The Indian National Congress conducted its first session in Bombay from December 1885 at the initiative of retired Civil Service officer Allan Octavian Hume. Its aim was to obtain a greater share in government for educated Indians, and to create a platform for civic and political dialogue between them and the British Raj. Hume organised the first meeting in Bombay with the approval of the Viceroy Lord Dufferin. Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee was the first president of Congress; the first session was attended by 72 delegates, representing each province of India.