A. O. Hume’s name figures among those few Bruisers who not only supported the cause of Indian independence but also zealously worked for it. Hume came to India after joining the Indian Civil Service (in 1849). He introduced several reform measures for social emancipation, some of them being—scheme of free schools at Etawah, scholarships for higher education and establishment of, juvenile reformatory school.
He also favoured the introduction of new technologies in the field of agriculture for increasing the quantity and quality of food production. He criticized the unjust and anti- India policies of the British and opposed the concentration of judicial powers in the hands of police superintendents. In consequence of his criticism of Lord Lytton’s administration, he was removed from the Secretariat.
After retiring from the ICS in 1882, Hume began mobilising leading intellectuals and nationalistic forces of the time and formed the Indian National Union in March 1884. This was later named as the Indian National Congress. The INC was the first political organization to exist at an all-India level. Hume is thus appropriately known as the father of the INC, who led Indians to fight “bloodless battles of constitutional reform”. He dedicated the rest of his life in popularizing the aims and objectives of the Congress both in India and abroad.
He played a significant role in bringing to the notice of English officials the grievances of the people of India. For the purpose, he set up the British Committee of Congress in London in 1899 and launched a journal, India. Although his dream of seeing India an independent country was not fulfilled during his life-time, his assiduous efforts for the cause did not go waste. The INC, which was his brainchild, succeeded in launching a mass political struggle and ultimately overthrew the colonial rule.