Every citizen must about Indian Nationalism & Reason behind the RISE on Nationalism in India
Emerging topic of Indian National Movement
Table of Contents
The birth of the Nationalism in the heart of every Indian was due to their exploitation from the Britisers. The story of the rise of nationalism in India has been a long but has a complex journey. This movement of freedom has had a profound impact on the country. In this blog we are going to discuss all related aspects like What is Nationalism, The rise of nationalism in India. To know about the Rise of Nationalism in India, various forms of nationalism, Historical Background, Factors Contributing to the growth so stay with the blog.
The history of rise the Nationalism in India is the very important lesson of the Indian emerging history or it can also be say like this that the rise of nationalism in India was the key factor to development the idea to get freedom and start of the struggle for the Indian Nation Movement.
To know all about Indian Nationalism and the factors to rise of nationalism in India it is better to know what is the Nationalism? Because nationalism and rise of nationalism in India is a very complex subject. To know about the Rise of Nationalism in India you are at the right place so let’s start the topic.
What is the Nationalism ?
Nationalism is an preparative idea that emphasis the idea of need to develop the intention of attaining and sustaining the nation’s sovereignty (self-governance) over its own motherland for a certain nation.
India and Nationalism
Specially in the history of Indian freedom struggle the nationalism evolved through out the nation. During the Indian independence movement nationalism pushed for getting independence from British rule. Indian nationalism is an example of territorial nationalism, which is comprehensive of all of the people of India but despite their diverse cultural, rhetorical and religious backgrounds the emergence of Nationalism in India is become a great history.
The main reasons for the emergence of the Nationalism in India are as under –
01) Solidarity between Political, Economic, Social and Administrative areas :-
The ideology of Nationalism grow faster among the people because India was amalgamated and blended into one nation during the 19th and 20th centuries by the british government. The commencement of an stationary system of the british government throughout the country help to unified and spread the thought of nationalism through administratively. The demolition of the old and rural economy given birth to the fresh commencement of modern trade and industries on an all India scale. The sudden change of mordern industries and trade had progressively made India’s economic life interlinked with the economically successful people living in various areas of the country with their ideology. Furthermore, the commencement of the railways, telegraph , postal systems and network of the roads had brought the various areas of the country together. This was the common aspect for the boost the contact with the common people with ideology of the nationalism among the people. Newspapers published in social area gave special attention to rice nationalism in India.
02) Impact of the Education system in India –
During the 19th century, the latest of the British rule was the expansion of Western Education in India. Due to which a large number of Indians took advantage to be educated in English language then they felt the need of a modern, secular, democratic and nationalist political perspective. Education led to be medium for the expansion of the English language and the popularity of the English language helped freedom fighters from different linguistic regions to interact with each other. The latest Western and Modern education system of the British rule helped in creating a certain stability and set of outlook and interests among the educated Indians. This English-educated intellectuals formed a consciousness for the newly emerging political upheaval and it was the group of society which provided leadership to Indian politics in the fighting for independence and spread nationalism in India.
03) Development of means of transport in India –
The British government built and improved the means of transport system in India to promote colonialism in the country. Due to the reforms it made possible the improvement in the trading system of the country. Under this reforms the British government started laying down a network of roads in the country and at the same time the government had also tried the improve the condition of rail and post and telegraph system. Due to this reform, the people of one part of the country easily meet the people of the other part of the country which contributed a lot in promoting the exchange of their ideas. Improvements made in the means of transport system in India accelerated the growth of movements in the country and increased nationalism in the country. All this gave importance to the rise of a national movement in India.
04) Movements towards the reforms done in field of socio-religious platforms –
The movements for the reforms in the field of socio-religious plateform quested to remove social iniquity which split the Indian society. By the impect of the movement had the oppurtunity to bring closer the different groups of society together. But due to India’s rich heritage and culture many of the reform movements withdrew their motivation but these movements boosted the motivation throughout India and given birth of the spark of nationalism in the country.
05) Development of communication system through local newspaper and magazines –
The latter half of the 19th century sighted an unmatched enlargement of Indian-owned English and local language newspapers. These newspapers and magazines published by Indian owned press played a memorable role in spreading the nationalism in the country because these publication houses publishing the public judgement, collocating political movements, fighting out public judgements and fostering nationalism.
06) Repressive policies of the British Government –
The exploitation policy of the British Government has also became a reason for increasing the expression of Nationalism in India Because a relevant factor in the expansion of national sentiment in India was the tone of racial superiority adopted by many of the Britishers in their dealings with Indians. The exploitative policies of the British Government also became the main cause of the expansion of political associations with idea of Nationalism.
07) Spark from the National Movements Outside India –
There were many International movements against the exploitations which were happen outside the country like the Russian Revolution, the French Revolution and the American War of Independence. These revolution also became the key factor for the spreading the idea of nationalism for the Indian nationalists.
08) Differences between the style of leadership of the moderates and the radicals –
The differences in the leadership was also became the main cause to the rise of Nationalism in India because in the initial context the Indian National Congress (INC) had acquired a moderate approach to deal with the British Government. The INC started demanding with a greater voice for participation of Indians in the administration and government. But by the 1890 the big leader of Punjab Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal of Bengal and Bal Gangadhar Tilak of Maharashtra were unhappy with the political style of the Congress. These radicals leaders wanted that the people of India has to fight for their complete swaraj and they have to relying on their own strength and they should not rely on the good intentions of the British government.
09) Leadership of Mahatma Gandhi –
The main factor to rise and spread the nationalism in India was the leadership of the Mahatma Gandhi. The Indian National Congress under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi get success to brought all the different groups with different ideology to achieve the same goal of freedom come together under one movement. The main cause of conflicts or disagreements between the different groups was only about the path they had chosen to reach the goal were different. Mahatma Gandhi led the Dandi March, Satyagraha, Civil Disobedience Movement, Non-cooperation Movement, Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March and Quit India Movement against the British Government and all these led to the rise of nationalism among the heart of every Indians.
10) The Rowlatt Act and The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre –
In 1919 when the British Government passed bill named as the Rowlatt Act. The Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi lost his patience and decided to begin a non- cooperation movement to protest that unjust law and on 6th April 1919 was declared Satyagraha Day and the people of all around the country took fast. On 10th of April 1919 when people gathered in Jalliwanwala Bagh in Amritsar for a peaceful procession then the police in Amritsar opened fire on the people gathered in peaceful procession without any prior warning, resulted a widespread attacks on the unarmed common people including man, woman and children also . The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre worked as a spark for the blast of nationalism in India.
11) The Khilafat Movement –
The Khilafat Movement had became the main factor for the spread of wave of nationalism in the country because the affect of Satyagraha movement was limited to cities and towns when it became widely popular then Mahatma Gandhi founded The Khilafat movement. This was the only way to do the Hindus and Muslims to come together in the movement. The Khilafat Movement had became the spark for nationalism for every common people of the country. Maulana Azad, Ajmal Khan, and Hasrat Mohani led the formation of a Khalifa Committee. The goal was to unite the people and instill a sense of patriotism in them.
12) Spread of nationalist sentiment among the masses –
When people of various religions and communities establish a sense of collective belongingness it shows that the feeling of nationalism grow in the heart of common people. A nationalism for a nation characterized in such a way when the Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay penned ‘Vande Mataram’ for their homeland in 1870. He was the first who conceived of the image of Bharat Mata and during the swadeshi movement Bengal designed a tri-colour flag with the colour of red, green, and yellow. The designed tri-colour flag had eight lotuses each of the lotus symbolizing an individual region of India as well as a crescent moon which represented Hindus and Muslims of the nation.
Impact of Rise of Nationalism in India
The rise of nationalism in India had a profound impact on the polity of the country. It led to the end of British rule in India and the establishment of an independent state in 1947. The nationalism also played a key role in shaping the country’s political landscape because many of the leading figures in Indian politics were also nationalist leaders.
The nationalist movement also had a significant impact on Indian society. It played a key role in promoting social reform and raising awareness about issues such as caste discrimination and gender inequality in the society. Many of the leading nationalist figures were also social reformers who campaigned for the rights of marginalized communities of the society.
The legacy of the nationalist movement can still be seen in modern India. The country’s political system is based on the principles of democracy and secularism, which were championed by the nationalist movement. The movement also laid the ground work for many of the social and economic reforms that have taken place in the country in recent years.
Yes, it is true that the rise and spread of nationalism in India gave birth to a nationwide movement and this nationalist movement was also successful in playing an important role in the country gaining independence from the rule of the British Government. The rise and spread of nationalism has contributed in shaping the history of our country as well as the politics of the country but the rise and spread of nationalism in our country has also had its share of many challenges and controversies. The rise of communal nationalism (particularly Hindu nationalism) as well as cultural nationalism in the country in recent years has increased polarization and tensions between different communities.
Ultimately it can be said that the future of nationalism in India will depend on how the leaders of the country along with the people of the country deal with these challenges. It is up to all of us to work towards building a more inclusive, tolerant and democratic society that manages to preserve the diversity and richness of Indian culture and heritage.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What was the reason to take birth of Nationalism in India ?
The main reason for the birth of Nationalism in Indian was the repressive policies of the British Government.
What was the main reason for the rise of nationalism in India?
The rise of nationalism in India was to connected the different groups of the people with the anti-colonial movement in India.
What is the meaning of the rise of nationalism?
The nationalism is an idea to spark a light of the sense of country-hood with love of the country. There was emergence of the nation-state in place of the multi-national dynastic empires of Europe during the 19th century.
What was the power of nationalism in India to get freedom ?
The power of nationalism in India was to spark the sense of patriotism in the heart of the common man.
Is there any example of the power of nationalism in the world ?
The great example of world nationalism is a force which brought about sweeping changes in the political and mental world of European countries.
Who were the first nationalists in India?
The groups of moderates of the Indian National Congress in 1885 were the first nationalists in India.
What was the reason the radicals group had taken the charge of nationalism in the country ?
However the approach of moderates of Indian National Congress for nationalism was criticized by some groups of the people which led to the rise of radicals group in congress who sought complete swaraj based on their own strength, self-reliance and constructive work.
What were the factors that led to the rise of national consciousness?
The factors to rice the national consciousness in the country were as under – Economic factors, social factors, political factors and most importantly the oppression of all sections of society under the British colonialism.
Who is known as the father of Indian nationalism?
Surendra Nath Banerjee is known as the father of Indian Nationalism.