Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion A and the other is labelled as Reason R. Assertion A: Indian National Congress was started by A. O. Hume under the official direction, guidance and advice of Lord Dufferin, the viceroy. Reason R: The Indian National Congress was to provide a mild, safe, peaceful and constitutional outlet or safety value for rising discontent among the masses. In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Safety valve theory

• The Safety Valve Theory is associated with the formation of the Indian National Congress (INC) in 1885.
• The Safety Valve Theory was proposed by Lala Lajpat Rai, a prominent Indian nationalist leader, in his writings.
• He argued that the British officials, particularly A.O. Hume, a retired British civil servant and Lord Dufferin, who was the Viceroy of India from 1884 to 1888, played a significant role in the formation of the Indian National Congress (INC) to create an outlet for the growing discontent among the educated Indian elite. Hence, Assertion is correct and Reason is also correct . Also, R is the correct explanation of A.
• According to the Safety Valve Theory, Hume, with the support of some British officials, wanted to channel the political aspirations and grievances of the educated Indians into a moderate and controlled platform, thereby preventing any revolutionary activity against British rule.