Question

discuss the role of intellectuals in giving shape to the nationalism in India during the freedom struggle

Answer 1

The intellectuals played an important role in shaping the nationalism in India.Infact they were responsible for inculcating the feeling of “INDIA as a nation” in people.

Let us talk about some of the intellectuals and their contribution:

1)RR Mohan Roy: Brahmo Samaj, Abolition of sati, English education.

2) BC Chatterjee: Wrote Vande Matarm , Anand math that helped in arising nationalist feeling in people.

3) IC Vidyasagar: Women education,Widow remarriages

4) Dada Bhai Naoroji & RC Dutt: Biggest critic of British India and its economic loot.

5) Pabna Rebellion:Intellectuals played very important role in this rebellion. for the first time it was through legal means that the case was won and coomon man came to know about their legal reghts.

6) Tilak ,MG Ranade, Sir Iyer: Though their newspapers educated and informed the people and united the common man against the foreign rule in India.

7) Savitri Bai phule,Pandita Ramabai, Annie Besant: Widow remarriages,minimum age for the marriage of girls

8) Premchand,Sumitra Nandan Pant & Md Iqbal: They were actually responsible for the percolation of nationalist feeling in rural areas of Indian Sub continent through their short stories and poems that related the peasants.

9) All the lawyer class actively participated in the freedom struggle and it is said that while transferring power Lord Mountbaten said “In India we dont have a politician who can govern, what we have is a lot of lawyers who fit in as political leaders”.

10) The nationalists who were not residing in India too had a great impact in creating a nationalist feeling on the line of European nations.

One of the most influencing factor in freedom struggle was the rise in nationalist feeling in Indians who were earlier everything but not Indian