text
stringlengths 1
900
|
---|
often symbolised in a figure or image. This helps create an imagewith which people can identify the nation. It was in the twentieth |
century, with the growth of nationalism, that the identity of India |
came to be visually associated with the image of Bharat Mata. Theimage was first created by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. In the |
1870s he wrote ‘Vande Mataram’ as a hymn to the motherland. |
Later it was included in his novel Anandamath and widely sung during |
the Swadeshi movement in Bengal. Moved by the Swadeshi |
movement, Abanindranath Tagore painted his famous image of |
Bharat Mata (see Fig. 12). In this painting Bharat Mata is portrayedas an ascetic figure; she is calm, composed, divine and spiritual. |
In subsequent years, the image of Bharat Mata acquired many |
different forms, as it circulated in popular prints, and was paintedby different artists (see Fig. 14). Devotion to this mother figure came |
to be seen as evidence of one’s nationalism. |
Ideas of nationalism also developed through a movement to revive |
Indian folklore. In late-nineteenth-century India, nationalists began |
recording folk tales sung by bards and they toured villages to gather |
folk songs and legends. These tales, they believed, gave a true pictureof traditional culture that had been corrupted and damaged by |
outside forces. It was essential to preserve this folk tradition in |
order to discover one’s national identity and restore a sense of pridein one’s past. In Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore himself began collecting |
ballads, nursery rhymes and myths, and led the movement for folk |
Fig. 12 – Bharat Mata, Abanindranath Tagore, |
1905. |
Notice that the mother figure here is shown asdispensing learning, food and clothing. The mala |
in one hand emphasises her ascetic quality.Abanindranath Tagore, like Ravi Varma beforehim, tried to develop a style of painting thatcould be seen as truly Indian. |
Fig. 13 – Jawaharlal Nehru, a popular print. |
Nehru is here shown holding the image of Bharat Mata and the map of Indiaclose to his heart. In a lot of popular prints, nationalist leaders are shownoffering their heads to Bharat Mata. The idea of sacrifice for the mother waspowerful within popular imagination.India and the Contemporary World |
72‘In earlier times, foreign travellers in India marvelled at the courage, truthfulness and modesty of the people of the Arya |
vamsa ; now they remark mainly on the absence of those qualities. In those days Hindus would set out on conquest and |
hoist their flags in Tartar, China and other countries; now a few soldiers from a tiny island far away are lording it over the |
land of India.’ |
Tarinicharan Chattopadhyay, Bharatbarsher Itihas (The History of Bharatbarsh) , vol. 1, 1858.Source E |
Sourcerevival. In Madras, Natesa Sastri published a massive four-volume |
collection of Tamil folk tales, The Folklore of Southern India . He believed |
that folklore was national literature; it was ‘the most trustworthy |
manifestation of people’s real thoughts and characteristics’. |
As the national movement developed, nationalist leaders became |
more and more aware of such icons and symbols in unifying people |
and inspiring in them a feeling of nationalism. During the Swadeshi |
movement in Bengal, a tricolour flag (red, green and yellow) wasdesigned. It had eight lotuses representing eight provinces of British |
India, and a crescent moon, representing Hindus and Muslims. By |
1921, Gandhiji had designed the Swaraj flag. It was again a tricolour(red, green and white) and had a spinning wheel in the centre, |
representing the Gandhian ideal of self-help. Carrying the flag, |
holding it aloft, during marches became a symbol of defiance. |
Another means of creating a feeling of nationalism was through |
reinterpretation of history. By the end of the nineteenth century |
many Indians began feeling that to instill a sense of pride in thenation, Indian history had to be thought about differently. The British |
saw Indians as backward and primitive, incapable of governing |
themselves. In response, Indians began looking into the past todiscover India’s great achievements. They wrote about the glorious |
developments in ancient times when art and architecture, science |
and mathematics, religion and culture, law and philosophy, craftsand trade had flourished. This glorious time, in their view, was |
followed by a history of decline, when India was colonised. These |
nationalist histories urged the readers to take pride in India’s greatachievements in the past and struggle to change the miserable |
conditions of life under British rule. |
These efforts to unify people were not without problems. When the |
past being glorified was Hindu, when the images celebrated were |
drawn from Hindu iconography, then people of other communities |
felt left out. |
Fig. 14 – Bharat Mata. |
This figure of Bharat Mata is a contrast to the |
one painted by Abanindranath Tagore. Here sheis shown with a trishul , standing beside a lion |
and an elephant – both symbols of power andauthority. |
Look at Figs. 12 and 14. Do you think these |
images will appeal to all castes and communities? |
Explain your views briefly.Activity73 |
Nationalism in IndiaConclusion |
A growing anger against the colonial government was thus bringing |
together various groups and classes of Indians into a common struggle |
for freedom in the first half of the twentieth century. The Congress |
under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi tried to channel people’sgrievances into organised movements for independence. Through |
such movements the nationalists tried to forge a national unity. But |
as we have seen, diverse groups and classes participated in thesemovements with varied aspirations and expectations. As their |
grievances were wide-ranging, freedom from colonial rule also meant |
different things to different people. The Congress continuouslyattempted to resolve differences, and ensure that the demands of |
one group did not alienate another. This is precisely why the unity |
within the movement often broke down. The high points ofCongress activity and nationalist unity were followed by phases of |
disunity and inner conflict between groups. |
In other words, what was emerging was a nation with many voices |
wanting freedom from colonial rule.India and the Contemporary World |
74Discuss |
Project1. List all the different social groups which joined the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1921. |
Then choose any three and write about their hopes and struggles to show why they |
joined the movement. |
2. Discuss the Salt March to make clear why it was an effective symbol of resistance |
against colonialism. |
3. Imagine you are a woman participating in the Civil Disobedience Movement. Explain |
what the experience meant to your life. |
4. Why did political leaders differ sharply over the question of separate electorates? |
Find out about the anti-colonial movement in Kenya. Compare and contrast India’s nationalmovement with the ways in which Kenya became independent. |
DiscussWrite in brief |
1. Explain: |
a) Why growth of nationalism in the colonies is linked to an anti-colonial movement.b) How the First World War helped in the growth of the National Movement in India. |
c) Why Indians were outraged by the Rowlatt Act. |
d) Why Gandhiji decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement. |
2. What is meant by the idea of satyagraha? |
3. Write a newspaper report on: |
a) The Jallianwala Bagh massacre |
b) The Simon Commission |
4. Compare the images of Bharat Mata in this chapter with the image of Germania |
in Chapter 1. |
Write in brief |
Project 1 The Pre-modern World |
When we talk of ‘globalisation’ we often refer to an economic |