On his arrival in India in 1901,
Gandhi went on a tour of the country. The annual meeting of the Indian National
Congress was being held n Calcutta under the president ship of Dinshaw Wacha.
Gandhi attended the session. It was his first contact with the Congress which
he was to lead so gloriously in the future.
The Indian National congress was
the only organization which gave the people of India a chance to express their
political views. It was an influential body, as many important Indians were
members, but its decisions had little effect on the government.
At the Calcutta session in 1901
Gandhi had an opportunity to meet Congress leaders like Sir Pherozeshah Mehta,
Lokamanya BAL Gangadhar Tilak, Gopal Krishna Gokhale and others.
He was not impressed with the way
the Congress was functioning. He noticed a lack of unity among the delegates.
Moreover, while they spoke English and affected the style of westerners in
their dress and talk, they did not seem to bother about essential things like
good sanitary facilities in the camp. Gandhi wanted to teach them a lesson. On
his own he quietly started cleaning the bathroom and latrine. No one
volunteered to join him.