Question

write about the cause of nationalist movement?
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Answer 1

1. Political Unification:

India became politically unified under British hegemony. It also brought administrative unity inside the country. Under one rule, one administrative framework, one set of law, judicial court, administrative officers, etc. became same anywhere and everywhere inside the country. It created awareness among Indians that this vast united India belong to them and by way, created nationalism within them.

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2. Development in the means of communication and transport:

Lord Dalhousie made a lasting contribution for Indians by introducing railways, telegraph and new mode of postal system. Roads were connected with India from one end to the other. Though, all these were meant to serve imperial interest, the people of India capitalized it.

The railway compartment reflected a unit^ India. All persons, from North to South and East to West, rich and poor and master and servant – all were found inside it. It narrowed down gap among them and gave them the feeling that they all belonged to this vast India which was under the grip the British Raj.

3. Impact of Western Education:

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The introduction of English education in 1835 was a milestone in the British administration. It was primarily meant to create an education Indian mass who would faithful servants to the British Raj. However, with the gradual march of time, the English educated Indians became the pioneers in the socio-politic-economical and religious reforms in India.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Swami Vivekananda, Feroz Shah Mehta, Dadabhai Naoroji, Surendra Nath Banarjee championed the course of liberty, equality humanitarianism etc. The role of Mazzini, Garibaldi and Cavour in the unification of Italy, the unification of Germany by Bismark, the French Revolution, and American War of Independence etc. influenced their mind. Thus, gradually, the English educated Indians became the torch-bearers of Indian nationalism and aroused national consciousness in the minds of millions of Indians.

4. Rediscovery of Indian’s glorious past:

The nineteenth century Indian Renaissance created several avenues in the field of oriental studies. Western scholars like Max Muller, Sir William Jones, Alexander Cunningham, etc. translated several ancient Sanskrit tests of this land and established before the people the glorious cultural heritage of India.

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Inspired by them, the Indian scholars like R.D. Banerjee, R.G. Bhandarkar. Maha Mohapdyaya Hara Prasad Sastri. Bal Gangadhara Tilak etc. rediscovered India’s past glory from the history of this land. This encouraged the people of India who felt that they were the ancestors of grand monarchs of this country and ruled by foreigners. This flared up the fire of nationalism.

5. Socio-Religious Reform Movements:

The national awakening in the nineteenth century was largely due to the socio-religious movements launched by Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Swami Dayananda Saraswati, Vivekananda, Sayyid Ahmad Khan, Annie Basant etc. equality, individual liberty, abolition of social disparity and so on. This reformed the minds of Indians and awoke them from centuries of thralldom.

6. Growth of Vernacular Literature:

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The influence of western education prompted the educated Indians to reflect the idea of liberty, freedom and nationalism through the vernacular literature. They aimed at arousing the mass to oppose British rule being surcharged by the spirit of nationalism. Bankim Chandra Chatteijee’s ‘Anand Math’ (which contained the song Vande Mataram) and Dinabandhu Mitra’s play ‘Nil Darpan’ extorted tremendous influence upon the people and created anti-British feelings among them.

Bharatendu Harish Chandra’s play ‘Bharata Durdasha’ reflected the miserable condition of Indian mass under British rule. Besides several eminent poets and writers in different languages, e.g. Rabindranath Tagore in Bengali. Vishnu Shastri Chipulunkar in Marathi. Laxminath Bazbama in Assamese, Mohammad Hussain Azad and Altaf Hussain Ali in Urdu etc. contributed a lot to rouse nationalism among the local people through their writings.

7. Press and Newspaper:

Press and magazines played a dominant role in injecting national feelings in the minds of Indian. Raja Ram Mohan Roy was the pioneer of Indian press and journalism. He edited ‘Sambad Kaimiudi’ in Bengali and ‘Mirat-ul-Akhbar’ in Persian. Gradually, several newspapers were edited in different parts of the country in several languages. To mention a few notable ones.

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The ‘Amritbazar patrika’, ‘Hindu Patriot’, ‘Indian Mirror’, ‘Bengalee’. ‘Sanjivani’, ‘Sudharani’, in Bengali; the ‘Maratha’; ‘Kesari’, ‘Native Opinion’, ‘Indu Prakash in Maharashtra’; ‘The Hindu’, ‘Kerala Patrika’, ‘Andhra Prakashika’ in Madras; ‘The Tribime’, ‘Akhbar-i-Am’, ‘Koh-i-Noor in Punjab’ etc. were the important publications that reflected the colonial rule of the Britishers and aroused nationalism in the minds of Indian people.