India has been a victim of foreign invasions since the dawn of human history. The fertile plains of India had been attracting hordes of marauding tribes from all over the world. Long back, Aryans from Central Asia invaded India and settled down permanently in this beautiful land where food and fodder were available in plenty. After a chain of invasions from the bordering countries through land routes, the European nations, including the British, took the sea route and came to India with the dual purpose of trade and territorial aggrandisement.
The Englishmen, thus, came to India as traders, but stealthily became her masters. India became the “brightest jewel” in British diadem. Their idea to civilise India was an euphemism for exploitation. Neither the imperialist might nor the treachery of some of her sons, nor the nerve-racking exploitation could curb the indomitable urge for “freedom of the people who bid defiance to time”. They fought and fought heroically. They never submitted. Their struggle for independence is an inspiring and exhilarating story. It is a story not only of firm determination and will, but also a story of sacrifices and sufferings, a story of heroism and courage, the basic stuff of all revolutions.
But the Indian revolution was unique, a revolution without hate, without treachery, violence, arson and assassination. It was not only a political revolution, but also a social and moral revolution. It was a fight against alien political domination and, at the same time, a revolution “radiant with a light which is not of this world”. Yet it was essentially a modern revolution. It gave birth to a new India, resurgent with fresh ideas on different fronts.
The past glory, the great scriptures, the ancient civilisation and culture, and the inherent desire for freedom and liberation inspired the people to fight against foreign domination and liberate their motherland. Every community made its own distinctive contribution. The nation rose as one man in this great task. Yet certain factors like uneven economic and political developments, dying feudal economy, backward social structure, religious dominance, imposition of a modern capitalist economy in a backward social system and the presence of foreign rulers to exploit this imbalance, paved the way for partition.
It was a saga of struggle between servility and freedom, imperialism and nationalism, feudalism and capitalism, religion and secularism, obscurantism and enlightenment, backwardness and modernism. It needs to be written yet. Passions and emotions blur vision and dim the historical perspective. The time will not be far off when we look back at this great drama in a scientific spirit and without apportioning blame.
Growth of National Movement
The Indian National Movement was the political expression of intellectual and spiritual ferment as well as social and economic development. The factors that gave rise to the national movement came on the trail of British conquest. It was the result of social and economic changes initiated by the British rule itself.
The British rule had two consequences: one destructive and the other regenerative. The old feudal economy was decomposing and a new capitalist society was taking root. The British rule helped the pace of this process. It provided the material base for the rise of nationalist forces. On the one hand, the British rule spread poverty and destruction and, on the other, it generated the will to fight for a free and democratic India. While the British pursued the policy of “divide-and-rule”, they also unified India administratively. They established a “bureaucratic” system, provided English education, established the rule of law and introduced liberal reforms. A middle class was born. Liberal ideas gripped the minds of the intelligentsia. The National Movement was a liberal movement, to start with. Following may be considered as some of the important factors for the rise of nationalism :
The Great Revolt
The Great Revolt of 1857 has been described as the First War of Indian Independence. It exercised formative influence on the evolution of nationalist thought. It was the first expression of the people’s urge for freedom and liberty. Muslims and Hindus, princes and people, soldiers and commoners joined hands to shake off the shackles of the British rule. In spite of its failure, its memory remained ever fresh in the minds of the Indians, and it provided an inspiration for the future struggle for freedom.
Proclamation of the Queen—
Magna Carta of Rights
After the Revolt was over, Queen Victoria made a proclamation on the assumption of sovereignty in 1858 promising equality of opportunity to the Indians and security and dignity to princes. It was described as “Magna Carta” of their rights. This proclamation, however, remained only on paper since it was never translated into practice. At the same time, it became the anchorsheet of nationalism in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The Indian educated middle classes pleaded for its application and demanded equality with Englishmen in services. They invoked this proclamation to seek active association in the administration of India.
Racial Discrimination
After the suppression of the Revolt and consequent transfer of power to the British Crown, the bureaucracy became more arrogant. According to Garrat, the Revolt created a feeling of “active hatred” against Indians in the minds of the British officers. The Indians could not travel in the same compartment in which an Englishman travelled. The Indians were often assaulted by the Europeans. The administration of justice had become a “scandal”. According to Garrat, the murders and brutalities committed by Europeans went either unpunished or were punished lightly. Lord Lytton passed the Arms Act under which Indians were deprived of the right of possessing arms and, thus, it introduced another discrimination between the Indians and the Europeans.
Economic Exploitation
During the British rule, the country’s economy was paralysed. Its industry came to a standstill, irrigation was neglected, unemployment became widespread; exchange policy favoured British industries at the cost of Indians and a heavy drain of wealth was taking place by way of trade. This led to famines and outbreak of epidemics. It was more the lack of money to purchase food than the scarcity of food. Hundreds of thousands of people died of starvation. Amidst this famine and death, the Royal Durbar was held at which the Queen assumed the title of the “Empress of India”. The years 1873, 1875, 1877 and 1897 are sad landmarks in the modern history of India; they are landmarks not of progress and prosperity but of desolation and disasters. People were not only impoverished, but also embittered. Ruthless exploitation of the people made them miserable and full of anguish against the foreign rule. Physical and spiritual sufferings of the people brought popular unrest to a dangerous point.
Reformation Movements and
New Awakening
The end of the nineteenth century was a period of spiritual revivalism and reformation. The Ramakrishna Mission, the Theosophical Society, the Brahmo Samaj, the Arya Samaj and the Wahabi Movement not only marked the beginning of the Indian renaissance and religious and social reform movements, but also produced vital political consequences. These movements not only fought against the prevailing social evils, but also gave a new confidence and pride to the people who became politically anti-British. They infused the spirit of liberty and an urge for freedom.
Western Education—Infusion of
Liberalism
The introduction of English education infused liberal ideas of Bentham, Mill, Mazzini and Milton. The educated
Indians imbibed the ideas of “liberty”, “representation”, “self-government”, “nationalism” and “parliamentarianism”. The English language helped people from different parts of the country to communicate and transact their business and brought them together. The National Movement in the beginning was, therefore, led by middle class businessmen and professionals like doctors and lawyers educated in English liberal ideas.
Vernacular Press and Propaganda
for National Emancipation
During the latter half of the 19th century, the vernacular Press came into existence. In 1877, in Bombay Presidency alone there were 62 Indian language papers, in Bengal 28 and so on in other parts of the country. The total circulation of these papers was estimated at 1,00,000. These papers were generally critical of the administration and espoused the Indian cause. In 1878, the Vernacular Act was passed with a view to controlling Indian papers. Heavy restrictions were imposed. However, in spite of these restrictions, the Indian Press fostered nationalism and patriotism. The British administration was based on coercion and denied civil liberties. In the words of Annie Besant, India was enslaved and she wanted to be free.
Discrimination in Services
In the higher services, Indians were discriminated against. The Charter Act of 1833 and the Queen’s Proclamation of 1858 had promised equality of opportunity in employment. But these promises were seldom kept. On the contrary, Indians were debarred from the covenanted service and other higher jobs. Surendranath Banerjee and Aurobindo Ghosh were disqualified on technical grounds. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was disappointed, too. All positions of trust and responsibility were occupied by Englishmen. The Indian people were mocked at as “drawers of water and hewers of wood”. The educated young men of Indian origin were considered to be inferior to Englishmen in respect of intellectual ability and physical personality. The British policy was described by Lord Lytton in a confidential despatch. He said, “We all know that these claims and expectations of 1858 never can or will be fulfilled.” Lord Salisbury rightly described the British pledges to Indians as “political hypocrisy”. The demand for equality in admitting Indians into services became the starting point of Indian National Movement. Talking of the movement for demand of equality of opportunity of employment, Surendranath Banerjee said, “The underlying concept and the true aim and purpose of the civil services agitation was the awakening of a spirit of unity and solidarity among the people.”
Modern Transport and
Communications
Prof. G. N. Singh says, “The growth of national sentiment was helped by the development of modern transport in the form of roads and railways. Lines of common communication knit up the vast country and turned geographical unity into a tangible reality.” This made it possible to carry on political propaganda on the national scale. The same purpose was served by the administrative unity that the British administration brought about. The whole of India was subjected to the control of one unified administration that India had rarely seen before. It fostered the idea of nationalism. It, therefore, made possible for the freedom movement to grow into an all-India movement. Development of rapid means of transport and communication enabled educated Indians to mingle with the mainstream of modern political thought. The educated Indians got an opportunity to go abroad and come in contact with free nations of the world. They studied the working of the democratic and free political institutions of the European countries. It infused in them a new love for liberty and freedom.
As a result of the cumulative effect of all these factors, a strong and effective national movement took shape.