claim: The Indian National Congress was founded only before December 1884.
evidence: The Indian National Congress -LRB- INC , often called Congress -RRB- is a broad-based political party in India .. political party in India. political parties in India. Founded in 1885 , the Congress led India to independence from Great Britain , and powerfully influenced other anti-colonial nationalist movements in the British Empire .. Great Britain. Great Britain. anti-colonial nationalist movements. Anti-colonial nationalism. British Empire. British Empire. independence. Indian Independence Act 1947. After India 's independence in 1947 , the Congress formed the government at center in most instances , and also many regional state governments .. government at center. Government of India. independence. Indian Independence Act 1947. The Congress is a secular , left-of-centre , party .. secular. secular. Although it did not fare well in the last general elections in India in 2014 , it remains one of two major , nationwide , political parties in India , along with the right-wing , Hindu nationalist , Bhartiya Janata Party -LRB- BJP -RRB- .. Hindu nationalist. Hindu nationalism. Bhartiya Janata Party. Bhartiya Janata Party. The Congress was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Empire in Asia and Africa .. British Empire. British Empire. It was founded in Bombay in late December 1885 , during the British Raj in India .. Bombay. Bombay. British Raj. British Raj. Its principal founders were , Allan Octavian Hume -LRB- a former administrator of Etawah district , North-Western Provinces , and pioneering ornithologist of India -RRB- , as well as William Wedderburn , Pherozeshah Mehta , Dadabhai Naoroji , Dinshaw Wacha , and others .. Allan Octavian Hume. Allan Octavian Hume. Dadabhai Naoroji. Dadabhai Naoroji. Dinshaw Wacha. Dinshaw Edulji Wacha. Etawah district. Etawah district. North-Western Provinces. North-Western Provinces. ornithologist. Ornithology. William Wedderburn. William Wedderburn. Pherozeshah Mehta. Pherozeshah Mehta. 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 .. Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi. Indian independence movement. Indian independence movement. independence. Indian Independence Act 1947. After independence in 1947 , Congress became India 's dominant political party ; , in the 15 general elections since independence , it has won an outright majority on six occasions and has led the ruling coalition a further four times , heading the central government for 49 years .. independence. Indian Independence Act 1947. There have been seven Congress Prime Ministers , the first being Jawaharlal Nehru -LRB- 1947 -- 64 -RRB- , and the most recent Manmohan Singh -LRB- 2004 -- 14 -RRB- .. Prime Ministers. List of Prime Ministers of India. Jawaharlal Nehru. Jawaharlal Nehru. Manmohan Singh. Manmohan Singh. The party 's social liberal platform is generally considered to be on the centre-left of Indian politics .. social liberal. Social liberalism. centre-left. centre-left. Indian politics. Politics of India. From 2004 to 2014 , the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance , a coalition of several regional parties , formed the Indian government and was headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh .. Progressive Alliance. Progressive Alliance. United Progressive Alliance. United Progressive Alliance. Manmohan Singh. Manmohan Singh. As of March 2017 , the party is in power in five states  : Punjab , Himachal Pradesh , Karnataka , Meghalaya and Mizoram .. Punjab. Punjab. Himachal Pradesh. Himachal Pradesh. Karnataka. Karnataka. Meghalaya. Meghalaya. Mizoram. Mizoram. In Bihar , it is a part of the ruling coalition .. Bihar. Bihar. The Congress has previously directly ruled Andhra Pradesh , Tamil Nadu , Gujarat , Madhya Pradesh , Rajasthan , Uttar Pradesh and Goa .. Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh. Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu. Gujarat. Gujarat. Madhya Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh. Rajasthan. Rajasthan. Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh. Goa. Goa. In the 2014 general election , the Congress had its poorest post-independence general election performance , winning only 44 seats of the 543-member house .. independence. Indian Independence Act 1947. 2014 general election. Indian general election, 2014. 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 .. Gandhian. Gandhian. Sarvodaya. Sarvodaya. 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 .. social liberalism. social liberalism. liberty. liberty. social justice. social justice. secularism. secularism