Nationalism in India

1
Development of Indian Nationalism and Independence
2
Defining Nationalism and Causes of Nationalism in
India
3
Nationalism the loyalty to a group with whom
one shares a common history, culture, and/or
religion.
4
Nationalism is
1the desire to achieve political independence,
especially by a country under foreign control or
by a people with a separate identity and culture
but no state of their own 2proud loyalty and
devotion to a nation 3excessive or fanatical
devotion to a nation and its interests, often
associated with a belief that one country is
superior to all others.
5
Causes of Indian Nationalism

1. Discontent with British rule
2. India unified
3. Leadership
4. Common language
5. New print culture
6. Nationalist orgs.

6
Political Nationalism

• Desire for ? political freedoms
• suffrage
• ? Indians in government
• independence

7
Cultural Nationalism

• Development of Indian cultural identity
• Rewrite histories
• Hinduism
• math/sciences
• art

8
FACTORS ENABLING BRITAIN TO DOMINATE INDIA

• By 1763 Britain had driven its chief European
  rival, France, from India and Britain expanded .
• The British conquest was facilitated by India's
  backwardness and disunity.
• 1.      Military Inferiority.
• The Indians could not cope with the superior
  British military knowledge, training, and
  equipment.
• 2.      Many Languages.
• The people of India were divided linguistically
  among more than a dozen main languages and over
  200 dialects.
• Their many tongues reflected geographic and
  cultural separation.
• 3.      Religious Divisions.
• Majority religion was Hindu, 20 of the nation
  was Muslim
• Hindu and Muslims constantly were fighting each
  other

9
FACTORS ENABLING BRITAIN TO DOMINATE INDIA

• 4   Economic Control. Britain profited greatly
  from India, called the "brightest jewel of the
  British Empire."
• -   British manufacturers and workers depended
  upon India to purchase their textiles and
  machines.
• 5.  Social Control. The British had little
  respect for the native Indian culture,
  particularly the barbaric practices of
• slavery,
• suttee or sati(the Hindu custom of burning the
  widow on the funeral pyre of her deceased
  husband), and
• female infanticide (killing unwanted baby girls).
  

10
Beginnings of Indian Nationalism
11

• Nationalism in India began in the 1800s.
• Indians did not like being under British colonial
  rule because
• They were treated badly
• British got the best jobs
• British got the best education
• Indian craftsmen were not
• allowed to run traditional
• businesses because they
• would compete with
• British businesses.

12
First Indian Nationalists

• Were upper class
• Were English educated
• Many of them from urban areas like Bombay,
  Madras, and Calcutta
• Some were trained in British law
• Some were members of the civil service
• Many preferred reform to revolution

13
Beginnings of Indian Nationalism

• The new Indian middle classes slowly grew tired
  of the injustice of British rule
• The new nationalists wrote in both English and
  their regional languages and turned to aspects of
  Indian tradition, especially Hinduism, as a
  rallying ground for national pride
• Ignored or overlooked Muslim leaders

14
Indian Nationalism

• During the years of British rule, a class of
  western-educated Indians emerged who dreamed of
  ending imperial rule

In 1835, Thomas Macaulay articulated the goals of
British colonial imperialism most succinctly "We
must do our best to form a class who may be
interpreters between us and the millions whom we
govern, a class of persons Indian in blood and
colour, but English in taste, in opinions, words
and intellect." 
15
Preserving Indian Culture
16
Acts to Preserve Indian Culture

• Indian teachers, writers, and journalists wanted
  to preserve their own culture.
• In the early 1800s, when the British established
  a college in Calcutta, a publishing house was
  opened too.
• It published Western books, but also books on
  Indias ancient language of Sanskrit and
  dictionaries and grammar books for many of the
  Indian languages.
• This spread to other regions of India and led to
  writers searching for the Indian identity in
  modern novels and poetry.
• Indians began writing historical romances and
  epics and usually in their own regional language.

17
Example of Preserving Culture Tagore
18
Rabindranath Tagore

• Most illustrious Indian author---great writer and
  poet
• Was a social reformer, spiritual leader,
  educator, philosopher, and international
  spokesperson on morality
• His lifes mission was to promote pride in Indian
  culture in the face of British domination
• He wrote a widely popular novel in which he
  portrayed the love-hate relationship of Indians
  towards Britain.
• Reflected how Indian people struggled with
  defining their identity as they admired and
  imitated the British, but lost some of their
  Indian traditions
• Wanted world peace and a union of the East and
  West

19
Tagore

• Strove to have a balance between Western
  influence and ancient customs
• He was respected and followed by both British
  colonizers and Indians for his work
• Friend of Gandhi
• Preferred to stay out of politics

20
Rabindranath Tagore

• It is my conviction that my countrymen will
  truly gain their India by fighting against the
  education that teaches them that a country is
  greater than the ideals of humanity.

21
Tagore

• Bigotry tries to keep truth safe in its hand
  with a grip that kills it.

22
Preserving Indian Culture Another Example
---Nationalist Newspapers
23
Nationalist Newspapers

• Printed in various regional Indian languages
• Common medium used to arouse mass support for the
  nationalist causes
• The newspapers reached the lower middle
  class---tens of thousands of Indians who did not
  know English
• Examples
• Kesari or The Lion Newspaper---journalist Tilak
  used innuendo to convey negative feelings about
  the British without writing anything directly
  disloyal
• Swadeshamitram or The Friend of Our
  Nation---editor organized literary meetings to
  discuss poetry and politics

24
Ram Mohun Roy and Indian Nationalism
25
Combined Western and Indian Ideas

• Ram Mohun Roy combined both views and because of
  his influence, he is often hailed as the founder
  of Indian nationalism

This statue of Raja Rammohun Roy stands outside
Bristol Cathedral.
26
The Rise of Indian Nationalism

• Groups in India found British rule deeply
  disturbing
• Indian elites and middle classes lacked
  opportunities
• Indians had little power to influence decisions
  at higher levels of government

Initial requests of the Congress to British were
modest, such as more positions for Indians in the
ICS, and better representation on government
councils.
27
Nationalism Surfaces in India

• Calls for Reforms
• In 1800s, Ram Mohun Roy leads modernization
  movement
• Many Indians adopt western ways and call for
  social reforms
• Indians resent being second-class citizens in
  their own country.

28
Raja Ram Mohan Roy

• Sought to counter the criticisms of Hinduism made
  by the British missionaries
• Founded the Brahmo Samaj in 1828 as a new
  religion with Christian-style services.
• Encouraged Indians to be egalitarians----to move
  away from the caste system and accept that all
  people are equal
• Encouraged Indians to do more social services for
  the poor and to reject the belief that their
  suffering was okay due to karma and dharma

29
Ram Mohun Roy (1772-1833)

• well-educated Indian who began a campaign to
  modernize India
• he was opposed to Indias caste system (social
  class system that ties a person to the social
  class they are into for life based on Hindu
  beliefs)
• opposed to child marriages and widow suicides
• believed these practices needed to be changed if
  India wanted to be free from rule by outsiders

30
Ram Mohun Roy (1772-1833)

• other Indian writers picked up on Roys ideas and
  called for changes

• Indian resented being second-class citizens in
  their own country

• Indians were paid 20 times less than British

• Indians could not hold top jobs in government

31
Impact of Ram Roy Independence Organizations
Formed

• Muslim League
• Comprised of Middle Class professionals and
  lawyers educated in England
• Members Muslim
• Wanted independence for India and creation of 2
  countries India and Pakistan

• Indian National Congress
• Comprised of Middle Class professionals and
  lawyers educated in England
• Majority of members Hindu
• Wanted greater self-government for Indians in
  India

32
Indian National Congress
33
Indian National Congress (INC)

• Due to the slow pace of British reform in India,
  many of the nationalists became convinced that
  relying on British good will was a lost cause
• 1885---a small group of Indians met in Bombay and
  formed the Indian National Congress
• It did not immediately call for independence, but
  for a share in the governing process

34
Indian National Congress

• Had problems due to religious differences between
  Muslims and Hindus members
• INC sought independence for all Indians
  regardless of class or religions
• But its leaders were Hindus and not Muslims
• INC reflected more Hindu concerns

35
Indian National Congress 1885

• Made up of Hindus called for self-government

• upset that Britain segregated Bengal (Indian
  city) into Muslim section and Hindu section in
  1905

• INC led acts of violence against British in
  Bengal

• 1911 Britain changed the order of segregation

36
The Indian National Congress

• 1885 ? The Indian National Congress
  was founded in Bombay.
• swaraj ? independence. the goal of the
  movement.

37
Indian National Congress

• Goals Democracy, Local Self-Rule, Prevent mass
  peasant uprising (like China) by keeping power
  centered on middle class leaders.

38
Example for Indian National Congress Gandhi and
Jawaharlal Nehru
39
Mohandas Gandhi

• Studied law in England, practiced in South Africa
• Joined the INC before WWI
• Became leader of the INC because he was better
  able to relate to the problems of the common
  people
• Believed in the idea of non-violent resistance
  (Satyagraha)

40
Nehru

• Joined the INC in 1930s
• New kind of Indian politician---upper class and
  intellectual
• Differed from Gandhi who was more religious and
  traditional, while Nehru was secular, Western,
  and modern

41
Nehru

• Jawaharlal Nehru. Also a high-caste Hindu
  educated in Britain,
• - Nehru was a practical political leader with
  socialist leanings.
• -  He accepted Gandhi's ideas of passive
  resistance and aiding untouchables, but he
  rejected Gandhi's proposal for hand production.
• -  Instead, Nehru urged industrialization to
  develop India's economy and raise living
  standards.

42
Muslim League
43
The Muslim League

• 1905 ? partition of Bengal based on
  religions and languages.
• 1906 ? creation of the Muslim
  League.

44
Muslim League

• Strongest support came from Muslims who were
  frightened of Hindu domination
• But many Muslims were also members of the Indian
  National Congress too
• Initially the Muslim League focused on protesting
  Muslim rights and promoting understanding between
  the different religious groups
• There was no notion of creating a separate state
  for Muslims until the 1920s when the religious
  differences developed

45
Muslim League 1906

• Made up of Muslims

• also called for self-government

• also participated in acts of violence against
  British in India

• also upset about segregation of Bengal in1905

46
The Muslim League Forms

• Goals
• Protect the interests, liberties and rights of
  Muslims
• Promote an understanding between the Muslim
  community and other Indians - discourage
  violence.
• Educating the Muslim and Indian community at
  large on the actions of the government

47
Indian Nationalism Grows

• Indian National Congress (Hindus)/Muslim League
  (Muslims) Found Common Ground
• Both worked together towards Indian Independence

48
Example Mohammed Ali Jinnah and Muslim League
49
Muhammad Ali Jinnah

• Leader of the Muslim League who pushed for a
  separate country for Muslim Indians.

50
Muhammad Ali Jinnah

• A. Middle Class lawyer educated in Britain
• B. First supported Hindu-Muslim Unity called
  Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity
• C. Proposed Lucknow Pact

51
Muhammad Ali Jinnah

• D. Disagreement with Gandhi led to Muslim-
  Congress split
• E. Jinnah began to fear Hindu domination of
  Congress A Hindu Raj
• F. Began to support the idea for an independent
  Muslim homeland, Pakistan or land of the pure.

52
Mohammed Ali Jinnah

• was an Indian politician who successfully
  campaigned for an independent Pakistan and became
  its first leader.
• He is known as 'Quaid-I Azam' or 'Great Leader
• He joined the Indian National Congress, but left
  to fight for an independent Pakistan for the
  newly formed Muslim League.
• Jinnah had always believed that Hindu-Muslim
  unity was possible, but reluctantly came to the
  view that partition was necessary to safeguard
  the rights of Indian Muslims.
• Jinnah became the first governor general of
  Pakistan, but died of tuberculosis on 11
  September 1948
• .

53
Muhammed Ali Jinnah

• Became leader of the Muslim League
• Put forward his 14 Points in 1929 to try to make
  a compromise with the INC
• Some of the points were
• Muslim representation should not be less than 1/3
  in the legislative branch
• Representation of minorities should have separate
  electorates
• The Constitution should provide safeguards
• Protect the Muslim culture
• But the INC rejected these points and pushed for
  his exile

54
Impact of the Government of India Act

• Widened the gulf between the INC and the Muslim
  League
• In 1938, Jinnah met with Gandhi, Nehru, and other
  leaders of the INC and insisted that the INC
  recognize the Muslim League as the sole party of
  Indias Muslims
• Gandhi and the INC refused and the split between
  the two groups became permanent

55
Jinnah
56
Role of Gandhi
57
This political cartoon shows Gandhi putting all
of his focus on India while creating chaos in
India.
58
Message to the Masses

• According to Gandhi, what are his three goals to
  win independence from Great Britain?

1. Hindu-Muslim Unity
2. Must end untouchability
3. Must defy the British Not through violence
59
Influences on Gandhi
60
GANDHIS DOCTRINE (BELIEFS)
AHIMSA

• ______________ nonviolence reverence for all
  life
• CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE refusal to obey unjust laws

61
Gandhis Influences

• Hindu religion and Jainism ahimsa
• Christs teaching to love ones enemy
• Henry David Thoreaus philosophy of civil
  disobedience

62
Fusion of Hindu Traditions and Western Thought

• Followed Hindu religious
• practices (no meat) and
• beliefs (Polytheistic)
• Wore traditional Hindu
• clothes ________

HINDU
Dhoti
63
Fusion of Hindu Traditions and Western Thought
WESTERN

• _______________ _______________
• Fought for rights for
• untouchables
• Fought for womens rights

NATIONALISM
DEMOCRACY
64
Satyagraha
65
Mahatma Gandhi

• His strategy to gain Indias freedom was
  SATYAGRAHA or truth force---the application of
  righteous and moral force in politics
• What we now call Civil Disobedience
• It required non-violence based on Hindu
  principles and the belief in the ultimate
  goodness of the soul
• Requires a core group of self-sacrificing and
  disciplined activists
• To be successful, it must have widespread
  publicity that generates national concern and
  international pressure for change

66
Gandhis Ideas and Methods

• Satyagraha protesting without using violence in
  order to win the enemy over

67
Satyagraha

• As part of Satyagraha, a Sanskrit term translated
  as insistence upon truth, Gandhi promoted civil
  disobedience campaigns and organized a strike
  among Indian miners.
• The term "satyagraha" was coined and developed by
  Mahatma Gandhi.
• He deployed satyagraha in the Indian independence
  movement and also during his earlier struggles
  in South Africa for Indian rights.
• Satyagraha theory influenced Nelson Mandela's
  struggle in South Africa under apartheid, Martin
  Luther King, Jr.'s campaigns during the civil
  rights movement in the United States, and many
  other social justice and similar movements.
• Someone who practices satyagraha is a satyagrahi.

68
Gandhi and Nonviolence

• Gandhi named this power satyagraha (reality
  force or holding onto truth).
• Gandhi made use of every nonviolent technique
  imaginable.
• These techniques included marches, hunger
  strikes, and demonstrations.

69
Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948)

• Gandhi preached/practiced Civil Disobedience
• deliberate and public refusal to obey any unjust
  law
• rebellion without violence

• 1920 Indian National Congress officially adopts
  Gandhis policy as a means to push for
  independence

70
Gandhi

• Nonviolence is the first article of my faith.
  It is also the last article of my creed.

71
Instructions to Satyagrahis

• Harbor no anger, but suffer the anger of the
  opponent. Do not return assaults
• Do not submit to an order given in anger
• Refrain from insults and swearing
• Protect the opponents from insult or attack, even
  at the risk of life
• If taken prisoner, behave in an exemplary manner
• Obey the orders of the satyagraha leaders

72
Steps in a Satyagraha Campaign

• Negotiation and arbitration
• Preparation of the group for direct action
• Agitation
• Issuing an ultimatum
• Economic boycott and forms of strike
• Non-cooperation
• Civil Disobedience
• Usurping the functions of the government
• Parallel Government

73
Civil Disobedience

• Passive resistance is a method of securing
  rights by personal suffering it is the reverse
  of resistance by arms.For instance, the
  Government of the day has passed a law which is
  applicable to me. I do not like it. If by using
  violence I force the Government to repeal the
  law, I am employing what may be termed
  body-force. If I do not obey the law and accept
  the penalty for its breach, I use soul-force. It
  involves sacrifice of self.

74
Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948)

• Gandhis Plan for Civil Disobedience
• Refuse to buy British goods
• Refuse to attend British schools
• Refuse to pay British taxes
• Refuse to vote in elections
• Indians weave their own
• cloth (to put British textile factories
• out of business)

75
Impact of Rowlatt Acts and Amritsar Massacre on
Gandhi
76
Growing Unrest from the British Empire

• Indian nationalists demand freedom in 1919,
  hoping their cooperation from WWI would grant
  them freedom
• G.B. responded by limiting their freedom of
  press, furthermore General Dyer banned their
  rights to public gatherings after 5 British
  officials were killed

77
Unrest continued

• April 13th, 1919 the Amritsar Massacre
• 10,000 Indians gather for protest in northwestern
  India, General Dyer and his troops open fire
• 379 dead, 1100 wounded
• The incident increased violence from both sides
  and led to the distrust of G.B.

78
Amritsar Massacre 1919

• Peaceful demonstration against British
• Resulted in over 300 deaths
• Convinced Gandhi that cooperation with the
  British was impossible

79
Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948)

• Amritsar Massacre set the stage for Mohandas
  Gandhi to become leader of the Indian
  Independence Movement

80
Other Issues Gandhi Fought For
81
Gandhis Appeal to Masses

• He gained appeal by drawing on the rich heritage
  of India
• He gave up western ways and encouraged
  traditional Indian industries such as spinning
  cotton
• Gandhi dressed simply in white garments much like
  the Indias poor people
• He stressed morals and ways of life such as
  virtue, self-discipline, fasting, and being a
  vegetarian which are all values of devout Hindus
• Mahatma or Great Soul became his name
• The Mahatma wanted reforms for the lower castes
  and political power for Muslims

82
Equality for Caste and Women

• Gandhi fought to improve conditions for women and
  untouchables in India

83
Equality for Women

• At this time, ideas on womens participation in
  the nationalist movement grew out of commonly
  held cultural beliefs on the nature of Indian
  women as essentially self-sacrificing and thus
  ideally suited to non-violent protest.
• Emphasizing these feminine qualities and their
  role as mothers, specifically as mothers of the
  nation, empowered women to find places in the
  public arena of protest.
• Gandhi and other nationalist leaders believed
  women were specifically well-suited to spread a
  message of non-violence and to bear the hardships
  of protest.
• The emphasis on the essential nature of the
  Indian woman created a new place for women in
  public life, a new self-view, where women could
  become agents of change in public spaces.

84
Hindu Women as Freedom Fighters

• Sarojini Naidu, the Nightingale of India?
• Broke social taboos, had an intercaste marriage
• Gifted poetess and author, wrote a 4000 line
  Persian play when she was 14 yrs
• Injected humor in Indias freedom movement
  (called Gandhiji a mickey mouse and Nehru a
  handsome prince)
• Many other Hindu women fought for freedom, eg.
  Sucheta Kriplani, Kasturba Gandhi

85
Gandhi on Roles of Women

• I have suggested...that woman is the incarnation
  of ahimsa. Ahimsa means infinite love, which
  again means infinite capacity for suffering. Who
  but woman, the mother of man, shows this capacity
  in the largest measure? She shows it as she
  carries the infant and feeds it during nine
  months and derives joy in the suffering
  involved...Let her transfer that love to the
  whole of humanity...And she will occupy her proud
  position by the side of man as his mother, maker
  and silent leader. It is given her to teach the
  art of peace to the warring world thirsting for
  that nectar. She can become the leader in
  satyagraha which does not require the stout heart
  that comes from suffering and faith.

86
Gandhi and Ending Caste System
87
Gandhi and Ending the Caste System

• Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi
• Mahatma was from the Vaishya varna.
• Published magazines and advocated for the
  Untouchables.

• Other leaders that tried to end the caste system
  are
• Buddha
• Nehru

88

• 1934-Collecting money for Harijan Fund at
  Bhavnagar

89

• 1934 - With Harijan Children

90

• 1940 - At a Harijan Marriage in Sevagram

91

• 1944 - Collecting Money for Harijan Fund in Pune

92

• In 1933 Gandhi went on a fast for 21 days to
  draw attention to the treatment of the very
  poorest people in India, who he called The
  Children of God.

93
Hindu-Muslim Unity and Gandhi
94
Hindu-Muslim Unity

• Indian first, Muslim or Hindu second
• Gandhi often fasted to end Hindu-Muslim conflict

95

• No country has ever risen without being
  purified through the fire of suffering. Mother
  suffers so her child may live. The condition of
  wheat-growing is that the grain shall perish.
  Life comes out of death. Will India rise out of
  her slavery without fulfilling this eternal law
  of purification?
• --Mahatma Gandhi

96
1920-1922 First Satyagraha in India
97
Gandhis First Satyagraha

• 1919, Amritsar Massacre
• 1920, Gandhis first satyagraha. Designed to
  make the British rule in India non-functional
  through a complete non-violent boycott
• Many were jailed by the British
• Cancelled due to violence

98
Civil Disobedience

• 1922 Indian rioters attacked a police station and
  set officers on fire!

• Many British businesses went out of business in
  India

• British arrested Indians who protested and
  boycotted

99
British Reaction 1922

• As time passed they realized the threat that
  Gandhi posed.
• In March 1922 Gandhi was arrested and charged
  with sedition ( encouraging others to disobey the
  law).
• The case against Gandhi was clear cut. He
  himself had written about non-co-operation and
  the law.
• Non-co-operation aims at the overthrow of the
  government and is legally seditious (Gandhi,
  Young India 1922 )
• Gandhi pleaded guilty. The trial gave Gandhi the
  opportunity to publicize his views.
• In sentencing Gandhi, the judge admitted that he
  was a special case.
• Nevertheless, Gandhi was sentenced to six years
  prison! He did not serve the whole sentence.
• After two years he fell ill with appendicitis
  was operated upon- and was later released.
• The British did not wish Gandhi to die while he
  was in prison.