causes for the growth of nationalism in INdia The most significant feature of the Indian History during the second half of nineteenth century was the growth of nationalism. For d ifferent factors the sense nationalism develops among the people and in 1885 the Indian National Congress was estalished. The Indian National Congress fought for the freedom of the country and India achieved her independence on !ugust 15th 1"#$. %ifferent factors contriuted to the growth o f Indian Nationalism. Political Unification of the Country:
The growth of the sense of unity among the people was the most important factor& responsile for the growth of Nationalism in India. The 'ritishers con(uered the whole of the Indian sucontinent during the period from 1$5$ to 185$. India achieved her political and administrative unity under the 'ritish rule. The feeling of one nation and one country was strengthened due to the improvement in the means of communication and the introduction of railways. )eople of one part could come in contact with the people of the other part of the country. Introduction of Western Education:
In 18*5 +ord 'entinc, on the asis of the recommendation of +ord -acaulay made nglish the medium of higher education in India. The Indian people thus could cou ld read the writings of the western political thin,er li,e 'ur,e& +oc,e& -ill& /ousseau and 0oltaire. 0oltaire. They could ,now aout Nationalism& democracy and selfgovernment. They could also ,now aout the 2nification of Italy and 3ermany. 4o they were encouraged to fight for the lieration of their own country. Revival of glorious tradition of India:
The uropean scholars li,e illiam 6ones. -a7muller and Indian scholars li,e 'handar,ar and Haraprasad 4astri made the Indian people aware of their glorious cultural tradition. illiam 6ones estalished estalished the !siatic 4ociety of 'engal to carry on research on ancient Indian culture. The Indian people developed a feeling of pride in their past and faith in future ,nowing their glorious cultural heritage. Socio-Religious Movements:
The religious and social reformers li,e /aa /ammohan /oy. 4wami %ayananda 4araswati and /am,rushna )aramahansa and 4wami 0ive,ananda tried to reform Hindu society and religion. They also presented efore the people the glorious tradition of India9s past %ayananda 4araswti the founder of !rya 4ama was the first man to proclaim India for the Indians. He also laid emphasis on 4waraya& 4wahasa 4 wahasa and 4wadharma. 4wami 0ive,ananda proclaimed to the world that Hinduism is one of most ancient religions of the the world. 0ive,ananda presented efore the people the value of the vedic culture and philosophy. He taught self confidence to the young people.
Indian Press and Vernacular iterature:
The Indian )ress and vernacular literature aroused national consciousness among the people. The 'engal triune Indian -irror and the :eshan played the important role in arousing national feeling among the people. !nandamath of 'an,im Chandra ecame the 'ile of 'engali nationalism. Racial !iscrimination:
The nglish followed the policy of racial discrimination. !ll highposts were monopolised y the uropean. +ord +ytton passed the 0ernacular )ress !ct and suppressed the lierty of the 0ernacular press and newspapers. There was famine in some provinces of estern and 4outhern India. The condition of people was (uite miserale. The 3overnment remained indifferent towards the sufferings of the people +ord +ytton orginised the famous %elhi %urar to declare ;ueen 0ictoria as the mpress of India. This produced wide spread discontentment among the people. Policy of Economic E"#loitation:
ngland followed the )olicy of conomic 7ploitation. No attempt was made for the economic improvement of the Indians. !ll rawmaterials of industries were sent form India to ngland. The 'ritish goods w ere sold in India and this led to the decline of the handicraft. The free trade policy of the 'ritish 3overnment was not favourale to India. Cottage industries in India also declined. !ove all the 'ritish officers who were wor,ing in India were a heavy drain on the Indian treasury. The land revenue policy of the 3overnment was also not favourale to the peasants. !ll these factors created political consciousness among the people and finally in %ecemer 1885 the Indian National Congress was estalished ecause of the initiative !.<. Hume. !iscrimination against Indians in the $##ointment to %overnment Services:
From the eginning& there was much discrimination shown in respect of appointment of Indians to the government services. No Indian was given high positions. The 'ritish did not trust the Indians and their sincerity. The )roclamation of ;ueen 0ictoria in 1858 declared that Indians& henceforward& would e appointed to high posts on the asis of their merit irrespective of their caste& religion& or race. 'ut this policy was not properly implemented. The policy of discrimination& aritrary& and unust policy of the 3overnment created a great discontent and unrest among the educated people of India. They started ta,ing active part in the national movement with the aim of driving away the 'ritish altogether from India. Racial &ealousies:
%uring the mutiny& the relations of the uropeans and the Indians were greatly emittered. -any 'ritishers were ,illed in the -utiny. 4o& the 'ritishers were full o f vengeance. The helpless and the innocent Indians ecame the victims of their vengeance.
The nglish ,illed their prisoners without trial and in a mann er held y all Indians to e the height of ararity. 4ome villages were mar,ed out for destruction and all the men inhaiting there were slaughtered and indiscriminate urning of inhaitants occurred wherever the nglish armies moved. 4uch of atrocities aroused discontent and unrest among the people of India. Though the mutiny was suppressed for the time eing& they were not ale to suppress the feelings of nationalism among the people of India. Indians were prevented from travelling in the upper class railway compartment. ven the ruling chiefs were ullied into unlacing the oots shampooing the weary legs of the 4ahis ust ac, from hunting e7peditions. The administration of criminal ustice was also scandalous. 'he Events of the Reign of ord ytton:
The period from 18$= to 188# was e7tremely tumultuous and was seen as the eginning time of Indian nationalism. The several acts of omission and commission in the time of +ord +ytton accelerated the nationalist movement. +ord +ytton held his famous %elhi %arar in 18$$ at a time when the people of 4outh India were suffering from the effects of terrile famine. -ost of the import duties on 'ritish te7tile imports were removed to please the te7tile manufacturers of ngland. Indians interpreted the action as proof of the 'ritish desire to ruin small ut growing te7tile industry of India. In 18$8& the !rms !ct was passed& which disarmed the Indians. It appeared that it was an attempt y the government to wea,en the whole nation. The second !fghan ar cost the Indian treasury a lot. +ytton passed the 0ernacular )ress !ct in 18$8. The people elonging to all wal,s of life condemned the discriminatory provisions of the !ct. It has een pointed out that the !ct was a retrograde and ill conceived measure inurious to the future progress of India. !t the same time in 18$8& the government announced new regulations reducing the ma7imum age limit for sitting in the Indian Civil 4ervice 7amination from >1 years to 1". !ll these measures created a widespread discontentment among the Indians. !nti Indian administration of +ord +ytton helped to intensify discontent against foreign rule. Il(ert )ill Controversy:
%uring the viceroyalty of +ord /ippon& a controversy arose concerning the Ilert 'ill. /ippon tried to pass a law to enale the Indian district magistrates and sessions udges to try the uropeans in criminal cases. The uropeans in India organi?ed a vehement agitation against the ill& which was drafted y Ilert& the law memer of /ippons government. They poured auses on Indians. +ord /ippon ecame the target of agitation. The uropeans declared that even the most highly educated among the Indians were unfit to try the uropeans. In the end& the government owed efore the uropeans. The Indians ecame conscious of the degradation to which foreign rule had reduced them. It increased racial itterness& and led to the growth of national discontent.
