It was active in passive resistance campaigns organised by Mahatma Gandhi in 1908 and 1913, but at other times relied largely, like the NIC, on the moderate methods of petitions and deputations to authorities.
[1] It adopted a more militant stance only from the 1930s, when Yusuf Dadoo and his peers – among them Molvi Cachalia – emerged as key progressive figures in the congress.
In the late 1950s, the TIC, then based in Fordsburg, was generally more radical than the larger and older NIC, particularly in its support for Nelson Mandela's proposal to prepare for armed struggle against the apartheid regime.
[2] However, during the 1960s and 1970s, the TIC fell into dormancy due to the extent of state repression against the Congress Alliance, with some leaders (such as Dadoo) living in exile and others (like Ahmed Kathrada) imprisoned.
[7] The TIC was a founding affiliate of the UDF and was a prominent player in the campaign to boycott the 1984 elections and the new Tricameral Parliament, which purported to represent Indians through the House of Delegates.