The earlier leaders of the Congress were called the Moderates because of their thinking and activities, they were not extreme. In other words, the demand raised by the earlier leaders of the Congress were of moderate nature. Moreover, they used constitutional and peaceful methods like filing petitions, appeals, resolutions etc. Therefore, the period from 1885 to 1905 is generally described as being the moderate phase. The congress was controlled by the Moderate leaders such as Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, W. C. Banerjee, Surendra Nath Banerjee and Madan Mohan Malaviya.