The Indian National Congress, commonly known as the Congress, is one of the major political parties in India. Congress was established on 28 December 1885 during the British Raj. Its founders included A. O. Hume (prominent member of the Theosophical Society), Dadabhai Naoroji and Dinshaw Wacha. In the late 19th and early to mid 20th centuries, the Congress became a central player in the Indian independence struggle, with over 15 million members and over 70 million participants, in opposition to British colonial rule.