The founders of the Indian National Congress assumed that the struggle for self-government in the form of petition, propaganda, and mobilization of support, would have to be carried out in both Britain and India. A British Committee of the Congress was established in 1889, and its maintenance and staffing were given the same priority as administration in India. The Congress paid the salary of William Digby, the Committee's secretary and editor of its journal, India; and the perceived significance of its work was reflected in regular votes of substantial funding. In 1902, India was given a measure of stability by the allocation of quotas of subscribers to the provinces, and the decision to require a special delegation fee of Rs 10 for this purpose. In subsequent years, the flow of money, petitions, and delegations of leaders continued to denote Congress confidence in British goodwill, or at minimum the lack of any apparent alternative locus for the achievement of their goal.

But divisions over strategy and tactics, and the definition of the goal also made the 6,000-mile sea journey; and the representation of the nationalist struggle became a subject for debate in Whitehall offices, Parliamentary Committees, and gatherings of the Labour Party. In 1919, in addition to the official delegation of the Congress which travelled to London to meet the Joint Parliamentary Committee considering the Reforms, there were also deputations representing the Moderates, the Justice Party, the Home Rule League, and a minority branch carved out by Annie Besant, the National Home Rule League.

There was as well a range of resident activists in addition to the British Committee.