Q18. "Nationalism spreads when people begin to believe that they are all part of
the same nation." Justify the statement
Answers
Nationalism spreads when people begin to believe that they are all part of the same nation, when they discover some unity that binds them together. The sense of collective belonging came partly through the experience of united struggles. But there were also a variety of cultural processes through which nationalism captured people’s imagination. History, fiction, folklore and songs, popular prints and symbols, all played a part in the making of nationalism.
The identity of the nation is most often symbolised in a figure or image. It was the 20th century, with the growth of nationalism, that the identity of India came to be visually associated with the image of Bharat Mata. Ideas of nationalism also developed through a movement to revive Indian folklore. It was essential to preserve folk tradition in order to discover one’s national identity and restore a sense of pride in one’s past.
Another means of creating a feeling of nationalism was through reinterpretation of history. Indians wrote about glorious developments in ancient times when art architecture, science and mathematics, religion and culture, law and philosophy, crafts and trade had flourished. This glorious time was followed by a history of decline, when India was colonised. These nationalist histories urged the readers to take pride in India’s great achievements in the past and struggle to change the miserable conditions of life under British rule.