During Indian freedom struggle, the National Social Conference was formed. What was the reason for its formation?

The National Social Conference was founded by M.G. Ranade and Raghunath Rao in 1887 [1]. While the early organizers of the Indian National Congress (INC) initially considered including social topics, they eventually decided that the Congress platform should be dedicated exclusively to political deliberations to maintain unity among diverse groups. Consequently, the National Social Conference was established as a separate body to focus on social issues such as child marriage, polygamy, and inter-caste marriages [2]. It functioned effectively as the social reform cell of the INC, holding its annual sessions at the same venue and immediately following the Congress sessions [1]. This separation ensured that political agitation and social reform could proceed on distinct tracks without causing internal friction within the national movement.

Sources

1. [1] Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 9: A General Survey of Socio-Cultural Reform Movements > Indian Social Conference > p. 227
2. [2] History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 19: Towards Modernity > The Prarthana Samaj (1867) > p. 300