Madras Mahajana Sabha, considered a predecessor of the Indian National Congress, was started on May 16, 1884, in the presence of G. Subramania Iyer, M. Viraraghavachari, P. Ananda Charlu, P. Rangiah Naidu, Balaji Rao, and Salem Ramaswamy Mudaliar. It sought to represent the views and needs of people to the British government