The British ruled India to promote their own
interests. In doing so they often subordinate Indian welfare to British gain.
The Indians realized gradually that their interests were being sacrificed to
those of British interests. This clash of interests was the root cause of the
rise of the nationalist movement. Eventually the peasants, the artisans and the
workers discovered that they had no political rights and virtually nothing was being
done for their intellectual and cultural development. The educated Indians discovered
that economic exploitation by Britain
was only increasing India’s
poverty. Thus the anti-imperialist movement gradually arose and developed in India.
Nationalist sentiments grew up among the
general people on account of the following major factors. And it did not take
even much time. The factors were as follows.
The British Imperialist Policy
After the Revolt of 1857 the British Government
followed a policy of Divide and Rule.
First, it seeks the support of the Zamindars, rulers
of Princely states and other conservative sections of Indian society. The
English educated class considered itself the true representative of the Indian
people. It, therefore, wanted more representation in the Legislative Councils
and the same rights in public that the British nationals enjoyed in public
services. The British rulers regarded India as a British colony. They
wished to reserve the right of administration for themselves. Ripon wanted the
educated class to support British rule in India while Lytton sought the
support of the conservative elements in society. Thus the imperialist policy of
the government based on the principle of
`Divide and Rule` of Indians led to the rise of
anti-imperialist feelings in India.
English Education
Educated young men who know English were
informed about the struggle of the people of Italy,
and Greece
against foreign domination in their countries. They got inspiration from the
revolutions in France and America. When a
uniform system of education was introduced in India it helped to evolve a common
goal and uniform approach to the political leaders of the different regions.
Although the English educated class was a minority of the whole population of India but its
influence and leadership could mould public opinion as the newspapers,
educational institutions and the advocates of the legal courts were all greatly
influenced by the opinion of this group. English education up to the end of the
19th century was confined to the upper and middle classes of society. Their views
had become popular. Thus English education helped in lessening the traditional obstacles
in the progress of the country. Patriotism and the feeling for liberty were not
the gifts of English education. They pervaded the whole country even before
English education was introduced. But English education helped evolving a new
direction in the form of establishing a parliamentary form of government, which
had been in existence in England
long before its introduction in India.
The Press
The newspapers contributed a good deal to the
awakening of national consciousness in
India. After the Revolt of 1857 the government tried
to control the newspapers. The government prepared a `Report on Native
Newspapers`. But the number of newspapers continued to increase and they became
a very good medium of spreading ideas about political rights among the common
people. Both in Bengal and Maharashtra these newspapers
criticized the government policies. The government tried to put restrictions on
these newspapers as they brought various problems such as injustice of the administration,
racial discrimination, economic exploitation of Indians, etc. to the notice of
the people. They expressed the opinion that the British rule in India was
resulting in the moral, economic and intellectual degeneration of Indians. In
1878 Lytton got
Vernacular Press Act passed to check the
growing criticism of government measures. But the press and the newspapers
became more active after 1878 and the people protested against this measure by
organizing meetings and submitting memoranda to the government and the members
of British Parliament.
Literature
Nationalist literature in the form of novels,
essays and patriotic poetry also played an important role in arousing national
consciousness. For example, the novel Ananda math by Bankim Chandra Chatterji
was a source of great inspiration to all the nationalist leaders. The national
song `Vandematram` was a great awakening for the society. Other prominent
nationalist writers of the period were Rabindranath Tagore in Bengali, Vishnu Shastri
Chiplukar in Marathi, Subramanya Bharati in Tamil, and Baratendu Harish Chandra
in Hindi.
Political Associations
As early as 1830 the Zamindars of Bengal
organized themselves into a Landholder`s Society. They protested against the
Act that empowered government to take in its possession all rent-free lands.
Soon after, three political associations namely British
Indian Association in Calcutta
(1851) Madras Native Association in Madras (1852) and
Bombay Association in Bombay (1852) were established. These
associations submitted memoranda to the government on contemporary political
problems. But the government did not accept any of the suggestions of these
Associations. In 1876 Surendranath
Banerjee and Anand Mohan Bose organized the
Indian Association. In Western India
Poona Sarvajanik Sabha was organized in 1870.
It contributed a good deal in creating national consciousness among the people
in Maharashtra. As early as 1866 the East India
Association was organized in London. It tried to let the people of England and the
members of British Parliament know about the problems of Indians.
Poverty of India
All the farmers, artisans, craftsmen and later
the factory workers were reduced to poverty on account of the economic policies
of the British Government in India.
Dadabhai Naoraji proved how British Rule had resulted in the `Drain of Wealth`
from India
to
Britain and according to him this was the real cause
of poverty of India.
It was the result of Free Trade Policy followed by the British Government that
failed to prove the interest
Of Indian artisans and craftsmen.
