first Indian to act as a Standing Counsel, in which capacity he
officiated four times 1882, 1884, 1886-67. In 1883 he defended Surendranath Banerjee in
the famous contempt of court case against him in the Calcutta High Court. He was the
fellow of Calcutta University and was the president of its law faculty and often represented
it in the legislative council. He retired from the Calcutta bar in 1901. His daughter Janaki
Bonnerjee studied natural science, chemistry, zoology and physiology at Newnham Colllege,
Cambridge University.

As president of Indian National Congress

He presided over the first session of the Indian National Congress held at Bombay in 1885
from 28 December to 31 December and attended by 72 members. In the 1886 session held at
Calcutta, under the presidency of Dadabhai Naoroji, he proposed the formation of standing
committees of the Congress in each province for the better co-ordination of its work and it
was on this occasion that he advocated that the Congress should confine its activities to
political matters only, leaving the question of social reforms to other organisations. He was
the president of the Indian National Congress again in the 1892 session in Allahabad where
he denounced the position that India had to prove her worthiness for political freedom. He
moved to Britain and practiced before the Privy Council. He financed the British
Committee of Congress and its journals in London. In 1865 Dadabhai Naoroji founded the
London Indian society and Bonnerjee was made its general secretary. In December 1866,
Naoroji dissolved the society and formed East Indian Association. When Bonnerjee became
the Congress president Naoroji along with him, Eardley Norton and William Digby opened
a branch of Congress in London. The branch was named The Congress Political Agency. He
lived in Croydon and named his residence after his birthplace Khidirpur. The Liberal party
made him his candidate for the Barrow-in-Furness seat in 1892. Bonnerjee was defeated by
Charles Cayzer, a Tory candidate. In the same elections Naoroji won the Finsbury Central
constituency and defeated his nearest rival by a narrow margin of only 5 votes. Naoroji
became the first Indian member of the British Parliament. In 1893, Naoriji, Bonnerjee and
Badrubdin Tyabji founded the Indian Parliamentary Committee in England.