India has been a victim of foreign invasions since the dawn of human\nhistory. The fertile plains of India had been attracting hordes of marauding\ntribes from all over the world. Long back, Aryans from Central Asia invaded\nIndia and settled down permanently in this beautiful land where food and fodder\nwere available in plenty. After a chain of invasions from the bordering\ncountries through land routes, the European nations, including the British,\ntook the sea route and came to India with the dual purpose of trade and\nterritorial aggrandise\u00adment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Englishmen, thus, came to India as traders, but stealthily became\nher masters. India became the \u201cbrightest jewel\u201d in British diadem. Their idea\nto civilise India was an euphemism for exploitation. Neither the imperialist\nmight nor the treachery of some of her sons, nor the nerve-racking exploitation\ncould curb the indomitable urge for \u201cfreedom of the people who bid defiance to\ntime\u201d. They fought and fought heroically. They never submitted. Their struggle\nfor independence is an inspiring and exhilarating story. It is a story not only\nof firm determination and will, but also a story of sacrifices and sufferings,\na story of heroism and courage, the basic stuff of all revolutions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the Indian revolution was unique, a revolution without hate,\nwithout treachery, violence, arson and assassination. It was not only a\npolitical revolution, but also a social and moral revolution. It was a fight\nagainst alien political domination and, at the same time, a revolution \u201cradiant\nwith a light which is not of this world\u201d. Yet it was essentially a modern\nrevolution. It gave birth to a new India, resurgent with fresh ideas on\ndifferent fronts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The past glory, the great scriptures, the ancient civilisation and\nculture, and the inherent desire for freedom and liberation inspired the people\nto fight against foreign domination and liberate their motherland. Every\ncommunity made its own distinctive contribution. The nation rose as one man in\nthis great task. Yet certain factors like uneven economic and political\ndevelopments, dying feudal economy, backward social structure, religious\ndominance, imposition of a modern capitalist economy in a backward social\nsystem and the presence of foreign rulers to exploit this imbalance, paved the\nway for partition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was a saga of struggle between servility and freedom, imperialism\nand nationalism, feudalism and capitalism, religion and secularism,\nobscurantism and enlightenment, backwardness and modernism. It needs to be\nwritten yet. Passions and emotions blur vision and dim the historical\nperspective. The time will not be far off when we look back at this great drama\nin a scien\u00adtific spirit and without apportioning blame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Growth of National Movement<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Indian National Movement was the political expression of\nintellectual and spiritual ferment as well as social and economic development.\nThe factors that gave rise to the national movement came on the trail of\nBritish conquest. It was the result of social and economic changes initiated by\nthe British rule itself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The British rule had two consequences: one destructive and the other\nregenerative. The old feudal economy was decomposing and a new capitalist\nsociety was taking root. The British rule helped the pace of this process. It\nprovided the material base for the rise of nationalist forces. On the one hand,\nthe British rule spread poverty and destruction and, on the other, it generated\nthe will to fight for a free and democratic India. While the British pursued\nthe policy of \u201cdivide-and-rule\u201d, they also unified India administratively. They\nestablished a \u201cbureaucratic\u201d system, provided English education, established\nthe rule of law and introduced liberal reforms. A middle class was born.\nLiberal ideas gripped the minds of the intelligentsia. The National Movement\nwas a liberal movement, to start with. Following may be considered as some of\nthe important factors for the rise of nationalism :<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Great Revolt<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Great Revolt of 1857 has been described as the First War of\nIndian Independence. It exercised formative influence on the evolution of\nnationalist thought. It was the first expression of the people\u2019s urge for\nfreedom and liberty. Muslims and Hindus, princes and people, soldiers and\ncommoners joined hands to shake off the shackles of the British rule. In spite\nof its failure, its memory remained ever fresh in the minds of the Indians, and\nit provided an inspiration for the future struggle for freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Proclamation\nof the Queen\u2014<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Magna\nCarta of Rights<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n After the Revolt was over, Queen Victoria made a proclamation on the\nassumption of sovereignty in 1858 promising equality of opportunity to the\nIndians and security and dignity to princes. It was described as \u201cMagna Carta\u201d\nof their rights. This proclamation, however, remained only on paper since it\nwas never translated into practice. At the same time, it became the anchorsheet\nof nationalism in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The Indian\neducated middle classes pleaded for its application and demanded equality with\nEnglishmen in services. They invoked this proclamation to seek active\nassociation in the administration of India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Racial\nDiscrimination<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n After the suppression of the Revolt and consequent transfer of power\nto the British Crown, the bureaucracy became more arrogant. According to\nGarrat, the Revolt created a feeling of \u201cactive hatred\u201d against Indians in the\nminds of the British officers. The Indians could not travel in the same\ncompartment in which an Englishman travelled. The Indians were often assaulted\nby the Europeans. The administration of justice had become a \u201cscandal\u201d.\nAccording to Garrat, the murders and brutalities committed by Europeans went\neither unpunished or were punished lightly. Lord Lytton passed the Arms Act under\nwhich Indians were deprived of the right of possessing arms and, thus, it\nintroduced another discrimi\u00adnation between the Indians and the Europeans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Economic Exploitation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n During the British rule, the country\u2019s economy was paralysed. Its\nindustry came to a standstill, irrigation was neglected, unemployment became\nwidespread; exchange policy favoured British industries at the cost of Indians\nand a heavy drain of wealth was taking place by way of trade. This led to\nfamines and outbreak of epidemics. It was more the lack of money to purchase\nfood than the scarcity of food. Hundreds of thousands of people died of\nstarvation. Amidst this famine and death, the Royal Durbar was held at which\nthe Queen assumed the title of the \u201cEmpress of India\u201d. The years 1873, 1875,\n1877 and 1897 are sad landmarks in the modern history of India; they are\nlandmarks not of progress and prosperity but of desolation and disasters.\nPeople were not only impoverished, but also embittered. Ruthless exploitation\nof the people made them miserable and full of anguish against the foreign rule.\nPhysical and spiritual sufferings of the people brought popular unrest to a\ndangerous point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reformation\nMovements and<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n New\nAwakening<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nend of the nineteenth century was a period of spiritual revivalism and\nreformation. The Ramakrishna Mission, the Theosophical Society, the Brahmo\nSamaj, the Arya Samaj and the Wahabi Movement not only marked the beginning of\nthe Indian renaissance and religious and social reform movements, but also\nproduced vital political consequences. These movements not only fought against\nthe prevailing social evils, but also gave a new confidence and pride to the\npeople who became politically anti-British. They infused the spirit of liberty\nand an urge for freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Western\nEducation\u2014Infusion of<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Liberalism<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nintroduction of English education infused liberal ideas of Bentham, Mill,\nMazzini and Milton. The educated Vernacular\nPress and Propaganda <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n for National Emancipation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n During the latter half of the 19th century, the vernacular Press came\ninto existence. In 1877, in Bombay Presidency alone there were 62 Indian\nlanguage papers, in Bengal 28 and so on in other parts of the country. The\ntotal circulation of these papers was estimated at 1,00,000. These papers were\ngenerally critical of the administration and espoused the Indian cause. In\n1878, the Vernacular Act was passed with a view to controlling Indian papers.\nHeavy restrictions were imposed. However, in spite of these restrictions, the\nIndian Press fostered nationalism and patriotism. The British administration\nwas based on coercion and denied civil liberties. In the words of Annie Besant,\nIndia was enslaved and she wanted to be free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Discrimination\nin Services <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the higher services, Indians were discriminated against. The\nCharter Act of 1833 and the Queen\u2019s Proclamation of 1858 had promised equality\nof opportunity in employment. But these promises were seldom kept. On the\ncontrary, Indians were debarred from the covenanted service and other higher\njobs. Surendranath Banerjee and Aurobindo Ghosh were disqualified on technical\ngrounds. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was disappointed, too. All positions of\ntrust and responsibility were occupied by Englishmen. The Indian people were\nmocked at as \u201cdrawers of water and hewers of wood\u201d. The educated young men of\nIndian origin were considered to be inferior to Englishmen in respect of\nintellectual ability and physical personality. The British policy was described\nby Lord Lytton in a confidential despatch. He said, \u201cWe all know that these\nclaims and expectations of 1858 never can or will be fulfilled.\u201d Lord Salisbury\nrightly described the British pledges to Indians as \u201cpolitical hypocrisy\u201d. The\ndemand for equality in admitting Indians into services became the starting\npoint of Indian National Movement. Talking of the movement for demand of\nequality of opportunity of employment, Surendranath Banerjee said, \u201cThe\nunderlying concept and the true aim and purpose of the civil services agitation\nwas the awakening of a spirit of unity and solidarity among the people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Modern\nTransport and<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Communications<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Prof. G. N. Singh says, \u201cThe growth of national sentiment was helped\nby the development of modern transport in the form of roads and railways. Lines\nof common communication knit up the vast country and turned geographical unity\ninto a tangible reality.\u201d This made it possible to carry on political\npropaganda on the national scale. The same purpose was served by the\nadministrative unity that the British administration brought about. The whole\nof India was subjected to the control of one unified administration that India\nhad rarely seen before. It fostered the idea of nationalism. It, therefore,\nmade possible for the freedom movement to grow into an all-India movement.\nDevelopment of rapid means of transport and communication enabled educated\nIndians to mingle with the mainstream of modern political thought. The educated\nIndians got an opportunity to go abroad and come in contact with free nations\nof the world. They studied the working of the democratic and free political\ninstitutions of the European countries. It infused in them a new love for\nliberty and freedom. \n\nAs a result of the cumulative effect of all these factors, a strong and\neffective national movement took shape.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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. 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\nIndians imbibed the ideas of \u201cliberty\u201d, \u201crepresentation\u201d, \u201cself-government\u201d,\n\u201cnationalism\u201d and \u201cparliamentarianism\u201d. The English language helped people from\ndifferent parts of the country to communicate and transact their business and\nbrought them together. The National Movement in the beginning was, therefore,\nled by middle class businessmen and professionals like doctors and lawyers\neducated in English liberal ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n