DC-1

SEM-2

Paper: Nationalism in

Lesson: Beginning of constitutionalism in India

Lesson Developer: Anushka Singh

Research scholar,

Political Science, University of

1 Institute of Lifelog learning, University of Delhi

Content:

 Introducing the chapter  What is the idea of constitutionalism  A brief history of the idea in the West and its introduction in the colony  The early nationalists and Indian Councils Act of 1861 and 1892  More promises and fewer deliveries: Government of India Acts, 1909 and 1919  Post 1919 developments and India’s first attempt at constitution writing  Government of India Act 1935 and the building blocks to a future constitution  The road leading to the transfer of power  The theory of constitutionalism at work  Conclusion

2 Institute of Lifelog learning, University of Delhi

Introduction:

The idea of constitutionalism is part of the basic idea of liberalism based on the notion of individual’s right to liberty. Along with other liberal notions,constitutionalism also travelled to India through British colonialism. However, on the one hand, the ideology of liberalism guaranteed the liberal rightsbut one the other hand it denied the same basic right to the colony. The justification to why an advanced liberal nation like England must colonize the ‘not yet’ liberal nation like India was also found within the ideology of liberalism itself. The rationale was that British colonialism in India was like a ‘civilization mission’ to train the colony how to tread the path of liberty.1

However, soon the English educated Indian intellectual class realised the gap between the claim that British Rule made and the oppressive and exploitative reality of colonialism.Consequently,there started the movement towards autonomy and self-governance by Indians. It is within the discourse of this movement that the idea of constitutionalism got

1 To read about this argument in detail, see Partha Chaterjee’s idea of the ‘colonial difference’ in his book The Nation and its Fragments.

3 Institute of Lifelog learning, University of Delhi

shaped and started realizing itself in form of various constitutional reform measures under British rule. These measures were a consequence of demands made by the nationalists ultimately resulting in the Indian Independence Act and transfer of power.

This chapter is an attempt to engage with the doctrine of constitutionalism as it originated in the West and particularly England and how it travelled to India and the changes it underwent. While tracing a history of constitutionalism, this chapter would engage with a series of constitutional reforms that the colonial government introduced and the response of the Indians to those reforms. The chapter begins with defining constitutionalism as an idea and in the second section goes on to discuss how it travelled from England to India. From the third section onwards, the analysis of constitutional measures undertaken by British government begins starting from Queen’s Proclamation to Indian Councils Act of 1861 and 1892. This is followed by a study of the 1909 and the 1919 Acts. All this is coincided with some observations on the nationalist movement in the corresponding period and their interactions with these reform measures. The next section discusses the rights based movement critical of repressive laws of the British government and the as the first experience of Indian s at constitution writing. The next two sections discuss the 1935 Act, its shortcomings and the gradual process leading up to the transfer of power. The lastsection is specifically on how the Constituent assembly was constituted and what it meant for the doctrine of constitutionalism.

The purpose to study these constitutional reforms is to see how gradually the scheme of constitutional government and structure was introduced in India and the values it represented. Equally important is the task to see how the constitutional structure that colonial government represented negated the very constitutional values that it was founded upon.

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Constitution, in ageneric sense would mean a set of rules and regulations that would prefigure how a society ought to be governed. In that sense, constitutions are binding, they bind the people but they also bind the governments and the states. The state and the government are also bound to act in accordance with the constitution. Hence, the general accepted understanding of having a constitution is that it restricts the exercise of power. They provide for those basic rules that would prevent the state from being tyrannical.2This is exactly what is meant by the doctrine of constitutionalism.

This picture is of one of the processions demanding independence, symbolizes the idea of people behind any understanding of constitutionalism.

What is the idea of constitutionalism?

2Rajeev Bhargava, 2008, Outline of a Political Theory of the Indian Constitution, in Rajeev Bhargava ed,Ethics and Politics of the Indian Constitution, : Oxford University Press, p. 14

5 Institute of Lifelog learning, University of Delhi

In the most general sense, constitutionalism refers to an overarching frame of authoritative values according to which a society should be governed, a frame that defines the ambit of legality in any society. It is ‘a set of rules of a higher order with reference to which law is identified’3. A constitution, in this sense consists of set of rules defining the limits of governmental power and authority as it maps the contours within which government and its organs need to function. The implication of this view entails prefiguration of how the society ought to be governed where the reference point stands to be the binding constitution. Hence in the most nonspecific sense, constitutionalism means governance as per the constitution. However, the basic idea of constitutionalism means the idea of a limited government. Governance as per the constitution is one of the ways in which the idea of a limited government can be ensured.

Although this idea of constitutionalism was intrinsic to pre-modern times particularly in Ancient Greece4, but with the coming of modernity with the development of the apparatus of the modern nation-state, things began to change. The modern nation-state on the one hand claimed monopoly over coercion on the other hand; its development alongside the social system of capitalism was paved way through a struggle for liberal ideas protecting rights and liberties of people against the arbitrary use of power by state. Constitutionalism as a doctrine owes its development to the notion of individual rights as a distinguishing feature of modern world as oppose to pre-modern5. If constitutionalism as a frame in pre-modern times served as a source of structuring society through prescribed rules

3 Pratap Bhanu Mehta, 2002, The Inner Conflict of Constitutionalism: Judicial Review and the ‘Basic Structure’, in Zoya Hasan, E Sridharan, R Sudarshan eds,. India’s living Constitution. New Delhi: Permanent Black

4An example is Solon who wanted his constitution to be abided by in totality for ten years.

5 Carl. Friedrich, 1966, The Development of Modern Constitutional Government in Theory and Practice, in Constitutional Government and Democracy. Calcutta, Bombay, New Delhi: Oxford and IBH Publishing Co.

6 Institute of Lifelog learning, University of Delhi

and regulations defined in the language of legality, then constitutionalism in modern times essentially came to embody the idea of check. In this notion of check, constitution was to act as fixed frame in accordance with which the state power had to be exercised.

A brief history of the idea in the West and its introduction in the colony:

The fixed frame of the constitution believed in the idea of the present generation writing the constitution for generations to follow; it was the idea of pre-commitment by the future to the document being legislated by the present. England, which had an unwritten constitution also fitted into this frame very well. British constitutionalism has relied from time to time on written documents like the Magna Carter, Habeas Corpus Act of 1679, Bill of rights, etc.6 which is to say Britain has a constitution which is written in parts. The idea of these documents serving as reference points for future actions brought in the idea of an inherited constitutional framework. Such developments took place in the colonized India as well to mark out the beginning of constitutionalism.

However, the legal documents and particularly the constitution as the only source of governance, gives an incomplete idea of constitutionalism. Constitutionalism meant the ‘check’ on the exercise of arbitrary state power ensuring the idea of limited government. Within this framework then, the written legal documents are not the only ways of keeping the government in check and making it responsible to people but there are also the notions of rights of the people that act as checks on the government. It is this idea of constitutionalism that became prominent in the wake of national movement in India demanding a responsible, accountable government.

6 G. Sartori, 1962, Constitutionalism: a Preliminary Discussion,American Political Science Review, Vol. 56, pp. 853-864. 7 Institute of Lifelog learning, University of Delhi

The debates on constitutionalism vividly discussed law as not the only check on government, in fact the right to free speech and expression would serve as a bigger check that citizens can exercise to ensure their rights. Constitutionalism understood as theory and practice of substantive and procedural curbs on government dates back to the western liberal philosophies of Locke, Hume, and Rousseau.7

Based on an understanding of such philosophies that the Indian elite class gathered from the British provided English education, constitutionalism came to be understood as a frame of ensuring democracy. It was about defining rights, placing limits on powers of the British state which must include people’s participation.It then stood for rights of the Indians, rule of law, equality, representative and accountable government, separation of power, etc. And it was more than evident that under the British colonial rule, Indians were being denied the values of constitutionalism on which the British government claimed to govern.

As the idea of constitutionalism in India began to take shape in the wake of anti-colonial struggle since the late 19th century, it majorly took form of the politics of constitutional means. It has to be constantly kept in mind that the reforms and other administrative measures that British introduced in India were always meant to consolidate their rule over India. The Revolt of 1857 had already proved that continuation of British rule in India would require some concessions to the Indians in form of reform measures being demanded. Nevertheless, the manner in which the politics of constitutional reform unfolded, it did gradually introduce in India the modern constitutional state which was to become the constitutional democratic state post-independence.

7Sanjay Palshikar, 2008,Democracy and Constitutionalism, in Rajeev Bhargava ed,Ethics and Politics of the Indian Constitution, New Delhi: Oxford University Press

8 Institute of Lifelog learning, University of Delhi

The early nationalists and Indian Councils Act of 1861 and 1892:

Any analysis of how constitutional politics was introduced in India would have to go back to the Queen’s Proclamation of 1858 when the British Queen took over the complete administration of India from the . The Proclamation was in form of a promise by the Queen to her subjects in India that they would be granted a status of equality with other subjects within the . Slowly the idea of rights, equality, were being introduced in theory, however, they were denied in practice. This proclamation resulted in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 which extended the councils of Governor General and the Governors to include some Indians through nomination. Though it only meant that some Maharajas and landlords would be selected, it was still considered an attempt at bringing in minimum representation.

The earliest of constitutional reforms coincided with the first phase of national movement, the phase of liberal moderates. Their method was that of petitions and moderate appeals to the British for gradual legislative reforms. People like , , etc. after the formation of started putting pressures on the government for expansion of Legislative Councils to make it more representative of the Indians. Their demand resulted in the amendment to the 1861 Act in form of the Indian Council Act 1892. This Act increased the number of Indians in the Legislative Councils as well as the Provincial councils. It also revised the system of nomination; now some of the nominated Indian members were elected by an electorate, though the nature of the electorate remained extremely restricted.

Both these Acts left the Indian nationalists highly dissatisfied and the movement for better legislative reforms became stronger. This also concurred with the demand for some form of control of Indians over money collected from taxation. Along the lines of American War of

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Independence they also upraised the slogan of ‘No Taxation without Representation’8.

Expansion of the legislature was not the only demand made during this time. The moderates also demanded reform in the administrative structure. It is important to reiterate at this point that constitutionalism being the idea of a government that is limited in power did not just mean that more people are represented at the level of legislation. A representative executive was as much a realization of the ideals of constitutionalism as was a more representative legislature. The demand came in form of the critique of a completely ‘White dominated’ administrative services. Hence, the moderates, also known as liberal constitutionalists, asked for Indianization of administrative services.

There was also a strong demand for separation of powers, their rationale was that the arbitrary power of the state increases because of the conflation of the judicial and executive powers. This arguments lies at the heart of the values that constitutionalism embodies. To ensure that tyrannical power is restricted, power must be divided.

The moderate style of politics was instrumental in introducing ways of politics in congruence with the ideals of constitutionalism. They brought in the idea of constitutional agitation, the notion of public opinion, meetings, resolutions and the defence of freedom of speech and expression.

However, the demands remained confined within these ambits and there was at this stage no articulated demand for popular representation. The moderate style of politics was serving to be too plodding to serve the need of the hour and the support base among masses remained limited.This phase witnessed the rising of many constitutional demands but very few among them were actually met by the British. Nevertheless,

8 See Bipan Chandra, Amales Tripathi and Barun De, 2005 (re print), Freedom Struggle, NBT: New Delhi, p.64. 10 Institute of Lifelog learning, University of Delhi

the demands that had been enunciated were to shape up the politics at the turn of the century.

More promises and fewer deliveries: Government of India Acts, 1909 and 1919:

The beginning of the 20th century had the political configurations change. While the Moderate phase of nationalism was slowly being belittled and the extremists were on rise, in England, the Liberals were in power and Lord Morley, an eminent liberal thinker was the Secretary of the State. Such were the political equations that the liberal nationalists in India were expecting some concession from the British.9 In the wake of all this, The Indian Councils Act 1909, popularly called the Morley-Minto Reform was announced.

The nationalist historiography’s reading of the Morley-Minto Reforms is that it was part of the British policy of ‘Divide and Rule’ because for the first time it introduced the idea of separate electorates for the Muslims. However, this is only one of the theories, though the most popular one. Other readings also say that the Liberal leadership in England was instrumental in getting this Act passed and also that the extremist style of politics had already become popular by then and some reforms bending towards some kind of direct representation of Indiansin legislation process was now the need of the hour to prevent them from revolting.

Whatever may be the accepted theory about introduction of 1909 Reforms, from the vantage point of the notion of constitutionalism, this Act for the first time officially established the system of elections at the levels of Legislative Council and provincial councils.Simultaneously, the system of separate electorates was established at these levels. However,

9 For a discussion on the impact of political leadership of England on constitutional reforms in India, see Sumit Sarkar, 1983, Modern India (1885-1947), New Delhi: Macmillan, pp. 137-140. 11 Institute of Lifelog learning, University of Delhi

the system of separate electorate was not introduced for the first time in India. In 1883, under the Ripon Reforms, separate electorates were introduced at the level of local self-governance. But this time it was at national level allowing for separate representation for Muslim community. It meant that only Muslims can vote for candidates on seats reserved for Muslim candidates.

As part of the provision of the Act, an Indian member was to be appointed at the Governor General’s Executive Council and at all provincial executive councils. Two Indians were to be nominated to the Council of the Secretary of State for Indian Affairs. The Secretary of the State could if willing, increase the number of Executive Councils of Madras and Bombay from 2 to 4.

The number of seats at the Legislative Council was increased to 60 but out of that only 27 members were to be elected by a restricted electorate. There were mainly three types of electorates for the Central Legislative Council: general, class and special. The general electorate consisted of non-official members of the provincial legislative councils. The class electorate consisted of Muslims and landlords. The special electorate consisted of Universities and Chamber of Commerce. The seats at the provincial legislative councils were also increased.

The Act of 1909 allowed more powers to Indian members over discussion on budget. They could put up questions, ask supplementary questions during legislative proceedings and sponsor resolutions to members of Legislative Council and suggest amendments. These were some of those few features of the Act that can be considered a step ahead in the constitutional direction. It did mean some sort of a representative and inclusive government however, not much was achieved through the highly restrictive provisions of this Act.

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Features that actually meant a negation of values of constitutionalism were present in majority in this Act. Women got no votes and though discussion and voting was allowed on separate sub parts of the budget, same was not allowed on the whole of the budget. Only those members could ask a supplementary question who had already asked a question. Areas such as Army, Native States, etc. were not allowed to be debated by Indian members and they could not pass a resolution on these. The most arbitrary feature of this Act was that it empowered the Governor General to exclude any member for reasons he best knew.

The Reform proved to be a failure. It was beingvisualized in form of a liberal promise from British government but it turned out to be a complete farce in the name of reforms. It created communal electorates and gave weightage to corporate and sectional interests dependent upon wealth and power. denounced the reforms saying ‘Morley’s long promised reforms have been published…they are…just the opposite of reforms’.10The extremists critiqued the effort of any constitutional reform without having a wider franchise base and territorial representation.

Nonetheless in limited ways, these constitutional reforms were slowly entrenching a new way of doing politics. It signified a relationship between the government and the people where people affirmed that they have a right to demand from the government and the government will have to sooner or later pay heed. This was how progressively constitutionalism was finding roots in India.

The failure of the 1909 Act had to be soon revised as it was unsuccessful in both its task: to appease the moderates and to create Hindu-Muslim political diversions. Hence the revision came in form of the Government of

10Ravinder Kumar and D N Panigrahi ed, 1982, Introduction, in Selected Works of Motilal Nehru, Vol. I, 1899-1918, New Delhi: Vikas Publications.

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India Act 1919. The world scenario was undergoing sea change during this period. Britain was involved in the First Great War and its brunt was being borne by the Indian exchequers. On the other hand, Gandhi had emerged as a leader of the massesand Indian national movement was entering a completely new domain of mass movement. In the wake of all this, the 1919 reforms came as another effort by the British to placate the Moderates and distance the Extremists from the scene.

On the face of it, the Montagu-Chelmsford Reform, popularly termed the Montford Reform was a constitutional breakthrough. Till now, the justification of all the previous reforms had been instituting some form of a representative government in India by allowing some Indian members to be a part of various councils. However, there had been no concept of a responsible government. It meant that the elected legislators had no control over the executive. The Montford reforms for the first time, tried to address the issue of responsible government, another crucial feature of constitutionalism. This was ensured through Dyarchy. Under Dyarchy, provincial subjects were divided into two lists: reserved and transferred. The reserved list had important subjects like Finance, Revenue, Jails, etc. which were under only the Governor General and his Executive Council. But the transferred list had subjects like education, health, sanitation, industries, etc. These subjects were transferred to certain ministers who were made responsible to provincial legislative councils. It meant that certain ministers were made responsible to the provincial legislatures which had Indian members on matters appearing in the transferred list.11This may have been the minimum guarantee to ensure responsible government; nevertheless, it was a first.

The reform for the first time provided for a system of general elections and the elected government at provincial level could now administer the

11 Sumit Sarkar, 1983, Modern India (1885-1947), New Delhi: Macmillan, p. 166. 14 Institute of Lifelog learning, University of Delhi

transferred subjects. Theoretically, this Act tried to address another vital constitutional doctrine, the idea of devolution of power.It meant that power was to be divided between Centre and provinces. Those subjects that were of provincial importance were now transferred to provinces. The provinces could now run the administration through revenues collected by provinces themselves.However this should not be confused with any kind of a federal arrangement. The powers were not transferred to provinces to solely control the transferred list. The Central Legislative Council retained the power to legislate for the whole of India. Also the departments transferred to the provinces were of far less political weightage. A new feature for Indian legislative politics was introduction of bicameral legislature at the Central Legislative Council. Though it did not mean much at that time, in future it was to define the legislative structure of India.

In theory the 1919 Reforms critiqued the communal electorate model of its predecessor but in practice, it largely retained the system. In fact on popular demand, to appease a section of the population it extended the reserved electorate for non- in Madras.

The Montford reforms were a reluctant move to introduced limited responsible government in India. However, in practice it guaranteed next to nothing. Most parties rejected it and demands were made for better reform proposal. In reaction however, the British legal regime became more repressive withCriminal Law Amendment Act providing for indefinite detention on mere grounds of suspension, etc. It was quite evident that the on the one hand, the British governance structure was showcasing what it meant to be a constitutional government in theory through gradual introduction of reform measures and the political values they claimed to represent. But on the other hand, more blatantly, the farce provisions of these measures accompanied with more repressive laws and restriction of civil liberties highlighted how a constitutional government 15 Institute of Lifelog learning, University of Delhi

makes a mockery of values of constitutionalism itself. Nevertheless, it is pointless to hold that the British rule in India was a constitutional rule. It was an unconcealed oppressive colonial rule which tried to unsuccessfully garb itself under liberal constitutional justifications. By then these garbs had been uncovered. Nonetheless, the learnings for the Indian freedom movement were greater. While it was being introduced,though in a limited way, what was constitutional government in theory, it was also being exposed what must not be a constitutional government.

Post 1919 developments and India’s first attempt at constitution writing:

The task of tracing a history of the development of constitutionalism in Indiadoes not mean a study of only the legal constitutional reforms. The idea is to see the demands of the people for constitutional measures and the British government’s reform proposals and Acts, in reaction to each other. The true spirit of constitutionalism, the idea of a limited government was represented in the very fact that people were becoming aware of their rights, the oppression on them and were gradually coming to demand the right to self-government. From this vantage point, the protest and boycott by the Indians of the farce reform provisions and other repressive colonial laws was as much a part of the realization of the doctrine of constitutionalism. In this regard, the opposition to , introduced in 1919, comes foremost.

The investigated and reported on the nature and extent of the criminal conspiracies connected with the revolutionary movement in India, and to devise legislations necessary to ‘deal’ with them. The result was the Rowlatt Act. It authorized the government with arbitrary powers of detention upto two years without trial on the mere ground of suspension. It also provided for more stringent methods of restriction over freedom ofpress, arrests without warrant and juryless in- 16 Institute of Lifelog learning, University of Delhi

camera trials for certain political offences. The accused was denied the right to know the accusers and the evidence used in the trial.12 The infamous Act was an absolute ridicule of all liberal and constitutional rights that English government claimed to embody and it was met with extreme opposition by Indians. One of the opposition demonstrations also witnessed the Jalianwala Bagh massacre when fire was opened at the gathering of people in protesting the repressive legislations.

Demonstrations against the These protests used constitutional means of demonstrations, strike, etc. to demand for a repeal of constitutional legislations that were nothing but a negation of the values of constitutionalism. This is why such protests become crucial for the study of constitutionalism as this is how Indians were defining in their own ancillary way, the notion of constitutional rights and measures to ensure them. Another such effort was the opposition to the Sedition Law which was widely used to suppress any form of critical opinion against the British government. C.R. Das in 1922 in his undelivered presidential address at Congress party session at Gaya opined that Prevention of Seditious meeting Act itself leads to breach of

12 Ranbir Vohra, 2001,The Making of India: A Historical Survey (2nd edition), Armonk, New York: M.E, p. 126.

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law and order. One of the more diligent efforts at seeking amendment to Indian Penal Code in relation to section 124A (defining the offence of sedition) was made by Satyamurti in 1936 after his election to the Central Legislative Assembly. Satyamurti was persuading British bureaucracy governing India to repeal all repressive laws.13

If the protest against legal measures were one of the ways of ensuring that constitutional principles are met with, the national movement also experimented with another form of politics to meet the same end. This was the politics of using constitutional structures to press for the demands of the Indians. This was the style of politics represented by Motilal Nehru, C. R. Das and the likes.

They desired that the course of struggle should be taken at the level of the legislative councils. The idea was to strategically use the reformed legislatures under Govt. of India Act 1919 and use them to weaken the British rule. In 1923 along with C.R. Das, Motilal Nehru formed the Congress Khilafat Party. The party owed allegiance to Gandhi but disagreed that satyagrah was the only means to achieve independence. They believed that it is by entering into the councils and obstructing the business of the legislatures that the British rule can be weakened. He was also instrumental in in bringing about some kind of an alliance between the Muslim and the Moderate members in the legislature. This resulted in the coalition of the Nationalist Party which allowed Congress to press for its demand for a status.

The nationalist frame during that time was undergoing a transformation. Young nationalist were coming to the fore and the ideology of democratic was becoming dominant. Given the background, the British government decided to send an ‘all white’ commission to India to review

13See K. G. Kannabiran, 2004. Personal Liberty after Independence, in Wages of Impunity: Power, Justice and Human Rights, New Delhi: Orient Longman Pvt Ltd. pp. 30-62.

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the reforms of the 1919. This was called the Simon Commission exclusively constituted of all Englishmen.

The Simon Commission was opposed by all sections and ideologies of the Indian National Movement. To this boycott, the Secretary of the State threw an open challenge to the nationalists in India to draft a constitution that would be acceptable to all classes and communities. The assumption was that the leadership in India was inherently incapable of leading up the task to completion. This challenge was accepted by the nationalists to culminate into what was called ‘the draft constitution’.

The decision was taken at the Madras Session of the INC in 1927 to draft the constitution following which an All Parties Conference was called. A sub-committee was constituted under the leadership of Motilal to draft the constitution known as the Nehru Report.14 Nehru Report is considered to be a landmark in constitutional philosophy in India for not just comprehensively laying down a draft constitution, pushing forward for Dominion status as the first step towards political independence but also providing for a complete list of central and provincial subjects and fundamental rights. It was also radically progressive and ahead of its time in trying to argue for minority rights. It rejected separate electorates but granted the right to language, script, culture and religious practices to all religious communities.15

The Nehru Report though met with criticisms especially from leaders like and Subhash for laying the demand for dominion status as opposed to complete independence. Nonetheless, within the limited constitutional scheme that the British had allowed to Indians at

14Ravinder Kumar and D N Panigrahi ed, 1982, Introduction, in Selected Works of Motilal Nehru, Vol. I, 1899-1918, New Delhi: Vikas Publications.

15 Neera Chandhoke, 2002, Individual and Gropu Rights, in Zoya Hasan, E Sridharan, R Sudarshan eds, India’s Living Constitution. Delhi: Permanent Black.

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that juncture, dominion status seemed to be the only workable goal for most nationalists.16Most of all, while till now it had been undisputed that Indian constitutional development would only be authored by the British; the draft constitution contended it and served to be India’s first experiment at constitution writing.In a landmark statement, it affirmed that ‘all powers of the government are derived from the people’, in true constitutional soul.

The Nehru Report, along with the report prepared by the Simon Commission was tabled in the three Indian Round Table Conferences 1930-1932. All this eventually culminated into another set of constitutional reforms and perhaps the most important one, the Government of India Act 1935. Needless to say the Government of India Act 1935 owed much to the Simon Commission report and marginally, if nothing to the Nehru Report.

By then, Congress had decided that if the Nehru Report is not accepted by the end of 1929, it would call for a new campaign of civil disobedience stating as its goal. Same happened and Congress at the session in 1929 gave a call for complete independence. Under such scenarios, the 1935 Act was to unveil another set of political tussles.

Government of India Act 1935 and the building blocks to a future constitution:

The process initiated with the setting up of Simon Commission finally halted in 1935 when the Government of India Act was finally passed by both houses of British Parliament. The Act fell completely short of its expectations and could not make much revision to the 1919 Act. Nevertheless, in theory the Act introduced a very important feature of

16 Shekhar Bandopadhyay, 2004, From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India, New Delhi: Orient Longman, p. 316. 20 Institute of Lifelog learning, University of Delhi

constitutionalism that was the federal features. It introduced a federal government at the centre and the new Federal Union was to now comprise of Provinces of British India as well as princely states. However this federal central government could have only become operational once 50% of the princely states agree to join the Union. Many of the states refused to join so the federation never came into being.

Although in theory it introduced responsible government at provincial level by abolishing Dyarchy but the practice of it was quite different. The Governors in each province retained power over provinces through a number of provisions like they had'discretionary powers' to summon the legislatures, and administer certain special regions (mostly tribal). They had the power to assent the bills passed in the provincial legislature. On these matters Ministers were not entitled to give advice.The governors enjoyed special powers through a specific provision under which they could take over the administration of a province for indefinite period of time.17The electorate was increased to 30 million but the criteria of high property allowed only 10% of the Indian population to count as the electorate. Separate electorate continued to feature in the Act and 1/3rd

17Sumit Sarkar, 1983, Modern India (1885-1947), New Delhi: Macmillan, p. 338

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Muslim representation in the Central Legislative Council was guaranteed. Seats were also reserved for the Scheduled Castes in the Central and Provincial legislatures.

The Act did not provide for a Dominion status to India as had been demanded all through. What it did was to transfer control from the Secretary of the State to the Governor General by transferring a lot of the functions of the former to the latter. It was called nothing but a ‘paper federation’.18

However, for the present purpose, it is of significance to note that on paper, the provisions and specially the federal provisions that the Act provided for went on to become a reference point while constituting the Union of States in India post-independence. Besides the federal provisions, there are striking similarities between our Constitution and the Govt. of India Act 1935. The vast emergency powers given to the President in our Constitution resonates with the special powers of the Governor General in the 1935 Act. The post of the Governor was said to be an elected post in the first draft of the Constitution but in the final draft it was modelled on the 1935 Act and reverted back to a nominated post by the centre.19Similar was the case of the powers given to the Governor to take over the administration of a province, it translated into the powers of the Governor in a state post-independence.

There are two ways of reading these provisions. One way is to say that these provisions were part of constitutional reform agenda and were means of ensuring constitutional governance. However, a second reading would say that though these provisions were part of constitutional governance structure they were not necessarily in consonance with the

18Shekhar Bandopadhyay, 2004, From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India, New Delhi: Orient Longman, p. 323

19 Dietmar Rothermund, 1962, The Journal of Asian Studies Vol. 21, No. 4, pp. 505-522. 22 Institute of Lifelog learning, University of Delhi

values of constitutionalism. Overriding powers of the Executive over the Legislative structure is not in sync with the separation of power doctrine that constitutionalism embodies. If this argument can be made about the 1935 Act, to an extent this also holds true of the Constitution of the independent India. Though these debates are outside the purview of this paper, it still has to be acknowledged that the Constitution of the independent India struggled a lot to transform the undemocratic part of its colonial baggage and it did not succeed always. Nevertheless, any attempt at analysing the constitutional would have to take into account these criticisms as well.

Since the last of the hopes to be granted the Dominion status was shattered, Indian National Movement rose to a new vigour to achieve complete independence. The journey henceforth was no longer limited to securing minimal constitutional reforms but it was about the possibility of having a constitution of own.

The road leading to the transfer of power:

The Government of India Act 1935 was rejected by Congress and also by Muslim League however, when the elections were held in 1937 in accordance with the Government of India Act 1935, both parties participated in elections to provincial legislatures. Congress formed ministries in major provinces. With these developments, in 1938 Congress found itself placed well enough to put forth a demand for a self- constituted constituent assembly for Indians to draft a constitution for themselves. However, the political intentions of the British government in England were not exactly inempathy and they were only willing to meet compensatory proposal of offering a Dominion status for the first time. Against this background, the came to India in 1942.

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Cripps Mission had a draft declaration initially that offered a Dominion status with right of secession. In the daft there were also provisions for a 'constitution-making body' elected by provincial legislatures, and princely states being invited to appoint representatives. The individual provinces were given the right to not join it. It meant the states and provinces had been given the right to remain independent of the Indian Union.However, when the Cripps Mission finally came to India with this draft, it was felt by some Englishmen like Lord Wavell back home that Cripps was offering too much real power to Congress.

When the talks actually started with Congress, Cripps was made to change the tone of the negotiation and withdrew a lot of provisions earlier part of the draft declaration.20Congress in any case had already stated its goal as complete independence and with the changing tendency of talks within the Cripps proposal it had no choice but to reject it. Cripps Mission failed and the proposal of India as a dominion to England was rejected. Indian National Movement gave its final call of ‘Quit India’. The idea of constitutionalism at this juncture was going through a transformation. While so far the idea of limited government was attempted to be ensured by the Indians through gradual constitutional reform measures leading up to a responsible government, thingswere waiting to take a great leap now. The freedom movement now was convinced that the values they had struggled for could only be realized outside the frame of colonialism. The right to self-determination hence was crucial, everything else would follow.

While all these developments were taking place, Britain was waging the II World War. With the increasing brunt of the war and the determined , rise of , and the consistent demand of Muslim League, by the middle of 1940s Britain realized that it could no

20Sumit Sarkar, 1983, Modern India (1885-1947), New Delhi: Macmillan, pp. 386-389.

24 Institute of Lifelog learning, University of Delhi

longer rule by repression. In 1946 then a Cabinet Mission under Sir P. Lawrence was sent to India to devise a constitutional scheme of transfer of power that would be based on a consultation with all parties in India.

The Cabinet Mission had a plan for constituting the Constituent Assembly for India that would comprise of elected members of provincial legislatures and representatives of princely states. Other colonies of Britain at the time of transfer of power had prepared a draft constitution andpresented to the British Parliament for ratification. It was planned that in case of India as well, the Governor General would summon the Constituent Assembly and the draft would be tabled in the British Parliament.21

The Cabinet Mission started working by grouping different provinces together on communal basis marking out the Hindu dominated areas and the Muslim dominated areas. The initial plan was of a united dominion of India with Muslim-majority provinces and Hindu-majority provinces. But later Congress objected to the grouping on the ground that some non- Muslim dominated areas being grouped under the Muslim majority province. The Muslim majority province was grouped in a manner that exactly reflected the League’s demand of Pakistan. Congress demanded changes in the grouping and League was not ready for any kind of change.

The two largest parties active on the political scene of India could not come to an agreement on the territorial divisions. Muslim League gave a call for a ‘Direct Action’ to achieve its goal of Pakistan. Congress only agreed to the proposal of electing a Constituent Assembly in the manner devised earlier by Cripps and later by Cabinet Mission Plan. Nehru made the declaration that Congress would participate in the 1946 elections to

21 S. K. Chaube, 2009, Antecedents, in The Making and Working of the Indian Constitution, New Delhi: NBT 25 Institute of Lifelog learning, University of Delhi

constitute the Constituent Assembly. Out of the Constituent Assembly, an Interim Government was formed in 1946 to assist the process of transfer of power. Muslim League also joined the Interim Government initially but the call for ‘Direct Action’ was kept on.

With political deadlocks between Congress and League and devastating communal riots, partition seemed to be inevitable. After Lord Mountbatten took over as the Governor General, partition was conceived as the final event preceding the independence of India and Pakistan. Mountbatten came with his 1947 plan, the Indian Independence Act, partitioning India into the independent of India and Pakistan under the office of respective Governor Generals. The Governor Generals would be the representatives of the Crown in the two dominions. However the Constituent Assembly of India took a revolutionary step and did away with the office of Governor General post-independence, a colonial remain and opted for an elected head of the government.22

22 Ibid p. 13

26 Institute of Lifelog learning, University of Delhi

Times of India reporting on 15th August 1947.

From the vantage point of a historical exploration of the idea of constitutionalism in India, an analysis of the above laid down events is called for. The events leading up to the transfer of power to Indians needs to be seen as not just a realization of the values of constitutionalism but it also needs to be seen as a transformation of colonial constitutionalism.Colonial constitutionalism means those constitutional frames that were introduced to Indian as part of the colonial structure. In theory they represented liberal constitutional values but in practice they were part of the political project of colonialism. Here the authors of the constitutional design were the rulers whereas the followers of those

27 Institute of Lifelog learning, University of Delhi

constitutional rules and laws were the subjects.23In that sense colonialism in itself was a negation of the values of constitutionalism.

Hence the moves of the nationalists in constantly putting forth the demand for self-government and after a point refusal to reject the dominion status, has to be seen in this light. The effort towards struggling to have a constitution making body constituted of Indians meant that the Indians would themselves frame the laws that would govern them rather than being imposed upon them from external sources. Equally imperative for realization of constitutionalism was the idea of sovereignty. Self- governance is incomplete till the achievement of sovereignty. Hence the rejection of dominion status for complete independence was the final step in this direction.

The theory of constitutionalism at work:

The Constituent Assembly was constituted in December 1946 that worked for nearly three years on the draft of a constitution. Though in a limited way, it tried to bring on board all parties and interests. However Congress remained in majority being joined by some members from smaller parties, such as the Scheduled Caste Federation, the , and the Unionist Party. There are mixed responses about the nature of Constituent Assembly of India. One of the views believes that it represented a radical step for taking on to a mighty colonial government and being able to produce a constitution for a sovereign nation without succumbing to the demands of British interference. However, another

23 Ranabir Samaddar introduces the debate over the theory of constitutionalism as always being colonial as it always maintains the distinction between ‘authors of laws and subjects of law’. This view is explicitly reflective of the idea of constitutionalism in praxis within the colonized world where the authors of the law (the colonizers) and the subjects of the law (the colonized) always formed separate categories. See, Ranabir Samaddar, 2007. The Materiality of Politics, The Technologies of Rule (Vol. I). New York: Anthem Press, pp. 19-58.

28 Institute of Lifelog learning, University of Delhi

view claims that the Constituent Assembly did not represent the whole of India, it was not a body elected on the basis of universal adult franchise as had been promised. For the present purpose, both viewpoints need to be analysed.

The White colonies of Britain who later got self-government had prepared their draft constitutions and sent to the British Parliament for enactment. The Indian Independence Act had also planned similarly. It had given the power to the Governor General to give assent to the constitution once drafted.24 However, the Constituent Assembly did not follow the intentions of the British and the constitution was not sent to the Governor General. It was only proclaimed by the President in 1950. After the issue of partition had been decided upon, the Governor General was never made to intervene in the constitution making process. Hence this was a clear move representing a progressive constitution that was trying to transform its colonial past.

24S. K. Chaube, 2009, Antecedents, in The Making and Working of the Indian Constitution, New Delhi: NBT, p. 13

29 Institute of Lifelog learning, University of Delhi

Jawaharlal Nehru moves the resolution for an independent sovereign republic in the Constituent Assembly in New Delhi (See more related pictures at: http://www.caravanmagazine.in/books/indias-constitutional- anxiety?page=0,1#sthash.EjForimR.dpuf)

However, the biggest criticism levelled against the Assembly is about its representation. Nehru had claimed earlier that the demand for Constituent Assembly represented ‘a collective demand for full self- determination’. In criticising the Government of India Act 1935 he had said that it failed to represent the will of Indians. He believed that a democratic state can only be created by Indians themselves through a Constituent Assembly elected on the basis of an adult suffrage.25 But when the Assembly was constituted it was not based on universal adult franchise. However, there are defences given to this argument that given

25Rajeev Bhargava, 2008, Outline of a Political Theory of the Indian Constitution, in Rajeev Bhargava, ed, Ethics and Politics of the Indian Constitution, New Delhi: Oxford University Press pp. 15-18.

30 Institute of Lifelog learning, University of Delhi

the political exigencies setting up of a body through elections based on universal adult franchise would have taken the amount of time India did not have. Nevertheless, it can’t be overlooked that not being a directly elected body was the biggest shortcoming of the Constituent assembly.

Those viewpoints who have criticised the unrepresented nature of the Constituent Assembly have argued that those who believed that the Constituent Assembly represented the whole of India actually assumed the oneness of the nation, the Indian nation.26 While this was still a contested fact whether India was one constituted nation as there were groups and communities that challenged it and resisted integration to the Indian Union.

In spite of the criticisms, the Constituent Assembly in the real sense of the term represented the doctrine of constitutionalism at work. It was about the right to self-government, the right to self-determination. It represented the struggle against colonialism that may have showed us what constitutionalism in theory meant but in practice completely negated it. It was about deliberations and public opinions as means of realizing constitutionalism. And most importantly it was about people’s right to form a state and the government which in turn would guarantee those rights. The clear attempt was to transform to a post-colonial constitutional frame where colonialism would be transformed into democracy and subjects into citizens.

Conclusion

26 Aditya Nigam, 2008, A Text Without Author, in Rajeev Bhargava, ed, Ethics and Politics of the Indian Constitution, New Delhi: Oxford University Press

31 Institute of Lifelog learning, University of Delhi

This chapter has tried to argue that constitutionalism as an idea travelled to India as a western construct through colonialism and through colonial mechanisms gradual constitutional scheme was laid down. But the scheme repudiated the values of constitutionalism. As the doctrine of constitutionalism says that the entire rationale behind having rules and regulation in form of a constitution is to ensure that government power is restricted. But within the colonial frame the effort by the rulers was constantly on the opposite direction, ie, to exercise unbridled power over the colony.

However, the response of the Indian freedom movement in interaction with the colonial government ultimately led to the realization of the values of constitutionalism. The pressures and demands for reforms, rights of the people, responsible and representative government to the final demand of self-government with complete independence, is how slowly constitutionalism as a doctrine got entrenched into Indian politics. It has to be acknowledged that constitutionalism in India structurally is some ways entwined with the colonial structure as many of the reform measures introduced by the colonial state were retained as part of governance structure post-independence.

But the gap between constitutionalism in theory and practice that existed in the colonial period was only bridged once colonial character of constitutionalism was transformed by post-colonial constitutionalism.27Though it has to be duly acknowledged that the working of Indian democracy at all occasions has not been in accordance with the values of constitutionalism and there have been instances of

27For further debates on nature of postcolonial constitutionalism see Upendra Baxi 2008. Preliminary Notes on Transformative Constitutionalism. BISA Conference: Courting Justice 2, Delhi. Upendra Baxi argues that the nature of post-colonial constitutionalism is transformatory and he puts Indian Constitution in the same category of transformatory constitutionalism along with Brazil and South Africa arguing that the task of constitutions in these countries was to transform the regressive remains of colonialism. 32 Institute of Lifelog learning, University of Delhi

arbitrary use of state power by successive governments and occurrences of rights violation. However, the post-colonial transformation ought not to be discredited.

Bibliography

Books:

Bipan Chandraet al, 1989, India’s Struggle for Independence, New Delhi: Penguin Books.

Bipan Chandra, Amales Tripathi and Barun De, 2005 (re print), Freedom Struggle, NBT: New Delhi.

33 Institute of Lifelog learning, University of Delhi

Carl Friedrich, 1966,Constitutional Government and Democracy. Calcutta, Bombay, New Delhi: Oxford and IBH Publishing Co.

Ravinder Kumar and D N Panigrahi eds, 1982, Selected Works of Motilal Nehru, Vol. I, 1899-1918, New Delhi: Vikas Publications.

K G. Kannabiran, 2004,Wages of Impunity: Power, Justice and Human Rights. New Delhi: Orient Longman Pvt Ltd.

Partha Chaterjee, 1993. The Nation and its Fragments: Colonial and Postcolonial Histories, Princeton University Press.

Rajeev Bhargava, ed, 2008,Ethics and Politics of the Indian Constitution, New Delhi: Oxford University Press

Ranabir Samaddar, 2007, The Materiality of Politics, The Technologies of Rule (Vol. I), New York: Anthem Press

Ranbir Vohra, 2001,The Making of India: A Historical Survey (2nd edition), Armonk, New York: M.E.

S. K. Chaube, 2009, The Making and Working of the Indian Constitution, New Delhi: NBT

Shekhar Bandopadhyay, 2004, From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India, New Delhi: Orient Longman

Sumit Sarkar, 1983, Modern India (1885-1947), New Delhi: Macmillan

Zoya Hasan, E Sridharan, R Sudarshan ed, 2002, India’s living Constitution. New Delhi: Permanent Black

Articles and Papers:

Dietmar Rothermund, 1962, The Journal of Asian Studies Vol. 21, No. 4, pp. 505-522. 34 Institute of Lifelog learning, University of Delhi

G. Sartori, 1962, Constitutionalism: a Preliminary Discussion,American Political Science Review, Vol. 56, pp. 853-864.

Upendra Baxi, 2008,Preliminary Notes on Transformative Constitutionalism, BISA Conference: Courting Justice 2, Delhi.

35 Institute of Lifelog learning, University of Delhi

ऩा腍यक्रम– चार वषीय ऩवू व स्नातक कायक्रव म

ववषय – राजनीतत शास्र

ऩा腍यक्रम की प्रकृ तत – डीसी-2

ऩरक का नाम - भारत मᴂ राष्ट्रवाद

शीषवक - भारत मᴂ राष्ट्रवाद के अ鵍ययन संबंधी 饃ष्ष्ट्िकोण

(साम्रा煍यवादी तथा राष्ट्रवादी ऩररप्रेक्ष्य(

मूऱ ऱेखिका : स्मतृ त सुमन, राजनीतत शास्र ववभाग, दद쥍ऱी ववश्ववव饍याऱय

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi

विषम सूची

याष्ट्रिाद क्मा है?

बायतीम याष्ट्रिाद के इततहासरेखन का उद्भि

साम्रा煍मिादी ऩरयप्रेक्ष्म : कℂ ब्रिज स्कू र/औऩतनिेशिक स्कू र/साम्रा煍मिादी स्कू र

याष्ट्रिादी ऩरयप्रेक्ष्म

धभमतनयऩेऺ याष्ट्रिादी

धाशभमक याष्ट्रिादी

आर्थमक याष्ट्रिादी

“याष्ट्रिाद” याजनीततक र्चॊतन तथा विचायⴂ भᴂ एक उबमबािी ( ambivalent) अिधायणा यही है। सबी प्रकाय के

भौजूदा ‘िादⴂ’ के विभिम भᴂ चाहे साम्रा煍मिाद से धभमतनयऩेऺिाद , उदायिाद से सभुदामिाद , ऺेत्रिाद से अॊतयामष्ट्रीमिाद हो , याष्ट्रिाद की अिधायणा इनभᴂ सफसे अर्धक विभशिमत तथा प्रततस्ऩधामत्भक यही है।मह एक

饍िैध्ित्ृ त्तक (उबमबािी) अिधायणा है औय इसकी 饍िैधित्ृ त्त इसकी दोहयी प्रकृ तत भᴂ त्स्थत है। जैसा कक ऩीटय 1 आ쥍टय ने सुझामा है , याष्ट्रिाद साभात्जक , आर्थकम तथा याजनीततक उत्ऩीड़न तथा भुत्क्त-दोनⴂ फरⴂ के 셂ऩ भᴂ कामम कयता है। एक विचायधाया के 셂ऩ भᴂ याष्ट्रिाद , साम्रा煍मिाद तथा साम्रा煍मिाद-वियोध- दोनⴂ की व्माख्मा की

1 याष्ट्रिाद को सभझने के शरए कृ ऩमा ऩीटय आ쥍टय की ऩुस्तक देखᴂ।

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi

प्रकिमा है। प्रथभ विश्िमु के फाद याष्ट्रिाद ने मूयोऩ के साम्रात्煍मक विस्ताय तथा उत्ऩीड़न की रोरुऩता का सभथनम ककमा, हाराॊकक 饍वितीम विश्िमु के फाद इसी याष्ट्रिाद ने एशिमा तथा अफ्रीका भᴂ यहने िारे रोगⴂ के साम्रा煍मिाद-वियोधी-सॊघषम भᴂ नैततक फर का कामम ककमा।

2 अनेस्ट गैरनय के अनुसाय याष्ट्रिाद याजनीततक िैधता का शसाॊत है जो मह भाॊग कयता है कक नजृ ातीम सीभाएॊ याजनीततक सीभाओॊ को सीशभत न कयᴂ। शसाॊतत् याष्ट्रीम तथा याजनीततक इकाई सभनु셂ऩ होनी चाहहए। याष्ट्रिाद एक बािना औय आॊदोरन के 셂ऩ भᴂ इस शसाॊत ऩय ऩूणतम मा आधारयत है। कई इततहासिेत्ता मह तकम देत े हℂ कक याष्ट्रिाद एक विचायधाया मा बािना के 셂ऩ भᴂ ब्रिहटि िासन से ऩहरे अत्स्तत्ि भᴂ नहीॊ था। इस प्रकाय याष्ट्रिाद का

उदम स्ितॊत्रता सॊघष म के दौयान हुआ। इस रेख भᴂ हभाया कᴂ द्रीम विषम बायत भᴂ याष्ट्रिाद का इततहास है। याजनीतत के वि饍माथी के 셂ऩ भᴂ हभ याष्ट्रिाद के इततहासरेखन की याजनीतत को ढूॉढ़ने औय जाॊचने का प्रमास कयᴂगे। याष्ट्रिाद एक आधुतनक सॊक쥍ऩना है। प्रत्मेक आधुतनक सॊक쥍ऩना , ित्क्त मा विचायधाया अऩने को इततहास के आधाय ऩय सत्मावऩत कयने का प्रमास कयता है। सॊक쥍ऩनाओॊ को इततहास हभेिा िैधता प्रदान कयता है , इसीशरए रोगⴂ का

हयेक सभूह, त्जनका सॊफॊध बायत के याष्ट्रिाद से है अऩने रक्ष्मⴂ तथा उेश्मⴂ को ध्मान भᴂ यखत े हुए सॊक쥍ऩना का इततहासरेखन कयने का प्रमास कयते हℂ। इसशरए बायतीम याष्ट्रिाद का इततहासरेखन न ही ऩऺऩातयहहत है औय न

ही तनयऩेऺ। इस विषम का भुख्म उेश्म बायतीम याष्ट्रिादी इततहासरेखन की विशबन्न विचायधायाओॊ को सभझना है।

इस विषम को बायतीम याष्ट्रिाद को सभझने के उऩागभ से सॊफ न कयके हभ उन विशबन्न ऩरयप्रेक्ष्मⴂ मा विचायⴂ को सभझने का प्रमास कयᴂगे , त्जनका इततहासिेत्ताओॊ ने बायतीम याष्ट्रिाद की व्माख्मा के शरए प्रमोग

ककमा है। प्रत्मेक इततहास रेखन इस ऩय सहभत है कक बायत का एक आधुतनक या煍म के 셂ऩ भᴂ उबयना औऩतनिेशिक आधुतनकता का ऩरयणाभ है। िे इस विचाय का सभथनम कयत े हℂ कक एक आधुतनक , एकीकृ त,

प्रबुत्ििान, एकर, सत्ता के 셂ऩ भᴂ बायत की क쥍ऩना उऩतनिेि वियोधी सॊघष म के दौयान विकशसत हुई। इस विचाय से ऩये इततहासिेत्ताओॊ की अऩनी अरग विचायधायात्भक , सैाॊततक तथा फौवक गुटता औय साभात्जक प्रततफता

है। भ ℂ इस ब्रफदॊ ु ऩय बायतीम याष्ट्रिाद के इततहासरेखन के चाय भुख्म ऩरयप्रेक्ष्मⴂ से ऩरयचम कयाना चाहूॊगी-

औऩतनिेशिक/साम्रा煍मिादी/कℂब्रिज स्कू र

याष्ट्रिादी स्कू र

भाक्सिम ादी स्कू र

उऩार्ित स्कू र।

हभᴂ महाॊ ऩय मह सभझने की आिश्मकता है कक बायतीम याष्ट्रिाद के प्रत्मेक ऩरयप्रेक्ष्म काअऩना साभात्जक ऐततहाशसक सॊदब म है। इस ऩच े भᴂ ऐततहाशसक तथा साभात्जक सॊदबⴂ के विस्ताय भᴂ न जा कय हभ इनकी

2 अनेस्ट गैरनय, 1983, याष्ट्र औय याष्ट्रिाद, रॊदन: ब्रैकिैर ऩत्ब्रशिगॊ हाउस, ऩ.ृ 1-18

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi

व्माख्माओॊ का िणमन कयᴂगे तथा याजनीतत विऻान का छात्र होने केनाते इसके ऩीछे की याजनीतत को प्रकट कयᴂगे।

इस अध्माम भᴂ हभ ऩहरी दो विचायधायाओॊ के फाये भᴂ विस्ताय से विभिम कयᴂगे ऩयॊतु इससे ऩहरे मह आिश्मक हो जाता है कक हभ सॊक्षऺप्त भᴂ उऩमुक्म त चायⴂ ऩरयप्रेक्ष्मⴂ ऩय विभिम कयᴂ।

औऩतनिेशिक/साम्रा煍मिादी/कℂब्रिज स्कू र इस तथ्म को नकायते हℂ कक औऩतनिेशिक ित्क्त के साभात्जक ,

याजनीततक, साॊस्कृ ततक तथा आर्थकम िोषण के वि셁 बायत भᴂ याष्ट्रिाद का प्रादबु ामि हुआ औय इसने अऩने आऩ को विकशसत तथा भजफूत ककमा। मह स्कू र भानता है कक साम्रा煍मिाद , सभ्मता तथा साभात्जक सुधायⴂ के साथ बायत आमा औय इसने बायतीमⴂ को आधुतनकता तथा जागयण के आधायबूत शसाॊतⴂ तथा तनमभⴂ से अिगत कयामा। साम्रा煍मिादी स्कू र के अनुसाय याष्ट्रिादी आॊदोरन जन आॊदोरन न होकय अशबजात िग म की आिश्मकताओॊ का उत्ऩाद था जो अऩने सॊकीण म हहतⴂ मा अऩने सभूह-हहतⴂ की ऩूतत म कयता था। इस स्कू र के अनुसाय याष्ट्रिादी िह रोग थे त्जन्हⴂने जातत तथा धाशभकम ऩहचानⴂ के आधाय ऩय सभूह तनभामण ककमा औय याष्ट्रिाद का इस्तभे ार अऩने तनजी स्िाथऩम ूण म हहतⴂ की ऩूतत म के शरए ककमा।

बायतीम इततहासरेखन के याष्ट्रिादी स्कू र ने याष्ट्रिाद को एक भुख्म सत्ता तथा बािना के 셂ऩ भᴂ देखा त्जसने स्ितॊत्रता तथा स्िाधीनता की बािना को भजफूत ककमा। इस स्कू र ने साम्रा煍मिादी विचायधाया की िोषक प्रकृ तत को प्रकट ककमा। मह स्कू र बायतीम स्ितॊत्रता आॊदोरन की एक याष्ट्रीम आॊदोरन तथा जन आॊदोरन के 셂ऩ भᴂ व्माख्मा कयता है।

भाक्समिादी स्कू र बायतीम इततहासरेखन के ऺैततज ऩय कु छ देय भᴂ उबया। इस स्कू र ने अऩने आऩ को कार म भाक्स म के भूरबूत भौशरक विचायⴂ ऩय विकशसत ककमा। भाक्सिम ाद साम्रा煍मिाद तथा उऩतनिेििाद को उस

ऩूॊजीिाद की ऩरयणतत फताता है जो मूयोऩ भᴂ औ饍मोर्गक िाॊतत की िजह से विकशसत हुआ। व्राहदभीय रेतनन, योजा रक्जभफगम आहद ने इस विचाय को प्रततऩाहदत ककमा। उन्हⴂने साम्रा煍मिाद की सफसे अर्धक िोषणकायी व्मिस्था के

셂ऩ भᴂ व्माख्मा की। भाक्सिम ादी स्कू र ने याष्ट्रिाद का उ楍चिगीम देिी फुजुआम की विचायधाया के 셂ऩ भᴂ विश्रेषण ककमा यजनी ऩाभ दत्त तथा ए.आय.देसाई बायतीम याष्ट्रिाद के भाक्समिादी इततहासरेखन के सॊस्थाऩक थे। उन्हⴂने बायतीम याष्ट्रिाद केिगम चरयत्र की आरोचना की। उन्हⴂने मह तकम हदमा कक बायतीम स्ितॊत्रता आॊदोरन के दौयान

याष्ट्रिादी अशबजातिगम ने ककसानⴂ तथा अन्म तनम्न िगम के रोगⴂ की अनदेखी की है।मह स्कू र बायतीम स्ितॊत्रता आॊदोरन की व्माख्मा बायतीम अशबजात िगम के आॊदोरन के 셂ऩ भᴂ कयता है। िे तकम देते हℂ कक बायत भᴂ याष्ट्रिाद

वियोधाबासी औय 饍िैधित्ृ त्तक है।

याष्ट्रिादी इततहासरेखन के चौथे स्कू र , उऩार्ित स्कू र ने बी याष्ट्रिाद की िोषणकायी तथा प्रबुत्ििादी विचायधाया के 셂ऩ भᴂ व्माख्मा की है। भाक्सिम ादी स्कू र की तयह मह स्कू र बी साम्रा煍मिादी तथा याष्ट्रिादी विचायधाया की िोषणकायी प्रकृ तत की आरोचना कयता है। मह स्कू र भाक्सिम ादी स्कू र से कापी प्रबावित यहा है , हाराॊकक भाक्सिम ादी तथा उऩार्ित स्कू र भᴂ सूक्ष्भ अॊतय है। उऩार्ित स्कू र इस भाक्सिम ादी व्माख्मा भᴂ विश्िास कयता है कक बायतीम याष्ट्रिाद प्रबुत्ििादी तथा िोषणकायी प्रकृ तत का था। मह न तो सजातीम है औय न ही एकीकृ त जैसा कक इसको हदखाने की कोशिि की गई है। ऩयॊतु िोषण के आधाय तथा प्रकृ तत को रेकय मह

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi

भाक्सिम ाहदमⴂ से शबन्न भत यखता है। मह स्कू र तकम देता है कक बायतीम सभाज की व्माख्मा के िर िग म के आधाय ऩय नहीॊ की जा सकती, क्मⴂकक उस सभम बायत भᴂ ऩूॊजीिाद अऩने आयॊशबक चयण भᴂ था। फुजुआम िग म के सॊदब म भᴂ बायतीम याष्ट्रिाद की व्माख्मा कयने के फजाम मह सभझना होगा कक बायतीम याष्ट्रिाद जातत , शरॊग, धभम तथा

नस्र आधारयत विबाजन के कायण िोषणकायी प्रकृ तत का था। उऩार्ित स्कू र मह दािा कयता है कक बायतीम याष्ट्रिाद ने याष्ट्र के बीतय वि饍मभान आॊतरयक वियोधⴂ से ऩयहेज ककमा औय अऩने एकीकृ त गौयििारी इततहास की विस्ततृ व्माख्मा भᴂ उऩेक्षऺत आिाजⴂ की अनदेखी की है।

3 मह स्कू र दािा कयता है कक याष्ट्रिादी इततहासरेखन ने इततहास की सूक्ष्भ आिाजⴂ की अनदेखी की है , जैसे दशरतⴂ, भहहराओॊ तथा आहदिासी रोगⴂ का इततहास। उऩार्ित स्कू र विशबन्न तयीकⴂ से तनम्न ऩामदान ऩय खड़े तथा उऩार्ितⴂ के इततहास को आगे राना चाहता है। इन चायⴂ विचायधायाओॊ ऩय सॊक्षऺप्त विभिम के फाद हभ

ऩहरी दो विचायधायाओॊ ऩय विस्ततृ विभिम के शरए रौटत े हℂ क्मⴂकक इस अध्माम का ऺेत्र इन दोनⴂ तक ही सीशभत है।

साम्रा煍यवादी/कℂब्रिज/उऩतनवेशी स्कू ऱ

4 जैसा कक ब्रफवऩन चॊद्र तकम देते हℂ , साम्रा煍मिादी ऩरयप्रेक्ष्म सफसे ऩहरे िामसयामⴂ -रॉडम डपरयन , कजमन

तथा शभन्टो, तथा सर्चि जॉजम हैशभ쥍टन के रेखⴂ , िक्तव्मⴂ तथा घोषणाओॊ से उजागय हुआ। सिप्रम थभ िी. र्चयोर औय यॉरेट कभेटी की रयऩोटम ने इसे प्रस्तुत ककमा। अभेरयकन वि饍िान िुस टी. भैक्करी ने 1940 भᴂ इस 饃त्ष्ट्टकोण का सैाॊतीकयण कयने का प्रमास ककमा। तत्ऩश्चात मह स्कू र उदायिाहदमⴂ एिॊ 셂हढ़िाहदमⴂ भᴂ फॊट गमा। इसके 5 셂हढ़िादी अॊग ने स्िमॊ को कℂ ब्रिज स्कू र भᴂ विकशसत कय शरमा। अतनर सीर औय जे.ए. गैरेघय ने 1968 के फाद इस स्कू र को बायत भᴂ विकशसत ककमा।

कℂ ब्रिज स्कू ऱ 셂हढ़िादी उऩतनिेशिक प्रिासकⴂ, त्जन्हⴂने ब्रिहटि साम्रा煍म का साम्रा煍मिादी 饃त्ष्ट्टकोण से अध्ममनककमा औय ब्रिहटि साम्रा煍म का बायत भᴂ सभ्मता के स्रोत के 셂ऩभᴂ सभथमन ककमा , को कℂ ब्रिज स्कू र के 셂ऩ भᴂ जाना जाता है। अतनर सीर, जे.ए.गैरेघय, गौडडन जॉनसन, रयचडम गौडमन, तथा डवे िड िॉििुक इस स्कू र के अग्रज हℂ। 6 इस स्कू र ने बायतीम अतीत की व्माख्मा साम्रा煍मी आिश्मकताओॊ के आधाय ऩय की है। इस स्कू र के इततहासरेखन का उेश्म बायतीम अतीत की इस प्रकाय से व्माख्मा कयना है जो ब्रिहटि साम्रा煍म को सुगभता प्रदान कय सके । मह स्कू र साम्रा煍मिाद की िोषणकायी प्रकृ तत को नकायता है। इस स्कू र के इततहासकाय इस तथ्म को

3 यॊजीत गुहा, 2009ए “स्भॉर िॉमशसस ऑप हहस्री” ऩाथाम चटजी (सॊऩादकीम) स्भॉर िॉमशसस ऑप हहस्री, भᴂ यानीखेत: ऩयभानᴂट ब्रैक, ऩष्ट्ृ ठ 304-318 4 ब्रफवऩन चॊद्र, 1988 इॊडडमाज स्रगर पॉय इॊडडऩᴂडेन्स नई हद쥍री: ऩᴂगुइन फुक्स, ऩष्ट्ृ ठ 15-30 5 अतनर सीर, 1968, एभयजेन्स ऑप इॊडडमन नेिनशर煍भ: कॉम्ऩटीिन एॊड कॉरेफोयेिन इन द रेटय नाईन्टीॊथ सᴂचुयी कℂ ब्रिज: कℂ ब्रिज मूतनिशसटम ी प्रेस, ऩ.ृ 7-24 6 योशभरा थाऩय, 1975, द ऩास्ट एॊड प्रेजुडडस, नई हद쥍री: नेिनर फुक रस्ट ऑप इॊडडमा, ऩ.ृ 4

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi

नहीॊ भानते हℂ कक बायतीम उऩतनिेि-वियोधी सॊघषम ब्रिहटि उऩतनिेििाद 饍िाया बायत के आर्थमक , साभात्जक ,

साॊस्कृ ततक तथा याजनीततक िोषण का ऩरयणाभ था। िे साम्रा煍मिाद के वि셁 बायतीम सॊघष म को एक कृ ब्रत्रभ जॊग मा स्िाॊग मु के 셂ऩ भᴂ देखत े हℂ। िे साम्रा煍मी वियोधाबासⴂ को , बायतीम स्ितॊत्रता सॊघषम के कायण के 셂ऩ भᴂ ऩूणतम ् नाभॊजूय कयत े हℂ।

साम्रा煍मिादी रेखक इससे इन्काय कयते हℂ कक बायत याष्ट्र फनने की प्रकिमा भᴂ था। उन्हⴂने बायतको

विशबन्न जाततमⴂ , धभⴂ, नस्रⴂ तथा सभुदामⴂ के सभूह के 셂ऩ भᴂ सभझा। उन्हⴂने तकम हदमा कक बायत भᴂ याजनीततक सॊगठन का आधाय इन सभूहⴂ की राभफॊदी ऩय आधारयत है तथा मे सभूह अऩने स्िाथी तथा व्मत्क्तगत हहतⴂ को ढॉकने के शरए याष्ट्रिाद का इस्तभे ार कय यहे थे। उनके विचाय भᴂ याष्ट्रीम आॊदोरन , रोगⴂ का आॊदोरन

नहीॊ था फत्쥍क अशबजात सभूह की आिश्मकताओॊ तथा हहतⴂ का उत्ऩाद था। इसशरए , अशबजात सभूह औय उनके तनजी हहतⴂ ने याष्ट्रिाद के विचाय को, विचायधाया तथा आॊदोरन का 셂ऩ हदमा। इस सभूह के दो भुख्म तनभामणकायी तत्ि जातत तथा धाशभमक ऩहचान थे अथिा सॊयऺण के इदम-र्गदम फने याजनीततक सॊफॊध थे। िे तकम देते हℂ कक प्रत्मेक

सभूह के अऩने कई सॊकीण म स्िाथी हहत थे तथा िे याष्ट्रिाद का उऩमोग , एक विचायधाया के 셂ऩ भᴂ जन -राभफॊदी औय जनता का सभथमन प्राप्त कयने के शरए कयते थे।

डपरयन, कजमन, र्चयौर, रोिेट, भैक्करी औय फी.फी.शभिा तकम देते हℂ कक बायत के शिक्षऺत भध्मिगम ने

याष्ट्रिाद को ‘ऩयोऩकायी या煍म’ के वि셁 रड़ने के शरए प्रमोग ककमा। अतनर सीर ने अऩनी ऩुस्तक ‘बायतीम याष्ट्रिाद का उदम ’ भᴂ इसी प्रकाय के विचायⴂ का प्रततऩादन ककमा है। उन्हⴂने तकम हदमा है कक बायतीम याष्ट्रीम

आॊदोरन ब्रिहटि साम्रा煍मिाद के वि셁 नहीॊ रड़ा गमा था फत्쥍क मह ब्रिहटि सभथमन केशरए , एक अशबजात सभूह से दसू ये अशबजात सभूह के वि셁 सॊघष म को दिामता है। इस प्रकाय अतनर सीर ने बायतीम याष्ट्रीम आॊदोरन को आऩसी प्रतत饍िॊ饍विता तथा 饍िेष के 셂ऩ भᴂ िर्णमत ककमा है।

7 जातीम तथा धाशभमक ऩहचानⴂ के साथ , अतनर सीर तथा जॉन गैरेघय ने व्माख्मा की है कक बायतीम

अशबजात सभूह सॊयऺक -आर्ित सॊफॊध के आधाय ऩय फना था। िे शरखते हℂ कक जैसे-जैसे ब्रिहटि साम्रा煍मिाद ने अऩनी प्रिासतनक, आर्थमक तथा याजनीततक सत्ता को स्थानीम इराकⴂ तथा प्राॊतⴂ तक विस्ततृ ककमा , स्थानीम अशबजातⴂ ने सॊयऺकⴂ औय आर्ितⴂ को, त्जनके हहतⴂ का िे सॊयऺण कयते थे औय जो फदरे भᴂ उनके हहतⴂ को ऩूया कयते थे, याजनीततक आधाय ऩय सॊगहठत कयना आयॊब ककमा।

इस प्रकाय , बायतीम याजनीतत सॊयऺक-आर्ित सॊफॊध के आधाय ऩय तनशभमत होनी प्रायॊब हो गई।

इततहासकाय मह तकम देत े हℂ कक फाद भᴂ फड़ े नेता उहदत हुए , त्जन्हⴂने दरारⴂ के 셂ऩ भᴂ कामम ककमा औय स्थानीम जनता औय ब्रिहटि याज के फीच कड़ी के 셂ऩ भᴂ कामम ककमा। अतनर सीर कहते हℂ कक याजनीततक सौदाकायⴂ भᴂ

गाॊधी, नेह셂 तथा ऩटेर प्रभुख थे। िे मह विश्िास कयत े थे कक स्थानीम रोग , त्जनकी तयप से मे याजनीततक सौदेफाजी कय यहे थे, 1918 के फाद ही इस आॊदोरन से जुड़।े इन इततहासकायⴂ का मह बी भानना है कक बायतीम

7 जॉन गैरेघय औय योना쥍ड यॉब्रफन्सन, 1982, द इॊऩीरयमशर煍भ ऑप फ्री रेड, अतनर सीर सॊऩाहदत भᴂ, द डडक्राइन, यीिाईिर एॊड पॉर ऑप ब्रिहटि एॊऩामय: दी पोडम रेक्चय एॊड अदय एैस्से, भᴂ कℂब्रिज : कℂ ब्रिज मूतनिशसटम ी प्रेस।

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi

याष्ट्रीम आॊदोरन का ब्रिहटि उऩतनिेििाद की िोषणकायी प्रित्ृ त्त से कोई रेना देना नहीॊ था फत्쥍क मह आॊदोरन

स्िमॊ अऩनी सभस्माओॊ के कायण विकशसत हुआ जैसे कक मु , भुद्रास्पीतत, फीभायी, सूखा तथा भॊदी। िे िही शिकामतᴂ थीॊ, जो याष्ट्रिाहदमⴂ 饍िाया उन्हᴂ ब्रिहटि साम्रा煍म के वि셁 सॊघषम भᴂ िाशभर कयने के शरए प्रमोग भᴂराई गℂ।

8 योशभरा थाऩय अऩने रेख ‘बायतीम इततहास की व्माख्मा : उऩतनिेििादी, याष्ट्रिादी औय उत्तय -

उऩतनिेििादी’ भᴂ चचाम कयती हℂ कक बायत के आधुतनक इततहासरेखन का सूत्रऩात ब्रिहटि सत्ता 饍िाया हुआ है। बायत भᴂ अऩने साम्रा煍मिादी िासन को िैध फनाने के शरए उन्हⴂने आधुतनक बायत के अतीत का ऩता रगाना िु셂 ककमा। मह प्रकिमा आगे चरकय याष्ट्रिादी इततहासकायⴂ औय उत्तय-उऩतनिेििादी इततहासकायⴂ 饍िाया आगे फढ़ाई गई

(बायतीम इततहास की भाक्समिादी औय उऩार्ित व्माख्मा)। थाऩय ब्रिहटि इततहासरेखन को उऩतनिेििादी स्कू र घोवषत कयती हℂ। िह तकम देती हℂ कक बायत का इततहासरेखन बायत के फाये भᴂ ऻान प्राप्त कयने की उऩतनिेििादी 9 ित्क्त की तीव्र आकाॊऺा ऩय आधारयत था। औय साम्रा煍मिादी इततहासरेखन ‘ऻान सत्ता’ के विचाय ऩय आधारयत

था। बायत भᴂ सत्ता प्राप्त कयने के रक्ष्म को िैधता प्रदान कयने के शरए उन्हⴂने बायतीम तथा मूयोऩीम अतीत के फीच सॊफॊध खोजना िु셂 कय हदमा। इस प्रकिमा भᴂ उन्हⴂने न के िर बायतीम अतीत की खोज की , अवऩतु उन्हⴂने बायत के अतीत के फाये भᴂ एक शबन्न ऻान यर्चत बी ककमा। साम्रा煍मिादी सत्ता की इस विचायधायात्भक भॊिा ने

विभिⴂ, औय ‘प्रा楍म’ के विषम भᴂ चचाम का सूत्रऩात ककमा। थाऩय ने इस तनफॊध भᴂ उऩतनिेििादी इततहासरेखन को दो भुख्म िाखाओॊ भᴂ विबात्जत ककमा है। मे दो िाखाएॊ ह-ℂ

 इततहासरेखन का प्रा楍मिादी स्कू र।  इततहासरेखन का उऩमोर्गतािादी स्कू र।

प्रा楍म का अथ म है ऩूयफ का। ऩयॊऩयागत 셂ऩ से इस िब्द का इस्तभे ार रोगⴂ ने ऩूयफ (ऩूि)म से सॊफॊर्धत ककसी बी िस्तु मा िातामराऩ के शरए ककमा। मह एक रैहटन िब्द है। इसका विऩयीताथकम िब्द ऩत्श्चभ है।

प्रा楍मिाद फोधक है ऩत्श्चभ 饍िाया ककमा गमा ऩूिी ऺेत्र का अध्ममन। एडिड म सैड ने 1978 भᴂ अऩनी ऩुस्तक ‘ओरयमन्टशर煍भ’ भᴂ ऩहरी फाय इस प्रकिमा का सैाॊतीकयण ककमा। उसने इस िब्द का इस्तेभार ऩाश्चात्म

शिऺाविदⴂ के ऩऺऩाती यिैमे को दिामने भᴂ ककमा जो ऩूि म को एक ऐसी तनत्श्चत िेणी भᴂ स्थावऩत कयता है जो फहुत शबन्न, दरु बम तथा ऩत्श्चभ से दसू यी तयह का है। सैड का दािा है कक प्रा楍मिाद ऩत्श्चभ के भ्ाॊततऩूणम 饃त्ष्ट्टकोण का ऩरयणाभ है। एडिड म सैड एन्टोतनमो ग्राम्िी की आर्धऩत्म की अिधायणा तथा भाइके र पू को के विभिम तथा सत्ता औय ऻान के फीच सॊफॊध की सभझ से अशबप्रेरयत है।

8 योशभरा थाऩय 2000, “इॊटयप्रेहटॊग कोरोतनमर हहस्री: कोरोतनमर, नेिनशरस्ट, इॊड ऩोस्ट कोरोतनमर” ऩीटय योना쥍ड डडसूजा, (सॊऩाहदत) कॊटᴂऩयेयी इॊडडमा: राॊत्जिन्स, भᴂ, हद쥍री: सेज ऩत्ब्रकेिन्स, ऩष्ट्ृ ठ 25-36। 9 ऻान तथा ित्क्त के फीच सॊफॊध को सभझने के शरए, आऩ ऩढ़ सकत े हℂ भाइकर पू को (फ्राॊसीसी याजनीततक दािमतनक तथा इततहासवि饍) का भिहूय तनफॊध “ऩॉिय एॊड नॉरेज” जो नेट ऩय उऩरब्ध है।

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi

इततहासऱेिन का प्रा楍यवादी स्कू ऱ

प्रासी का मु (1757) आधुतनक बायत के इततहास का तनणाम क ऺण था। इस मु के फाद बायत भᴂ सही

भामने भᴂ औऩतनिेशिक िासन की स्थाऩना हुई। मु के ऩश्चात ् ब्रिहटि िासकⴂ ने इस देि भᴂ अऩने औऩतनिेशिक िासन के और्चत्म स्थाऩन की ओय ध्मान हदमा। इसके शरए इन्हⴂने इततहास का सहाया शरमा। बायतीम इततहास

का ऩुनतनभम ामण औऩतनिेशिक प्रिासन की आधायबूत आिश्मकता थी। बायतीम इततहास ऩय उऩतनिेिीम ऩरयप्रेक्ष्म कई

चयणⴂ भᴂ विकशसत हुआ। बायतीम इततहासरेखन का आयॊशबक स्रोत ईसाई शभिनरयमⴂ का रेखन था। उन्हⴂने बायतीमⴂ को ऩूि-म आधुतनक , आहदजन, जॊगरी आहद के 셂ऩ भᴂ र्चब्रत्रत ककमा। म饍मवऩ उनका ऻान ऩॊडडतⴂ तथा भु쥍राओॊ से फातचीत तथा बायतीम ग्रॊथⴂ तथा धाशभकम ऩुस्तकⴂ के अध्ममन ऩय आधारयत था। कपय बी उन्हⴂने हभᴂ आहदजन तथा जॊगरी के 셂ऩ भᴂ ही देखा। इस प्रकाय की जानकायी का उेश्म इस तथ्म को र्चब्रत्रत कयना थाकक

बायतीम इततहास थभा हुआ तथा गैय प्रगततिीर था। िस्तुत् इस प्रकाय के इततहासरेखन का उेश्म बायत भᴂ औऩतनिेशिक िासन को न्मामोर्चत ठहयाना था। िे इस तथ्म को फताना चाहते थे कक केिर िे ही बायतीम सभाज भᴂ सभ्मता तथा तयक्की रा सकते हℂ। इस प्रकाय से उन्हⴂने अऩनी साम्रा煍मिादी सत्ता को न्मामोर्चत ठहयामा।

ऩयॊतु िीघ्र ही मह भहसूस ककमा गमा कक इस प्रकिमा से िे अर्धक दयू तक नहीॊ जा ऩाएॊगे।

इस ऩरयत्स्थतत (सॊकटकार) भᴂ उन्हⴂने प्रा楍मिादी भोड़ शरमा। प्रा楍मिाद जैसा ककएडिडम सैड तकम देते हℂ

सत्ता प्राप्त के शरए मूयोवऩ मⴂ की ऻान वऩऩासा थी , इसशरए मूयोवऩमⴂ ने ऊऩयी तौय से ही इततहास शरखने का प्रमास ककमा। ऩय बायत भᴂ त्स्थतत शबन्न थी। मूयोवऩमⴂ ने बायतीम इततहास की जानकायी , बायतीम िाह्भणⴂ , ऩॊडडतⴂ तथा भु쥍राओॊ , त्जनका बायतीम ऻान व्मिस्था ऩय आर्धऩत्म था , से री, ऩयॊतु महाॊ बी अतीत के ऻान को प्रस्तुत कयने का उेश्म सत्ता की ितभम ान आिश्मकताओॊ को ऩूया कयना था। उस सभम की आिश्मकता थी- औऩतनिेशिक या煍म की सेिा कयना। इस स्कू र ने आयॊब भᴂ बायतीम इततहास तथा मूयोऩीम इततहास के सॊफॊध को स्थावऩत कयना िु셂 ककमा। उन्हⴂने बायतीम बाषाओॊ तथा धाशभकम ग्रॊथⴂ का अध्ममन िु셂 ककमा। उनका विश्िास था कक मूयोऩ की तयह बायत का बी भहान तथा गौयिऩूण म इततहास यहा है। सय विशरमभ जⴂस अऩने सभम के भहान ब्रिहटि बाषािास्त्री तथा दािमतनक थे। उन्हⴂने सॊस्कृ त, ग्रीक औय रैहटन बाषाओॊ भᴂ सॊफॊध स्थावऩत ककमा तथा ऐसा कयके उन्हⴂने मूयोऩीम बाषाओॊ के ऩरयिायⴂ भᴂ सॊफॊध फनामा। इसके ऩीछे उनकी भॊिा इस तथ्म को स्थावऩत कयने की थी कक बायतीम इततहास बी उतना ही ऩुयाना है त्जतना कक मूयोऩ का तथा बायत का बी मूयोऩ की तयह गौयिऩूण म दरु बम अतीत है। उन्हⴂने बायत के गौयिऩूण म अतीत का फचाि ककमा औय फाईफर की कहातनमⴂ के साथ जोड़ने का प्रमास ककमा। उदाहयण के शरए प्रा楍मिाहदमⴂ ने नोह आकम की कहानी को भनु की कहानी के सभानाॊतय यखा है।

प्रा楍मिादी ऩयॊऩया की नीॊि यखी: एशिमाहटक सोसामटी ऑप फॊगार 1784 , फनायस भᴂ सॊस्कृ त कॉरेज 1794 , करकत्ता भᴂ पोटम विशरमभ कॉरेज 1800. योशभरा थाऩय ने मह तकम हदमा कक इततहासरेखन का मह स्कू र , मूयोऩीम तथा एशिमन सभाजⴂ भᴂ आमनम सॊफॊध के जरयमे एशिमा औय मूयोऩ के भध्म नस्रीम सॊफॊधⴂ को स्थावऩत कयता है। मकीनन उनका उेश्म बायतीम

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi

तथा मूयोऩीम अतीत को एकीकृ त कयना था , ऩयॊतु इस प्रकिमा भᴂ िे नस्र के साथ जातत को रेकय भ्शभत हुए। उन्हⴂने इस तथ्म को स्थावऩत कयने की कोशिि की कक उ楍च जातीम बायतीम भूरत् आमनम नस्र के रोग हℂ। इस प्रकाय उन्हⴂने बायतीम सभाज को नस्र की िेणी से अिगत कयामा। िेखय फॊदोऩाध्माम ने तकम हदमा कक हभ

प्रा楍मिाद की व्मािहारयकता को िॉयेन हैत्स्टॊग्ज के कामिम भⴂ तथा नीततमⴂ भᴂ देखत े हℂ। उनका भूरबूत तनमभ था बायत को बायतीम कानूनⴂ औय तनमभⴂ 饍िाया िाशसत कयना त्जससे कक िे िैधता प्राप्त कय सकᴂ । इस उेश्म के शरए उनके शरए मह आिश्मक था कक िे बायतीम सभाज के फाये भᴂ जानकायी प्राप्त कयᴂ। िे बायतीमⴂ को बी ब्रिहटि याज के फजाम ब्रिहटि िासन की अधीनता भᴂ यखना चाहते थे। थॉभस राटभैन तकमदेते हℂ कक प्रा楍मिादी

इततहासरेखन की विशबन्न याजनीततक ऩरयमोजनाएॊ थीॊ। उन्हⴂने मह सुझामा है कक बायतीम एिॊ मूयोवऩमⴂ के भध्म यक्त सॊफॊधⴂ (नस्रीम सॊफॊध) को फढ़ािा देकय उऩतनिेििाहदमⴂ ने प्रेभ के िब्दाडॊफयⴂ के जरयमे नैततक 셂ऩ से जोड़ने की कोशिि की है। प्रा楍मिाहदमⴂ के दो ऩऺ थे। राडम कानमिाशरस एक प्रा楍मिादी प्रिासक के 셂ऩ भᴂ बायत के

गौयिऩूण म अतीत भᴂ विश्िास कयता है ऩयॊतु सभकारीन बायत को र्गयती त्स्थतत भᴂ ऩाता है। कानिम ाशरस सभकारीन बायतीम प्रिासन के आॊग्रीकयण के ऩऺ भᴂ था। िह बायतीम सभाज भᴂ हस्तऺेऩ के ऩऺ भᴂ था। ऩयॊतु थॉभस भुनयो जैसे प्रिासकⴂ का अरग ऩऺ था , त्जन्हⴂने बायतीम सभाज के यीतत रयिाजⴂ औय ऩयॊऩयाओॊ का फचाि ककमा औय अहस्तऺेऩ की नीतत का सभथमन ककमा।

अत् साम्रा煍मिादी ऩरयप्रेक्ष्म के इस चयण के भुख्म भुे इस प्रकाय हℂ:

उस चयण भᴂ प्रा楍मिादी बायतीम अतीत के 셂भानीिादी (Romantism) तथा िेण्मिाद (Classicism) से प्रेरयत थे।

1. उनकी ऩरयमोजना का भुख्म उेश्म बायत की विजातीम छवि का तनभामण कयना था। बायत के ऐततहाशसक र्चत्रण के जरयए उन्हⴂने बायत की तात्त्िक तथा आध्मात्त्भक क쥍ऩना का तनभामण ककमा। इस प्रकिमा भᴂ

प्रा楍मिादी मह सॊदेि देत े हℂ कक बायत देि मूयोऩ से ऩूण म 셂ऩ से शबन्न है। बायत आध्मात्त्भक है , तथा उत्कृ ष्ट्टता भᴂ विश्िास कयता है, िहीॊ मूयोऩ िैऻातनक है तथा तथ्मⴂ औय सत्मⴂ भᴂ विश्िास कयता है। इस प्रकाय उन्हⴂने बायत को ‘‘मूयोऩीम स्ि’’ से ‘‘अन्म’’ के 셂ऩ भᴂ र्चब्रत्रत ककमा।

2. इस चयण भᴂ अर्धकतय मूयोवऩमⴂ ने बायतीम साभात्जक यीततमⴂ औय ऩयॊऩयाओॊ भᴂ अहस्तऺेऩ के 饃त्ष्ट्टकोण का अनुसयण ककमा।

जयभी फथℂ भ ने उऩमोर्गतािादी शसाॊत का प्रततऩादन ककमा। अऩनी ऩुस्तक ‘‘फ्रैग्भℂट ऑप गिनमभᴂट’’ भᴂ िह तकम देते हℂ कक , ‘‘अर्धकतभ रोगⴂ का अर्धकतभ सुख , सही ि गरत का भाऩदॊड है ’’। म饍मवऩ फाद भᴂ उन्हⴂने ‘‘उऩमोर्गता का शसाॊत ’’ हदमा रेककन आगे िह अर्धकतभ रोगⴂ के अर्धकतभ सुख का तकम देत े हℂ।

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi

उन्हीॊ के शसाॊतानुसाय , बायत के सॊदबम भᴂ शभर ने बायत भᴂ उऩतनिेििाद की उऩत्स्थतत औय साम्रा煍मिादी उऩमोर्गतािादी उदाय नीतत को न्मामोर्चत ठहयामा।

इततहासऱेिन का उऩयोगगतावादी स्कू ऱः

योशभरा थाऩय तकम देती हℂ कक 19िीॊ िताब्दी के अॊत भᴂ साम्रा煍मिादी विचायधाया फदर गई थी क्मⴂकक

इसकी आिश्मकता फदर गई थी। इस सभम तक बायत ऩय उऩतनिेिी विजम ऩूण म हो गई थी। अफ ब्रिहटि साम्रा煍म बायत की अथमव्मिस्था ऩय तनमॊत्रण प्राप्त कयना चाहता था त्जससे ककिह इॊग्रℂड के उ饍मोगⴂ के शरए क楍चा भार प्राप्त कय सके तथा तैमाय भार के शरए फाजाय बी। सीधे िब्दⴂ भᴂ िह बायतीम अथमव्मिस्था ऩय तनमॊत्रण प्राप्त कयना चाहता था। इस कायण उन्हⴂने अऩने अहस्तऺेऩिादी 饃त्ष्ट्टकोण को हस्तऺेऩिादी 饃त्ष्ट्टकोण भᴂ फदरहदमा। अऩने 饃त्ष्ट्टकोण भᴂ इस फदराि को उर्चत ठहयाने के शरए सभथमन (और्चत्म) की आिश्मकता थी। साम्रा煍मिादी इततहासरेखन का मह चयण इसी फात ऩय कᴂहद्रत था औय इसने अऩने ऩरयिततमत 饃त्ष्ट्टकोण की और्चत्मता केशरए

एक नए स्कू र का तनभामण ककमा।

नए स्कू र को , उऩमोर्गतािादी स्कू र कहा गमा। इस स्कू र के प्रभुख प्रतततनर्ध जेम्स शभर , राडम विशरमभ फℂहटक औय रॉडम डरहौज़ी थे। जैसे ही जेम्स शभर ने रॊदन भᴂ ईस्ट इॊडडमा कॊऩनी का काममबाय सॊबारा

उन्हⴂने अऩने उऩमोर्गतािादी शसाॊतानुसाय बायत के शरए नीततमाॊ तनदेशित कयना प्रायॊब कय दीॊ। 1817 भᴂ प्रकाशित अऩनी ऩुस्तक ‘‘हहस्री ऑप ब्रिहटि इॊडडमा ’’ भᴂ सफसे ऩहरी फाय उन्हⴂने तकम हदमा कक सय विशरमभ जोन्स जैसे रोगⴂ ने बायत के गौयििारी अतीत के विषम भᴂ शभथक (कत्쥍ऩत कथा) की यचना की। शभर ने बायत

की साॊस्कृ ततक , आध्मात्त्भक औय ऩायॊऩरयक सॊऩन्नता की सबी गौयििारी व्माख्माओॊ को नकाय हदमा। उसने बायतीम सभाज की कभजोय तथा गततहीन ऩरयत्स्थततमⴂ ऩय फर हदमा औय मह तथ्म स्थावऩत ककमा कक बायतीम सभाज भᴂ प्रगतत राने के शरए बायत को ऩरयितमन की आिश्मकता थी। िह आगे तकम देते हℂ कक केिर ब्रिहटि

विधान ही बायतीम सभाज के शरए ऩरयितनम का कायक हो सकता है। उनका अनुसयण कयत े हुए , विचाय के उऩमोर्गतािादी स्कू र ने इसी तज म ऩय अऩना स्कू र विकशसत ककमा। िे शिऺा तथा कानूनⴂ के भाध्मभ से ऩरयितनम राना चाहते थे तथावऩ , इस स्कू र भᴂ आॊतरयक वियोधाबासⴂ (वियोधाबास का अथम अस्ऩष्ट्टता मा 饍िैतिाद) का अत्स्तत्ि था। टी.फी. भैकारे जैसे व्मत्क्त अॊग्रेजी शिऺा भाध्मभ सेऩरयितमन राना चाहते थे , रेककन शभर स्िमॊ स्थानीम बाषा भᴂ शिऺा देने के ऩऺ भᴂ थे। इस वियोधाबास का 饍वितीम उदाहयण था – राडम विशरमभ फℂहटक 饍िाया

सती प्रथा औय शििु-हत्मा को सभाप्त कयने के शरए कानून का तनभामण। िह उऩमोर्गतािादी दिमन औय विचाय का भहान सभथमक था, जो कानून के भाध्मभ से ऩरयितनम राता है। इसके फािजूद उसने इस तथ्म को फनाए यखा कक

उसके 셃दम भᴂ बायतीम ऩयॊऩया के शरए फहुत सम्भान है। उसने बायतीमⴂ को उनका स楍चा धभ म िाऩस हदराने का विचाय यखा। इस प्रकाय प्राचीन हहदॊ ू धभ म ग्रॊथⴂ के आधाय ऩय उसने सती-प्रथा सभात्प्त के कामम को न्मामोर्चत ठहयामा औय मह स्थावऩत ककमा कक मही स楍चा हहदॊ ू धभ म है । इस प्रकाय ऩरयितमन के इस 饍िैतिाद भᴂ, तनयॊतयता के िेि भᴂ, उऩमोर्गतािादी स्कू र का वियोधाबास तनहहत है।

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi

जेम्स शभर ने बायत के इततहास को तीन कारⴂ भᴂ विबात्जत ककमा- हहदॊ ू सभ्मता, भुत्स्रभ सभ्मता औय ब्रिहटि बायत। िह तकम देता है कक हहदॊ ू तथा भुत्स्रभ सभ्मताएॊ वऩछड़ी तथा गततहीन थीॊ। िे बायतीम तथा मूयोऩीम सभ्मता के फीच कोई सॊफॊध नहीॊ ढूॊढ़ सके । उन्हⴂने श्िेत आमनम ⴂ जैसे मूयोऩीम औय कारे चभम (यॊग) िारे बायतीम रोगⴂ के शसाॊत को प्रस्थावऩत ककमा। इस प्रकाय उनके शरए बायत अॊधकायऩूण म भहा饍िीऩ का बाग था औय बायतीम सभाज भूरत् जाततग्रस्त , कभमकाॊडिादी औय अऩरयितमनिीर त्स्थय सभाज था। िह तकम देते हℂ कक बायतीम ‘आधुतनकता’ के िाॊततकायी विचाय-िैऻातनकता , ताककमकता औय व्मत्क्तिाहदता के विचाय से अनशबऻ थे। उऩमोर्गतािादी शसाॊतकायⴂ ने बायत के शरए ‘‘प्रा楍म तनयॊकु िता ’’ की अिधायणा यर्चत की थी। महाॊ ऩय हभ

फहुत ही सॊऺेऩ भᴂ प्रा楍म स्िे楍छाचायी िासन की अिधायणा का सभझने का प्रमास कयᴂगे।

“ओररएंिऱ डेस्ऩोदि煍म (प्रा楍य तानाशाही)” : ओरयएॊटर का अथ म है ऩूयफ का , औय ‘‘डेस्ऩौट’’ एक ग्रीक िब्द है त्जसका अथम है- अत्माचायी िासक। विशबन्न मूयोऩीम याजनीततक दािमतनकⴂ 饍िाया इस विचाय का प्रमोग ऩूिी सभाज की प्रिासकीम ऩरयत्स्थततमⴂ को दिामने के शरए ककमा गमा था। ऩहरी फाय अयस्तू ने अऩनी प्रशस ऩुस्तक ‘ऩॉशरहटक्स’ भᴂ इस िब्द का प्रमोग प्रा楍म प्रिासकीम व्मिस्था की प्रकिमा को ऩरयबावषत कयने के शरए ककमाथा।

फाद भᴂ इस िब्द का प्रमोग , याजनीततक विचायकⴂ भाॊटेस्क्मू , भैक्मािरी औय हीगर जैसे विचायकⴂ 饍िाया हुआ। इस प्रकाय ‘ऩूिी स्िे楍छाचायी िासन’ एशिमाई प्रिासकीम सभाज को ऩरयबावषत कयने के शरए एक अिधायणात्भक ढाॊचा फन गमा। मह एशिमा , अफ्रीका औय भध्मऩूि म की मूयोकᴂ द्रीम व्माख्मा का भागदम िमक विचाय फन गमा। आगे भाक्सम ने मह तकम हदमा कक ‘ऩूिी तानािाही’ एशिमाई उत्ऩादन की प्रणारी के शरए आिश्मक था। एशिमा एक कृ वष सभाज है औय कृ वष प्रधान सभाजⴂ के शरए व्मत्क्तगत सॊऩत्त्त स्िीकाय नहीॊ हो सकती। इस प्रकाय विश्ि के इस बाग को ऩूिी स्िे楍छाचायी िासन की आिश्मकता थी।

इस प्रकाय, प्रा楍मिादी स्कू र की तयह उऩमोर्गतािादी स्कू र ने बी बायत के ‘अतनिामीकयण’ का विचाय यखा। िह प्रा楍मिाहदमⴂ की तयह िैधता बी प्राप्त कयनाचाहते थे , दोनⴂ स्कू र बायत को मूयोऩ से शबन्न के 셂ऩ भᴂ

र्चब्रत्रत कयना चाहत े थे रेककन दोनⴂ के फीच फहुत थोड़ा सा अॊतय था। उऩमोर्गतािादी स्कू र ने इस तथ्म को नकाय हदमा था कक बायतीम अतीत जैसा कक प्रा楍मिाहदमⴂ ने र्चब्रत्रत ककमा था, कबी बी गौयििारी यहा था।

दसू ये, उन्हⴂने मह तथ्म स्थावऩत ककमा कक केिर उऩतनिेििादी प्रिासतनक प्रकिमाओॊ से ही बायतीम सभाज भᴂ ऩरयितमन, एकीकृ त ऩहचान औय साभात्जक सुधाय रामा जा सकता है।

इस प्रकाय, साम्रा煍मिादी 饃त्ष्ट्टकोण ने याष्ट्रिाहदमⴂ औय बायत के एकीकृ त ऺेत्र के विचाय को औय बायतीम याष्ट्रिाद को कबी भान्मता नहीॊ दी।

राष्ट्रवादी ऩररप्रेक्ष्य:

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi

इततहासरेखन का याष्ट्रिादी 饃त्ष्ट्टकोण , स्ितॊत्रता आॊदोरन के नेताओॊ 饍िाया उसके अतीत की ऩुनव्मामख्मा

का ऩरयणाभ था। मह स्कू र, साम्रा煍मिादी स्कू र के साथ-साथ उहदत हुआ था। अऩने प्रशस रेख ‘‘याइहटॊग ऩोस्ट ओरयएॊटशरस्ट हहस्रीज ऑप थडम ि쥍डम : ऩयस्ऩैत्क्टिज ऑन इॊडडमन हहस्टोग्रापी’’ भᴂ उत्तय-उऩतनिेििादी वि饍िान 10 ऻानप्रकाि मह तकम देते हℂ कक बायत के उत्तय-प्रा楍मिादी इततहास को शरखने के प्रमास 셂ऩ भᴂ याष्ट्रिादी इततहासरेखन साभने आमा। याष्ट्रिादी इततहासकायⴂ ने ‘बायत एक अऩरयितमनिीर औय त्स्थय सभाज है ’, के

साम्रा煍मिादी विचाय के वि셁 अऩनी आिाज फुरॊद की। िह तकम देत े हℂ कक , साम्रा煍मिादी इततहासरेखन से वििाभ रेने के प्रमास भᴂ , याष्ट्रिादी इततहासकायⴂ ने प्रा楍मिादी इततहास भᴂ तनयॊतयता औय ऩरयितमन प्रदशिमत ककमा।

याष्ट्रिाहदमⴂ ने ‘अतनिामीकयण प्रकिमा ’ को जायी यखत े हुए , बायत को , िैऻातनक ऩत्श्चभ की तुरना भᴂ आध्मात्त्भक औय तात्त्िक प्रदेि के 셂ऩ भᴂ प्रस्तुत ककमा। इस प्रकाय साम्रा煍मिादी 饃त्ष्ट्टकोण से उन्हⴂने बायत को ऩत्श्चभ से ‘‘इतय’’ के 셂ऩ भᴂ बी देखा। उन्हⴂने साम्रा煍मिादी दािे , कक केिर उऩतनिेििादी प्रिासन बायतीम ऺेत्र भᴂ ऩरयितमन रा सकता है , को नकाय हदमा। इस प्रकाय याष्ट्रिादी इततहासकाय , साम्रा煍मिादी इततहासकायⴂ के

इस दािे से प्रततस्ऩधाम कय यहे थे कक बायत आधुतनक याष्ट्र या煍म के 셂ऩ भᴂ के िर औऩतनिेशिक प्रिासन के 饍िाया ही उबय सकता है। ऻानप्रकाि कु छ याष्ट्रिादी इततहासकायⴂ जैसे एच.सी.याम चौधयी, फेनी प्रसाद, आय.सी.भजूभदाय,

का हिारा देत े हुए कहत े हℂ कक इन इततहासकायⴂ ने प्राचीन बायतीम इततहास भᴂ , गुप्त तथा भौम म याजिॊि के इततहास भᴂ, बायत को एक आधुतनक याष्ट्र-या煍म के 셂ऩ भᴂ देखा। योशभरा थाऩय के अनुसाय याष्ट्रिादी इततहासकायⴂ के दािे, कक बायत भᴂ सफ कु छ अ楍छा है , जैसे आध्मात्त्भकता , आमम उ饍गभ , याजनीततक विचाय , करा औय िानदाय ऩयॊऩया, ऩूण म 셂ऩ से बायतीम भौशरक विचाय हℂ। याष्ट्रिादी महाॊ तक दािा कयत े हℂ कक बायत के स्िण म मुग ने दक्षऺणऩूि म एशिमा की सॊस्कृ तत के विकास भᴂ सिक्त मोगदान हदमा है। इस प्रकाय याष्ट्रिादी इततहासकायⴂ ने ‘‘प्रा楍म स्िे楍छाचायी िासन’’ की अिधायणा को तछन्न-शबन्न कय हदमा।

ऻानप्रकाि तथा योशभरा थाऩय-दोनⴂ तकम देते हℂ कक याष्ट्रिादी इततहासकाय बायतीम इततहास की

कारािर्धमⴂ को हहदॊ ,ू भुत्स्रभ तथा ब्रिहटि कारⴂ भᴂ विबात्जत ककए जाने से सहभत थे। बायतीम अतीत के इस साम्रात्煍मक विबाजन ने बायत भᴂ धाशभकम याष्ट्रिाद को औय फढ़ामा। उऩमुक्म त िणनम से हभ साम्रा煍मिादी तथा याष्ट्रिादी स्कू रⴂ के फीच तनयॊतयता औय असहभतत के फाये भᴂ सभझ सकत े हℂ। अफ हभ याष्ट्रिादी स्कू र की विशबन्न िाखाओॊ की व्माख्मा कयᴂगे। जिाहय रार नेह셂, िी.डी. साियकय, दादाबाई नौयोजी, रारा राजऩत याम, आय.सी.

भजूभदाय, एस.एन.फनजी औय फी.आय.नॊदा इस स्कू र के प्रख्मात वि饍िान तथा अग्रज यहे त्जन्हⴂने इस स्कू र के र्चतॊ न तथा दिमन को प्रस्तुत ककमा, विकशसत ककमा तथा व्माख्मा की। हभ इस स्कू र को तीन हहस्सⴂ भᴂ सभझᴂगे्

1. ‘‘धमवतनरऩेऺ’’ राष्ट्रवादी ऩररप्रेक्ष्य

2. धार्मवक राष्ट्रवादी ऩररप्रेक्ष्य

10 ऻान प्रकाि, 1990, याइहटॊग ऩॉस्ट ओरयमᴂटशरस्ट हहस्रीज़ ऑप दीथडम ि쥍डम: प्रोस्ऩेत्क्टिज ऑन इॊडडमन हहस्टोरयमोग्रापी, कम्ऩेयेहटि स्टडीज एॊड हहस्री, िॉ쥍मूभ-32, नॊ.2 (अप्रैर, 1990) भᴂ, ऩ.ृ 383-408, कℂब्रिज मूतनिशसटम ी प्रेस 饍िाया प्रकाशित url: http/www.jstore.org/accessed:20/102013

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi

3. आगथवक राष्ट्रवादी ऩररप्रेक्ष्य,

धमवतनरऩेऺ राष्ट्रवादी ऩररप्रेक्ष्यः

हाराॊकक बायतीम ऻान ऩय ऩूिी वििेषऻता को याष्ट्रिादी ऩरयप्रेक्ष्म के प्रत्मेक ऩऺ ने चुनौती दी ऩयॊतु धभतम नयऩेऺ 饃त्ष्ट्टकोण का उदम बायतीम अतीत से जुड़ े एक वििेष धभ म (हहदॊ )ू के साथ विशिष्ट्ट ऩहचान के प्रत्मुत्तय के 셂ऩ भᴂ

हुआ। ऻान प्रकाि का भत है कक ऩॊडडत जिाहयरार नेह셂 की कृ तत ‘बायत की खोज ’ इस गुट के याष्ट्रिादी ऩरयप्रेक्ष्म के विकास का भुख्म स्रोत हो सकती है। इस ऩुस्तक भᴂ ऩॊडडत नेह셂 ने तकम हदमा ‘‘बायतीम सॊस्कृ तत के शरए हहदॊ ू मा हहदॊ ू धभ म का प्रमोग अिाॊतछत था। ’’ िे अऩनी ऩुस्तक भᴂ बायत को एक साॊस्कृ ततक विविधताओॊ का देि कहते हℂ। मह धभम , सॊस्कृ तत तथा साभात्जक विविधताओॊ के भहान शभिण का देि यहा है। नेह셂 के अनुसाय बायत विविधता भᴂ एकता का देि था। हहदॊ ू धभ म औय बायत के प्राचीन अतीत के भध्म ककसी वििेष सॊफॊध को उन्हⴂने नकाया था। ऻान प्रकाि के अनुसाय ‘बायत की खोज’ इततहास के दौयान बायतीम एकता का दस्तािेज था। इस प्रकाय उन्हⴂने बायत के शरए एक धभतम नयऩेऺ तथा एकीकृ त प्रदेि की छवि का तनभामण ककमा। हाराॊकक बायत भᴂ धाशभमक, नस्रीम विबाजन बी 饃त्ष्ट्टगोचय होते यहे हℂ , ऩयॊतु अॊत भᴂ इसने इस ऩय विजम प्राप्त की। अफ बायत एक एकीकृ त, अविबात्जत तथा गौयिऩूण म देि है।

धार्मवक राष्ट्रवादी ऩररप्रेक्ष्यः

याष्ट्रिादी इततहासरेखन का धाशभकम 饃त्ष्ट्टकोण हहदॊ ू ऩुन셁ाय ऩय आधारयत है। इस स्कू र के वि饍िान मह तकम देत े हℂ कक बायत आिश्मक 셂ऩ से हहदॊ ू याष्ट्र था। मह िेदⴂ तथा उऩतनषदⴂ का स्थान यहा है। मह आध्मात्त्भकता तथा भहान साॊस्कृ ततक ऩयॊऩया का देि यहा है। उन्हⴂने बायत को हहदॊ ओु ॊ की वऩतबृ ूशभ के 셂ऩ भᴂ फतामा। कपय िे तकम देत े हℂ कक फाद भᴂ (भध्म मुग) बायत भᴂ इस्राभ आमा औय भुसरभानⴂ के आगभन के ऩश्चात , बायतीम इततहास का

ऩतन ितभम ान त्स्थतत तक हुआ।

उनका याष्ट्रिाद हहदॊ ू गौयि तथा धाशभकम बािनाओॊ ऩय आधारयत था। बायतीम नेता त्जन्हⴂने बायतीम याष्ट्रिादी इततहासरेखन के इस गुट का प्रतततनर्धत्ि ककमा िे थे – विनामक दाभोदय साियकय , फार गॊगाधय ततरक तथा अन्म। अयविॊदो घोष सयीखे नेताओॊ ने बौततकिादी ऩत्श्चभ के विऩयीत आध्मात्त्भक बायत की छवि तनशभमत

की। उन्हⴂने बायत की साम्रात्煍मक व्माख्मा, त्जसभᴂ बायतीम सभाज साभात्जक फुयाइमⴂ-सती, फारवििाह तथा दहेज व्मिस्था, से ग्रशसत भाना था , के वि셁 बायत की गौयिऩूण म आध्मात्त्भक छवि फनाने भᴂ सहमोग हदमा। उन्हⴂने इन याष्ट्रिादी बािनाओॊ को फढ़ाने के शरए धाशभमक ऩिⴂ तथा ऩयॊऩयाओॊ का उऩमोग ककमा। धाशभमक याष्ट्रिाद के

विकास ने बायत भᴂ साॊप्रदातमकता को उबाया। इसने बायत भᴂ हहन्द-ू भुत्स्रभ विबाजन को फढ़ािा हदमा औय बायत भᴂ धाशभकम ऩहचान के विचाय को सुगभ फनामा। इन नेताओॊ ने औऩतनिेशिक सत्ता के वि셁 िाॊतत राने के शरए सत्ता तथा फर प्रमोग का बी सभथमन ककमा।

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi

ऻान प्रकाि आगे तकम देत े हℂ कक हाराॊकक धाशभकम याष्ट्रिाद प्रकृ तत से हहसॊ क था ऩयॊतु धभतम नयऩेऺ याष्ट्रिाहदमⴂ की तयह िे बी प्रकृ तत से बायत के सजातीम एकर अत्स्तत्ि के विचाय के सभथकम थे। मह हभ एक उदाहयण के जरयमे सभझ सकते हℂ। विनामक दाभोदय साियकय ने 1909 भᴂ ‘‘इॊडडमन िॉय ऑप इॊडडऩेन्डेन्स्

1857’’ नाभक ऩुस्तक शरखी। अऩनी इस ऩुस्तक भᴂ उन्हⴂने प्रा楍मविदⴂ के इस 饃त्ष्ट्टकोण की तनदॊ ा की त्जसभᴂ इन्हⴂने 1857 के बायतीम सॊग्राभ को सैन्म विद्रोह (फगाित) फतामा था। साियकय ने सैन्म विद्रोह के स्थान ऩय विप्रि िब्द का इस्तेभार ककमा। उन्हⴂने आगे व्माख्मा की कक 1857 का सिस्त्र सॊघषम िास्ति भᴂ औऩतनिेशिक िोषण औय दभन के वि셁 अर्खर बायतीम विप्रि था।

चते न बट्ट ने अऩनी ऩुस्तक “हहदॊ ू नेिनशर煍भ : ओरयजन ,आइडडमोरोजी एॊड भॉडनम शभथ्स” भᴂ बायत भᴂ हहदॊ ू याष्ट्रिाद की कड़ी आरोचना की है। िे कहते हℂ कक बायतीम याष्ट्रिाद इस दािे ऩय आधारयत है कक मह बायत के प्राभार्णक, आध्मात्त्भक, जातीम, तथा धाशभमक ऩयॊऩया का उत्ऩाद है , ऩयॊतु मह शभथक है। इन्हⴂने मह सुझामा है कक हहदॊ ू याष्ट्रिाद एक आधुतनक शभथक है औय हहदॊ त्ु ि की विचायधाया मूयोऩीम योभाॊसिाद औय ऩुनजामगयण के विचायⴂ के प्रबाि का ऩरयणाभ है। बट्ट के अनुसाय बायतीम धाशभकम ऩहचान आहदभिाद , अिमििाद, सकिमतािाद तथा साथ ही नस्रिाद ऩय आधारयत है। हाराॊकक किस्टॉपय जापयेरोट सयीखे वि饍िानⴂ का भत है कक ‘बायतीम याष्ट्रिाद’’ भुख्मत् उ楍चजातीम सुधायकⴂ के िाह्भणिादी विचायⴂ को प्रततब्रफब्रॊ फत कयता है। िह हहदॊ ू याष्ट्रिाद की प्रबुता तथा इसके 饍िाया की गई

अन्म जातीम, नस्र आधारयत, धाशभमक सॊघषम, जो उऩतनिेि-वियोधी सॊघष म के दौयान हुए, की आरोचना कयता है।

आगथवक राष्ट्रवादी ऩररप्रेक्ष्य

दादा बाई नौयोजी ने एक ऩुस्तक ‘‘ऩोिटी एण्ड अन ब्रिहटि 셂र इन इॊडडमा ’’ शरखी। नौयोजी, यानाडे तथा आय.सी. दत्त ने “ द इकॉनोशभक हहस्री ऑप इॊडडमा’’ प्रकाशित की। उन्हⴂने इस ऩुस्तक के तीन खॊड शरखे। फाद भᴂ मह ऩुस्तक आर्थकम याष्ट्रिादी ऩरयप्रेक्ष्म का एक स्रोत फनी।

आर्थमक याष्ट्रिाद उऩतनिेििाद कीआर्थमक आरोचना ऩय आधारयत था। आर्थमक याष्ट्रिाहदमⴂ ने औऩतनिेशिक सत्ता 饍िाया ककए गए आर्थमक िोषण की कठोय तनॊदा की। दादा बाई नौयोजी , न्मामाधीि एभ.जी.

यानाडे तथा आय.सी.दत्त ने इस स्कू र का प्रतततनर्धत्ि ककमा। आर्थकम याष्ट्रिाहदमⴂ का मह तकम कक बायत भᴂ गयीफी भुक्त व्माऩाय के ऩयॊऩयागत आर्थकम शसाॊत को रागू कयने का ऩरयणाभ है। ब्रिहटि साम्रा煍म ने क楍च े भार के प्रत्मऺ दोहन की नीतत को फदरा औय विदेिी ऩूॊजी तनिेि तथा भुक्त व्माऩाय के जरयमे िोषण की अ쥍ऩ 饃श्मभान नीतत को अऩनामा। अफ बायत कृ वष के क楍च े भार के स्रोत के 셂ऩ भᴂ उबया औय ब्रिहटि ऩूॊजी तनिेि के ऺेत्र के 셂ऩ भᴂ फदर गमा। इन वि饍िानⴂ का मह भानना था कक बायतीम विकास औ饍मोगीकयण के जरयए औय िह बी केिर

बायतीम ऩूॊजी के इस्तभे ार से ही सॊबि हो सकता है , जफकक विदेिी तनिेि राब कभाने के उेश्म से सॊऩदा के तनकास की ओय अग्रसय होगा। दादा बाई नौयोजी का तनकास शसाॊत साम्रात्煍मक ित्क्त के तछऩे आर्थमक िोषण को

दिामने के शरए एक प्रभुख िब्दािरी फन गमा।

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi

तनकास र्स饍ांतः तनकास शसाॊत आर्थकम याष्ट्रिाद की भुख्म अिधायणा है। मह तकम हदमा गमा कक घयेरू

िु쥍क, सैतनक िु쥍क तथा येरिे तनिेि ऩय ब्माज बुगतान के जरयमे बायत से सॊऩदा का प्रत्मऺ तनकास हुआ है। ब्रिहटि बायतीम सयकाय का फजट घाटा इसका ऩरयणाभ था। परस्ि셂ऩ ब्रिहटि बायत ने कठोय- कयनीततमाॊ अऩनाℂ।

उ楍च बूशभ याजस्ि की भाॊग ने ककसानⴂ भᴂ बूशभ से अरगाि तथा तनधनम ता को फढ़ािा हदमा।

आर्थमक याष्ट्रिाहदमⴂ ने मह सराह दी कक ब्रिहटि साम्रा煍म खचⴂ औय कयⴂ कोघटाए , सैन्म िु쥍क को ऩुनतनधम ामरयत कये , बायतीम उ饍मोगⴂ के सॊयऺण के शरए एक सॊयऺणिादी नीतत , बूशभ याजस्ि के भू쥍माॊकन भᴂ कभी, यैमतिायी औय भाहरिायी ऺेत्रⴂ भᴂ स्थाई फॊदोफस्त का विस्ताय , हस्तकयघा तथा कु टीय उ饍मोगⴂ की यऺा आहद से सॊफॊर्धत नीतत अऩनाए।

11 िेखय फॊदोऩाध्माम का भत है कक ऩैतकृ साम्रा煍मिाद की ऩूण म अिधायणा को चुनौती देकय , अन्म याष्ट्रिाहदमⴂ की तयह आर्थकम याष्ट्रिाहदमⴂ ने औऩतनिेशिक ित्क्त की सॊऩूण म नैततक सत्ता ऩय प्रश्न उठामा। आर्थकम याष्ट्रिाहदमⴂ का भत था कक बायत के स्िदेिी ऩूॊजीिाद को फढ़ािा देने से ही बायत विकास के भाग म को प्राप्त कय सकता है।

इस अध्माम के अॊत भᴂ हभ याष्ट्रिादी ऩरयप्रेक्ष्म के कु छ आधायबूत रऺणⴂ को सभझने की कोशिि कयᴂगे।

ऻान प्रकाि ने इसका फहुत ही साधायण िब्दⴂ भᴂ साय प्रस्तुत ककमा है। उन्हⴂने याष्ट्रिादी इततहासरेखन के दो भुख्म रऺणⴂ को र्चत्ह्नत ककमा है। प्रथभ , िे तकम देत े हℂ कक प्रा楍मविदⴂ की तयह याष्ट्रिाहदमⴂ ने बी बायत के गौयिऩूण म अतीत भᴂ विश्िास यखा रेककन उसके फाद अन्म विचायⴂ भᴂ उनभᴂ भतबेद था। प्रा楍मिाहदमⴂ के शरए बायत ‘ऻान का

विषम’ था, ऩयॊतु याष्ट्रिादी ऩरयप्रेक्ष्म भᴂ बायत एक अविबात्जत , सॊमुक्त औय सॊप्रबु प्रदेि था। दसू ये , याष्ट्रिाहदमⴂ ने बायत को सत्ताभूरक की ऩ饍िी दी, त्जसको प्रा楍मिादी वि饍िानⴂ ने नकाय हदमा था।

ऩाथाम चटजी के अनुसाय बायतीम याष्ट्रिाद मूयोऩीम याष्ट्रिाद का ‘व्मुत्ऩन्न विभिम’(रेककन उससे शबन्न) था। आिीष नॊदी बी मह तकम देते हℂ , हाराॊकक बायतीम याष्ट्रिाद ऩाश्चात्म साम्रा煍मिाद के प्रत्मुत्तय भᴂ उबया ऩयॊतु इस प्रकिमा भᴂ इसने स्िमॊ को उसी जार भᴂ ऩामा। याष्ट्रिादी ऩरयप्रेक्ष्म िैत्श्िक आधुतनकता के िोषणिादी ढाॊच े को नहीॊ नकायता है। इसने बायत की तनम्न जातत, तनम्न िगम, आहदिासी जीिन तथा त्स्त्रमⴂ की आिाज़ⴂ की अनदेखी की है त्जसकी हभ अगरे अध्माम भᴂ विस्ताय से चचाम कयᴂगे।

संदभव

Anil Seal, 1968, Emergence of : competitions and collaboration in the Later 19th Century, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pg 7to24.

Ernest Gellner, 1983, Nation and Nationalism, London: Blackwell Publishing House, Pg 1-18s

11 िेखय फॊदोऩाध्माम, 2004 फ्रॉभ प्रासी टू ऩाहटमिन: अ डडस्री ऑप भॉडनम इॊडडमा, नई हद쥍री, ओरयमॊट ब्रैक स्िॉन प्राइिेट शरशभटेड, ऩ.ृ 66-250.

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi

Romila Thapar, 2000, “Interpreting Colonial History: Colonial, Nationalist, and Post-Colonial” in Peter Ronald Desouza, ed, Contemporary India: Transitions, Delhi: Sage Publications, pp 25-36.

Shekhar Bandyopadhyay, 2004, From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India, New Delhi: Orient Blackswan Private Limited, Pg 66-250.

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi Constitutional Development During British Rule in India This article throws light on the four major acts passed for constitutional development during British Rule in India.

The acts are: 1. Indian Councils Act of 1892 2. Morley-Minto Reforms, 1909 3. Reforms Act of 1919 4. Government of India Act, 1935.

Act # 1. Indian Councils Act of 1892: By the Councils Act of 1861 a few Indians could be members of the Councils which had the power of enacting laws only.

The Councils had not the power of controlling the executive or the right of interpellation.

With the founding of the Indian National Congress in 1885 there was a persistent demand for inclusion of larger number of Indians, on the basis of election, in the Councils and other related rights and powers.

During the administration of Lord Dufferin a Commission was appointed to examine the demands of the Congress. Pursuant to the report and recommendation of the Commission Lord Cross the then Secretary of State for India got the Indian Councils Act of 1892 passed by the Parliament.

By the Act of 1892 the membership of the governor general’s Council and of the provincial councils was increased. But the members were to be nominated as before; the principle of election was not conceded. The only exception was that the District Boards and the Municipal Boards which were allowed to nominate members to the Councils indirectly followed the principle of election, for, the members of the District Boards and the Municipal Boards were themselves elected representatives.

The powers of the Councils were also enhanced in some measures. Formerly the members of the Councils could express their opinion in matters of taxation. But in, the Act of 1892 they were allowed to discuss the government budget, and put question to the Executive on certain matters of administration.

Although the Councils Act of 1892 was an improvement upon the former Councils Act, it did not meet the demands of the people. Majority of the members of the Councils were still nominated by the government. However, in the newly formed Central Council the presence of leaders like , Rashbehari Ghosh, Asutosh Mukerjee, Surendranath Banerjee etc. made the discussions and deliberations lively and if their criticism could not control the government, at least succeeded in influencing it to some extent.

Act # 2. Morley-Minto Reforms, 1909: Intensity of Congress movement and persistent demand by Congress for constitutional reforms, coupled with the fear complex generated in the British by the revolutionaries made the government introduce reforms of 1909. Morley was the Secretary of State and Minto was the governor general and , hence the reforms of 1909 are known as Morely-Minto reforms.

These reforms provided for the association of the qualified Indians with the government to a greater extent in deciding public questions. One seat in the governor general’s Executive Council was reserved for an Indian member. S. P. Sinha, later Lord Sinha was the first Indian to attain that honour. The number of members of the Executive Councils of Bombay and Madras was raised to four. Although there was no provision for reserving any seat for any Indian in the Executive Councils of the provinces, Raja Kishori Lai Goswami was appointed a member of the Executive Council of .

The most striking feature of the Act of 1909 was the introduction of important changes in the composition and functions of the Legislative Councils. The number of additional members of the Central Legislature was raised from sixteen to a maximum of sixty of whom not more than 28 were to be officials.

The governor general was empowered to nominate three non-officials to represent certain specified communities and could as well nominate two more members. The remaining 27 seats were to be filled in by non-official elected members. The membership of the Provincial Councils was also increased and whereas in the Central Legislature the nominated members constituted the majority, in the Provincial Legislatures provision was made so that elected members were in the majority. The Act of 1909 gave separate electorate to the Muslims.

The Legislative Councils under the new Act were given the power to discuss the budget, to move resolutions, to discuss the problems of the country and adopt resolutions on those matters. The government could, however reject any of such proposals or resolutions. About the native states, military department, foreign relations, the Legislative Councils could not move any resolutions. The Morley-Minto reforms had no doubt marked an important step in the constitutional progress of India, they did not give Parliamentary government to India. These naturally did not come upto the satisfaction of the and their discontent continued unabated.

Act # 3. Reforms Act of 1919: Within five years of the introduction of the Morley-Minto Reforms the First World War broke out. Two schemes were put forward one by Gokhale and another by the Congress and the Muslim League jointly. To satisfy the widespread demand of the Indians for constitutional reforms, as also in recognition of their loyal services to the British government during the First World War Mr. Edwin Montagu, Secretary of State for India made the famous announcement in the House of Commons on August 20, 1917 that “the policy of His Majesty’s Government with which the government of India are in complete accord, is that of the increasing association of Indians in every branch of the administration and the gradual development of self-governing institutions with a view to the progressive realisation of responsible government in India as an integral part of the British Empire” . Mr. Montagu came to India towards the end of 1917 to ascertain public opinion in the country and after an extensive tour, published in April, 1918 the report on Indian constitutional reforms commonly known as Montagu-Chelmsford Report. Mr. Chelmsford was the governor general. The report formed the basis of the reforms of 1919, which became effective in 1921. The reforms Act of 1919 made a clear division of the functions of the Central and the Provincial Governments. The Centre was entrusted with defence, foreign affairs, principal railways and strategic communications, public debt, posts and telegraphs, currency and coinage, commerce, civil and criminal laws, all-India services, certain research institutions etc.

The Provincial Governments were entrusted with the functions in respect of internal law and order, administration of justice and jails, forest, irrigation, inspection of factories, supervision of labour, famine relief, land revenue administration, local self government, education, medical department, public health and sanitation, agriculture, public works, development of industries, excise and cooperatives. The sources of incomes and heads of revenue of the Central and Provincial Governments were also delimited.

The governor general remained, as before, directly responsible to the Secretary of State and the Parliament and not to the Indian Legislature. The Executive Council of the governor general was enlarged. Although not provided for in the Act, in practice three Indians were chosen as members of the Executive Council.

The Central Legislature was made bi-cameral, i.e., with two chambers: the Council of State and the Legislative Assembly. The members of the Executive Council could be members of one or the other house of the legislature, nominated by the governor general. The Upper House, i.e., the Council of State was to have 60 members of whom 34 were to be elected and not more than 20 were to be officials. The Lower House, i.e., the Legislative Assembly was to consist of 140 members, later raised to 145. 105 were to be elected, 26 nominated officials and 14 nominated non-officials. Election to both houses was direct and franchise was on high property qualification. The life of the Upper House was five years and of the Lower House three years. The Upper House was to have a President to be nominated by the governor general from among its members and the Lower House was to have a President and a Deputy President. For the first four years the President of the Lower House was to be appointed by the governor general and thereafter to be elected by the House.

The Central Legislature had the power to make laws for the whole of British India. Prior permission of the governor general was necessary to introduce bills in certain matters. If any bill recommended by the governor general be thrown out or amended unsatisfactorily by either house, the governor general might certify the bill as essential for the safety and tranquillity of British India in which case the original bill would take effect.

The governor general was empowered to promulgate ordinance in case of emergency which would remain in force for six months unless reduced into Act by the legislature. There were votable and non- votable grants. Interest on loans and sinking fund charges, salaries or pensions of -persons appointed by His Majesty, of the Secretary of State etc., were non- votable giants.

Each province had a governor at the head of the executive government. He was appointed by His Majesty. The reforms Act of 1919 introduced a dual government or diarchy in the Provincial Exe- cutive. The governor with his Executive Council was invested with authority over Reserved Subjects for the administration of which the he was responsible to the governor general and Whitehall and not to the legislature.

The Transferred Subjects were placed in charge of the governor generals, and his ministers who were to be appointed from among the provincial legislature. Important matters like law and order were included in the Reserved Subjects, whereas education, health and sanitation, local self government etc., were included in the Transferred Subjects. It is evident that in the Transferred Subjects those subjects were included the mismanagement of which would not affect the British but the people of the country.

As regards the power of the governor in matters of bills introduced in the Provincial Legislature there is similarity with the powers of the governor general. As regards Reserved Subjects the power of the provincial legislature was strictly limited. Insofar as the Transferred Subjects were concerned the Provincial legislature could—cut down, or refuse any demand.

The Act of 1919 gave real responsibility to the representatives of the people although in a limited sphere of administration. Judged from truly democratic stand point, the Act had certain defects both in the Central and Provincial Governments. Yet it must be agreed that the Act was an important step forward in the constitutional progress of India.

The Act of 1919 did not meet the demands of the Indians, since real power was all vested in the hands of the governor general and the governor. Demand for constitutional reforms naturally continued. Greatest objection to the Act was that by dividing the provincial administration into Reserved and Transferred halves, it gave power without responsibility into the hands of the governor general and the governor and responsibility without power into the hands of the provincial legislatures. Act # 4. Government of India Act, 1935: In 1927 that British government appointed a Commission under the Chairmanship of Sir John Simon, earlier than provided in the Act of 1919 to report on the working of the reforms of 1919. As all the seven members of the Commission were British, the Congress, the liberals and important section of the Muslims boycotted it when it reached India in 1928. There was also a wider ground on which the Congress took its stand.

It held that it was not in accord with the principle of self-determina- tion to have constitutional changes effected on the recommendations of a Commission appointed by an outside authority and without any Indian member on it. Lord Irwin, the then governor general wrote to Ramsay MacDonald, the British Prime Minister belonging to the Labour Party which had come to power in 1929 that after the pub- lication of the report of the Simon Commission a conference of the representatives of British India and of the Indian states should be held before final decisions were taken.

This suggestion was accepted. The report of the Commission was published in May, 1930 which recommended responsible government in the provinces, transfer of police, justice to ministers responsible to the legislature, legislatures to be formed on the basis of wider franchise. In Centre there was, however, to be complete British authority and control. It also envisaged an all-India federation including the native States. The British government then summoned a Round Table Conference in London in 1930. The second session met in 1931 and the third session in 1932. But no tangible results could be obtained.

However, on the basis of the report of the Simon Commission and discussions in the Round Table Conference, the British government drafted its proposals for the reform of the Indian constitution which were embodied in a White Paper published in March, 1933. A Joint Committee of both the Houses of the Parliament examined and approved of the proposals subject to certain modifications. On the report of this Committee a bill was prepared and the Government of India Bill, 1935 was drafted, which became Act with minor modifications, on August 2, 1935.

The Act of 1935 embodied two main principles: first an all-India Federation comprising governors’ provinces, Chief Commissioners’ provinces and federating Indian native States, secondly, provincial autonomy with a government responsible to the elected legislature.

All powers hitherto before exercised by the Secretary of State were resumed by the Crown and redistributed between the Central and the Provincial Governments.

As regards the Indian States the powers of paramountcy were to be exercised henceforth by His Majesty’s representative and not by the government of India. Important departments like foreign affairs, ecclesiastical affairs and defence were to be administered by the governor general under the supervision of White Hall alone.

The governor general and the governors of provinces were invested with special powers in respect of functions transferred to the control of ministers for which they were responsible to the British Parliament. Thus even under the Act of 1935 the constitutional status of India was that of dependency though it was gradually gravitating towards that of a Dominion.

The Congress opposed the Act of 1935 on the ground that in it governor general and the governors were given power of controlling and overriding the activities of the legislatures and the ministries. It was after Lord Linlithgow had given an assurance that no interference would be made in day to day functioning of the governments that the Congress agreed to work out only the self-government in provinces.

In the election held in 1937 the Congress got absolute majority in seven provinces, in and Sind Congress obtained single majo- rity. Out of eleven provinces in as many as nine the Congress formed ministry whereas in Punjab and Bengal the Muslim League came out with single majority.

Discipline course - 1

Semester - 2

Paper – Nationalism in India

Lesson - Gandhi and Mass Mobilization

Lesson Developer: Jyoti Trehan Sharma

College /Department: Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi, Delhi / Political Science

CONTENTS

Introduction Influences on Gandhi Inspiration from Indian Sources Gandhi’s Philosophy in Action Gandhi and Hind Swaraj Gandhi and the Masses Notes and References Bibliography Exercises

NATIONALISM IN INDIA

GANDHI AND MASS MOBILISATION

INTRODUCTION

The changing time have spoken innumerably about Gandhi as the interpreter of India to the outside world.

But on a closer view, it is more significant and equally true that he was actually the interpreter of India to herself. He knew that the true heart of India resided not in her sophisticated and westernized Cities but in her thousands of Villages, and it was to them that he addressed his Appeal, appease and argument. Without doubt, it is recognized, that Gandhi controlled and led the Indian masses for almost three decades, and thus transformed the Indian Society. His image of charismatic leader enjoyed boundless loyalty of the Indian

People. He himself believed that he was born to show people the better way. As he wrote, ‘God….. has chosen me as his instrument for presenting non-violence to India……’ 1 There are only a few leaders in human history who have appealed to all sections of the diverse population as Gandhi did, as he could rise above conflicts and envisage perfect harmony in the midst of diversity. He actually had a deep inside into the mass psyche, and thus wanted the Indian people to rise morally, economically and spiritually. He believed that it was moral degradation that had condemned them to political subjection. In an unprecedented and unparalleled struggle, Gandhi transformed India’s weakness into a source of strength by transmuting the inertia that had griped the Indian masses. India found in Gandhi a unique leader who had no enemy and who created no enemy. He was totally committed to the people and depended on them for his movements. He understood people and situations, and this became the hallmark of his leadership. He first

ventured out to the masses and adopted techniques and varied from time to time and from situation to situation. His techniques were not a presentation of his impersonal religious or moral course, but as a series of his personal experiments with truth, for which he never claim either finality or universal validity. He touched the mass mind so deeply that when he travelled from place to place wearing only a loincloth, thousands of people ran to get a “darshan” of Gandhi. The alien imperialist only sought to ridicule Gandhi as a “half-naked fakir”.2

Judith Brown has described the nationalist movement in India before the arrival of Mohandas

Karamchand Gandhi, soon to be known as Mahatama Gandhi, from South Africa in 1915 as ‘politics of studied limitations’. Ravinder Kumar described it as ‘a movement representing the classes’ as opposed to the masses.3 Nationalist politics was addressed only by a limited group of western-educated professionals and bourgeoisie, who were more concerned about creating a new elite society and cultural for themselves and were influenced by the ideas and ideals of the British aristocracy or the middle classes. The imperialist government took relief in the fact that the Congress was actually being run as a closed shop by a

‘microscopic minority’, and as limited in its ultimate goals. After the Surat split in 1907, the moderates demanded colonial self-government, while the Extremists put forth their demand of complete independence.4 A few historians opined that both these groups lost credibility as they failed to achieve their stated goals. Gandhi, in his classic ‘Hind Swaraj’, referred to them as the ‘slow party’ and the ‘impatient party’ respectively and believed that the division was not a good thing for the Country.5 As centers of extremism, namely Bengal, and Punjab, gradually began to witness the outbreak of terrorism, the government got an opportunity to unleash repression. With Tilak in prison and moderate-dominated

Congress getting submerged in total inactivity, these were nothing much left to manoeuvre politically. The ground was ripe for a fresher who was not a stained by the failure of these groups. Destiny inevitably prepared the ground to shift power from the western-educated elites to the hands of the masses in an age of political despondency and moral vacuum.

The First World War showcased the ugly face of the western civilization; a period that also greeted

Gandhi with his background of her successful encounter with the British in South Africa. Judith Brown has

6 argued that Gandhi’s novel political ideology ‘appealed to few wholly, but to many partially’. But, what is remarkable is, that everyone could find in it something to identify with. Truth, non-violence, self-scarifies, self-abnegation, piece, tolerance, universal love, equality and liberty were the ingredients of his technique and strategy. And he took utmost care not to alienate any of the Indian classes or community as he considered them to be the construct of Indian pluralism. Religion had a stronger influence on the popular mind, Gandhi believed and not the institution of class. Thus, began the era of the successful use of the popular religious idioms that could mobilize the masses. India had entered the phase of religious morality.

7 Recognizing the diversity of India, Gandhian politics came to be identified as one of ‘Inclusivism’.

INFLUENCES ON GANDHI –

Various sources have been reasonably responsible for Gandhi to create his own set of political ideas. He derived inspiration from the writings of Henry David Thoreau, John Ruskin, Ralph Waldo Emerson and also Leo Tolstoy. Gandhi was greatly influenced by the words and deeds of Thoreau, the well-known

American anarchist who had refused to pay his taxes as a protest against slavery in the United States of

America. Thoreau was the first to use the term civil disobedience in one of his speeches in 1849. But

Gandhi did not derive his idea of civil disobedience from Thoreau’s writings. The resistance to authority in

South Africa was clearly well-advanced before he could get Thoreau’s ‘Essay on Civil Disobedience’. The movement was then known as ‘passive resistence. Gandhi did begin to use Thoreau’s phrase to explain the struggle, but he realized that even ‘civil disobedience’ could not convey the full meaning of struggle. So, he adopted the phrase ‘civil resistance’. Gandhi liked the classical statement of Thoreau that ‘that government is best which governs the least’.8

The most characteristic example of the foreign influence on Gandhi was John Ruskin’s ‘Unto This

Last, that shaped his views. Gandhi was especially influenced by Ruskin’s ideal of manual labour, from

whose he drew three lessons:-

 that the good of the individual is contained in the good of all.

 that a lawyer’s work has the same value as the barber’s in as much as all have the same right

of earning their livelihood from their work, and

 that a life of labour, i.e., the life of the tiller of the soil and the handicraftsman, is the only life

worth living.9

Gandhi read Emerson’s essays as he saw in Emerson’s essays, as he put it, ‘the teaching of the

Indian wisdom in a Western garb. These essays contained writings on history, self-reliance, spiritual laws, heroism and art.10 Last, but not least, the influence of Leo Tolstoy on Gandhi has also been widely recognized. Gandhi read ‘The Kingdom of God is within you’ for the first time in 1894, and he recorded in his autobiography that he was extremely overwhelmed to read it. He was impressed by the fact that through it Tolstoy presented Christianity as an ethical system, and not as a dogmatic one.

Gandhi found the Sermon on the Mount at the heart of Christianity, which, according to Tolstoy teaches the doctrine of non-violence and the ultimacy of the conscience. It also reflects on the question of violence in the world. This work of Tolstoy was a mandatory reading for the members of the

Phoenix Settlement, and later Gandhi had it translated in Gujarati.11

INSPIRATION FROM INDIAN SOURCES –

Apart from the writings of Thoreau, Ruskin, Emerson and Tolstoy, Gandhi was equally influenced by

Jainism and Vaishnavism. It was this Indian philosophy and religiosity that enabled Gandhi to integrate

Western ideas into a coherent whole. He began to read the Indian philosophy texts in London, starting with ‘The Song Celestial’, Sir Edwin Arnold’s translation of the Gita. Soon others followed, like ‘The

Light of Asia’, the biography of Buddha, also by Sir Edwin Arnold, ‘Life of Mahomet and his

Successors’ by Washington Irving, Carlyle’s life of the Prophet in ‘Heroes and Hero Worship’, and a book of the Parsi religion, ‘The Sayings of Zarathustra’. But it was Raychandra Ravjibhai Mehta, a

Gujarati Jain mystic and diamond merchant, who guided Gandhi in the development of his though in

Indian philosophy. Raychandra is the one who also explained the meaning of the notion ‘Dharma’.

‘Dharma does not mean any particular creed or dogma. Nor does it mean reading or learning by rote books knows as Shastras (sacred texts) or even believing all that they say. Rather, dharma is a quality

of the soul present in every human being. Through it we know our duty in human life and our true relation with other souls……….. dharma is the means by which we can know ourselves’.12

However, despite Raychandra’s influence on Gandhi, he went much beyond the intellectual horizons, and by the first decade of the 20th century, was focusing on the spiritual life, and more and more on the ‘Bhagwad Gita’ and the ‘Ramayana’ of Tulsidas. Both these texts were theistic in orientation. In his classic work ‘Hind Swaraj’, Gandhi quoted Tulsidas in Chapters 14 and 17, and the technical definition of Swaraj as self-rule, understood as the rule of the mind over itself and the passions, is derived from the Gita. Thus, the mind emerged principally as the key-faculty in Gandhi’s political philosophy.13

Gandhi’s approach to the Gita differs markedly from the method of many traditional interpreters who expend great effort on textual interpretation and on establishing the internal logic of the various theoretical statements and practical directives of the text. But in one important way

Gandhi’s approach is in close conformity with a major, traditional rule of interpretation. He identifies the central, the key passage in the text; the mahavakya, “The great statement” that gives the central message, in terms of which all the rest of the text must be explained. For Gandhi the last twenty stanzas of chapter two constitute the Gita’s mahavakya in the description of the sthitaprajna. This passage in fact expresses most succinctly, without any mythical, ritual, or dogmatic paraphernalia, without

“imagination,” the essence of religion as he saw it. His concept of the nature of the scripture was largely inherited from Raychandra. Jainism, moreover, gave Gandhi the basic theoretical structure that best fitted his own deepest nature, that of a “religious activist,” with its dualism of jiva-ajiva, spirit and matter, its inexorable law of Karma, and its conception of the gradual purification of the Atman necessary on the highroad to self-realization.14

GANDHI’S PHILOSOPHY IN ACTION –

Gandhi professed a form of Hinduism, no doubt, but deviated so far from orthodoxy as to equate God and Truth, as rationally perceived, and to emphasize the validity of all religious beliefs on

the basis of their moral worth. Truth was the supreme value not only for Gandhi, but has been a key concept in the Indian traditional ethico-religious thought. However, Gandhi accepted Truth not merely as a concept, but sought to realize it in practice as the ‘sovereign principle’ of life and conduct, and as a reality. And since God is also thought of as being the only Eternal Reality, He is, for Gandhi, the same as Truth. The two have been essentially equated, for Gandhi found in Truth the quickest and the easiest way to realize God. Gandhi made truth paramount. Nonetheless, in his search for Absolute Truth, he was fully aware that the absolute cannot be known by the yet unfulfilled human mind.

In Gandhian philosophy, closely connected with the ultimate or absolute end was the problem of means. Gandhi laid surpassing emphasis on the use of right means for achieving objectives. For him, means and ends were convertible terms. The two were inseparable and should be equally pure. As

Gandhi himself said: “The means may be likened to a seed, the end to a tree; and there is just the same inviolable connection between the means and the end as there is between the seed and the tree.”15

Specifically speaking thus, non-violence as a means became the supreme value for Gandhi. Not only this, but Gandhi’s interpretation of ahimsa (non-violence) is also striking for its unparalleled richness of significance because, for Gandhi, it did not stand for pacifism, but as an inspiration for the individual and the nation to achieve complete harmony with all the impulses of human nature.

However, the impression that one gets is that Gandhi believed in non-violence as creed, as an eternal virtue and as a supreme way of life to which even the freedom of the country could be subordinated.

But still, a more careful analysis of his activities would betray a tendency on Gandhi’s part to equate expediency with principle. The pain that he took to emphasize the extreme intimacy of the inter- relation between truth and non-violence is a remarkable feature of Gandhi.

Another clear contribution of Gandhi is the way he practiced and understood fasting – as a heightened moment in the practice of ahimsa. He used it, on the hand, to achieve social objectives and, on the other, for the realization of his essential, identically with others. In fact, he illustrated how fasting is being very close to God.

Gandhi also found a needful and continual self-expansion of every concept in the setting of practice in his knitwork of vows, namely,

(i) Brahmacharya: This is not isolated control of sex, but simultaneous control of all the senses.

And in the practice of brahmacharya, Gandhi stressed the role of will, as against mere

instinctual thoughts. It ought to be observed in thought, word and deed.

(ii) Asvada: Though it is not merely bodily in significance, brahmacharya vitally depends on the

control of the palate. Gandhi, therefore, turned asvada into a distinctive vow, thus enriching

the Hindu ethical tradition.

(iii) Asteya: Though asteya literally means not to commit theft, Gandhi interpreted it in a far

subtler way. He described the essence of non-stealing as stealth (or the tendency to conceal)

and not mere abstention from theft of others’ property. Like asvada, asteya has a positive

significance. It calls for definite effort to abstain from conditions which bar the manifestation

of truth.

(iv) Aparigraha: Though the literal meaning of aparigraha is not to possess property; it has (like

asvada and asteya) a distinct positive significance in Gandhian thought. Gandhi’s treatment of

this vow is the idea that aparigraha requires one to be non-attached even to the body which

too is a kind of possession. Gandhi believed that if one looks upon the body merely as an

instrument of service, one can attain real happiness and the beatific vision in the fullness of

time.

(v) Abhaya: Following the Gita, Gandhi gave the place of pre-eminence to the observance of

abhaya or fearlessness. He regarded this vow as indispensable for the growth of other noble

qualities. Nonetheless, instead of extolling fearlessness categorically, Gandhi cared to say that

one does not need to fear the inner foes.

(vi) Apart from the above vows, Gandhi also insisted on the four distinctive vows of Removal of

Untouchability, Principle of Bread-labour (fruits of labour accrue only to him who has worked

for it), Sarvadharma Samabhava (equal respect for all religions) and Swadeshi.16

Ethical religion brought about a distinctiveness in Gandhi. Gandhi did not accept the orthodox interpretation of religion though he employed the concept to convey his own philosophy, but like the

Buddhists, he taught a universalized religion on ahimsa. He also interpreted religion or dharma, as selfless service of others, mastery over passions fearlessness and most important of all, devotion.

Accordingly, dharma, for Gandhi, became an embodiment of the content that was shaped by one’s own special gifts, the discipline a man voluntarily undertakes, and a moral insight which leads a man beyond the performance of his customary duties.

In his description of dharma, one of the main things Gandhi emphasized was that caste had nothing to do with religion. It was a later excrescence on what had originally been basically the principle of labour and of duties. What remained was an outstanding feature of the Hindu social system, but this should in no way be confused with religion, with dharma, with the life it was good and reasonable for men to lead. Gandhi realized that the caste system was opposed both to his principle of universal ahimsa and his programme to abolish untouchability. He demanded the abolition of caste as unjust and immoral, and the substitution of a non-religiously-sanctioned occupational, but hereditary class structure.17

Gandhi turned the tables on ’s formula that all men should be brahmins, by saying that all should be sudras. Sudras are those who serve, and nothing more was needed than service, whether in Indian society or elsewhere. Gandhi thus, attempted to incorporate the duties of scavenging and bread labour in the concept of dharma. He tried working out his ideas in a society where dirty work was the lot of the untouchables, the outcastes of the Hindu society, and where manual work was considered inferior to the work of the scholar, lawyer and teacher. Thus, Tolstoy’s therapeutic value of manual work and Ruskin’s views on the equal value of different kinds of work to society became the basis of Gandhi’s thought that trusted for the good of society.

Gandhi interpreted his own life as being guided by the dharmas of social service, poverty, harmlessness, vegetarianism and celibacy, whose practical applications, were, for him, no more than mere experiments with truth. As he himself said: “The instruments for the quest of truth are as simple as they are difficult. They may appear quite impossible to an arrogant person, and quite possible to an innocent child. The seeker after truth should be humbler that the dust. The world crushes the dust under its feet, but the seeker after truth should be so humble himself that even the dust could crush him. Only then, and not till then, will he have a glimpse of truth.”18 However, what has been unique in Gandhi’s

experiments with Truth was that they were carried out not in the seclusion of an ashrama, but in the arena of life. And when the scene shifted to the political front, religion became a means of mass- mobilization.

Gandhi considered his own philosophical system superior to the Hindu art of politics. He endeavoured to develop a sense of unity by employing traditional terms, but was far more successful in communicating to the masses through his personality and ways of life, appearing as he did as a modern sanyasi, and this traditional appearance especially influenced the Indian women, chiefly devotees of

Bhakti worship.

The combination of religion with politics or religious politics is the very essence of , and on its legitimacy or otherwise depends the whole significance of the fact of Gandhi. Gandhi himself asserted: “Yes, I still hold the view that I cannot conceive politics as divorced from religion.

Indeed religion should pervade every one of our actions. For me there is no politics without religion not the religion of the superstitious and the blind, religion that hates and fights, but the universal religion of toleration. Politics without morality is a thing to be avoided.”19 Here Gandhi claimed to be in stark contrast of Machiavelli’s concept of complete separation of religion and politics.

That, Gandhi was opposed to Machiavellian approach to politics seems plausible. His exhortations with regard to the restoration of moral values in political practice might appear utopian in the present context when politics has gone downhill. But for him, it was a practical proposition. His periodic reference to conscience in dealing with decision-making in day-to-day functioning was an indication of his faith in the corrigibility of man. That is why, Gandhi was disturbed by the emergence of religious intolerance, communal frenzy and the like, which marred peace and harmony in society.

Gandhi repeatedly asserted the oneness of life. It was one continuous whole and could not properly be conceived as compartmental. Therefore, it was not a matter of “mixing” religion and politics, for they were already rightfully one. However, there is a probability that Gandhi himself experienced a dichotomy between his religious pursuits and political endeavours, which was never completely resolved. But in spite of such a tension, he succeeded in evolving a well-integrated personality, especially religiously-oriented.

Gandhi felt that spiritual values had no relevance unless they were put into social practice by those who professed them. As such, it was not very difficult for a semi-clad contemplative sanyasi to

become a karma-yogi in the field of politics. Gandhi’s actions may also be justified in the sense that in the Hindu tradition, religion is such an integrative force that there is bound to be a close relationship between religion and politics. It can also be said that historically, culture, politics and religion have been synonymous with Hinduism. One may recall that both Gautama Buddha and Mahavira, founders respectively of Buddhism and Jainism, were of the ruling or warrior caste. Part of the shastras are political texts, such as the Arthasastra attributed to Kautilya and parts of the Laws of Manu.

Nevertheless, tension was not entirely absent between religion and politics, for the latter often took a ruthless turn and, thereby stimulated transcendental speculation in Indian religious life.20

Gandhi’s religious quest helped him to mould not only his personality, but the political technique with which he confronted racialism in South Africa and colonialism in India. Gandhi inherited Swaraj as the political objective of the Congress; however, he felt compelled to find a moral issue upon which to base his campaigns of political agitation, and he finally succeeded in being able to rationalize that, while Swaraj was not a self-justifying objective in the traditionalist sense, the immortality of the made Indian Swaraj a morally justifiable goal.

Gandhi felt that, in India, the masses had no political consciousness. Their politics was confined to bread and salt and to communal adjustments. Therefore, he wanted that the politicians must represent the masses in opposition to government. “But if we begin to use them before they are ready we shall cease to represent them.”21 And for this, he stressed the necessity of using the imagination when making moral decisions. To be capable of moral judgement and moral conduct on a significant scale, one has necessarily to put oneself in the place of other people and imagine sympathetically how they feel. Gandhi recognized no God except the God that is found in the hearts of the “dumb millions”.

Anything that millions can do together is, he believed, charged with a unique power, the magical potency of collective taps or moral fervour, the cumulative strength of generally shared sacrifices.22

GANDHI AND HIND SWARAJ –

In Hind Swaraj (1909), Gandhi offered a civilizational concept of the Indian nation.

According to him, the Indians constituted a nation or ‘praja’; and the ideal of swaraj could only be achieved in the modern times in a United Indian nation or praja. Swaraj and home rule must meet in a

newly constituted Indian praja. Gandhi’s philosophy differed significantly from the earlier nationalists in as much as that he began with a trenchant critique of the ‘modern’ civilization. He roared, ‘The

English have not taken India; we have given it to them’.23 Gandhi proclaimed that Indians themselves were responsible for their enslavement, as they embraced capitalism and its associated legal and political structures. By offering an ideological critique of the Western civilization, Gandhi effectively contested the moral legitimacy of the British rule that rested on a stated assumption of the superiority of the West. In the process, the application of his methods gave him immense maneuverability in terms of real politics, sometimes on the grounds of non-violence while, at other time, on the issue of means and ends. Gandhi, thus, throughout his life, remained a negotiator. He began constructing those broad roads whose map was already drawn by Tilak in Maharashtra in the 1890’s, by the activities of the

Punjab extremists, and above all, the in Bengal in 1905-08. and

Tilak prepared the ground for the success of Gandhi’s initial movement and mass mobilization. Gandhi had arrived.

GANDHI AND THE MASSES –

In a political space that was clearly divided between the Moderates and the extremists, Gandhi took a very safe centrist position, and succeeded in uniting both of them on a common political platform. He adopted the moderates’ goal of Swaraj, but his method of satyagraha looked very much like the passive resistance of the extremists.24 However, his insistence on non-violence always made the moderates apprehensive. But beyond the ranks of nationalist politics and leadership, Gandhi was capacitated to create an appeal amongst the masses and unleash their vast reservoir of energy. Judith

Brown has, however, argued that Gandhi’s rise did not symbolize a radical restructuring of political life or opening of modern politics to the masses: rather it signified the rise of Western-educated and regional language literate elites of backward areas, in place of the Western-educated leaders of the presidency towns. It was the loyalty networks of these local elite leaders, or the so-called “sub- contractors”, which mobilized popular support for Gandhi in the Indian Country-side and small towns.25

It would be grossly unfair to underestimate Gandhi through these interpretations. His persona rested on a popular appeal that emerged sometimes out of his simple attire, while, at other times, through his reference to the popular allegory of the Ramrajya. His charisma arose out of the skillful use

of religious idioms and symbols, Masses began to believe he was a healer, and soon became a symbol of power for the powerless. He was the Messiah. He prescribed a path, and they walked behind him.

Many times, they deviated from his path, but soon returned to his fold and his hold. It was the era of the Mythical Mysticism of the Mahatma, the great Soul.

Gandhi entered into a world of politics that created many occasions for his transition from local to national leadership. His personality, his novel approach to politics and his new techniques of struggle gave him an access to power, enabling him to become the focus of multifarious local grievances. From getting involved in fighting the local wrongs at Champaran, Kheda and Ahmedabad, in no time,

Gandhi reinforced his claim to the all – India leadership by his decision to champion the Khilafat issue and seek redress of the Punjab wrongs, from locals to peasantry, to industrial workers, and then to the

Muslim support, Gandhi became a symbol of mass-mobilisation. Namboodiripad, in his work ‘The

Mahatma and the Ism’, summed up that it was a combination of three factors, namely,

- His independent organization of a band of satyagrahis around himself,

- His successful affiliation with the living political issues that were uppermost in the minds of the

people, and

- His reliance on the Muslim divines on the issue of Khilafat, enabled Gandhi to assume the reigns of all – India leadership and emerge as the undisputed leader of the masses. His style claimed a new status in politics – a style that could not be ignored but was difficult to comprehend.26

Gandhi worked as if under a compelling sense of urgency. He declared, ‘I am impatient to break the British bondage’. It was under this sense of urgency that he said in 1920, ‘Swaraj in one year’, and in 1930, ‘now or never’. Even the previous failures did not deter him from raising the slogan

‘do or die’ in 1942. It was this sense of urgency that made him swear not to return to his ashram alive until India got freedom. He could also be ruthless at times if he found this to be necessary for his mission, as in the case of boycott of foreign cloth. He advised the nation to burn cloth. He challenged the mightiest empire of the world with no weapon available to him except non-violent non - cooperation. 27 Actually, Gandhi sought to transform India’s weakness itself into a source of strength by transmuting the inertia and inaction which had gripped the masses. He broke the barrier of fear in the minds of the people. At times, he also admitted to have committed blunders by offering the weapon

of satyagraha without sufficiently training them, but the hallmark of Gandhian politics is that it

transformed Indian nationalist politics from being the politics of restricted classes to becoming politics

of the masses.

NOTES AND REFERENCES

1. Harijan (Ahmedabad), 23 July, 1938, p. 193

2. M.M. Verma, Gandhi’s Technique of Mass Mobilisation R.K. Gupta & Co., New Delhi, 1990, p.8

3. Sekhar Bandyopadhyay, From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India, Orient Black Swan, New Delhi, 2010, p.284.

4. Ibid., p.285

5. Anthony J. Parel (ed.), Hind Swaraj and other writings, Combridge University Press, New Delhi, 2004, p. 23.

6. Sekhar Bandyopadhyay, p.288.

7. Ibid

8. M.M. Verma, p.70.

9. Ibid., p.71

10. Anthony Parel, p. xivi

11. Ibid., p xxxvii

12. Ibid., p. xiix

13. Ibid., p. l.

14. Jyoti Sharma, Tilak and Gandhi: Perspectives on Religion and Politics, Gyan Publishing House, New Delhi, 200, p.177.

15. M.K.Gandhi, Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule, G.A. Natesan and Co.,Madras, 1909, p.60.

16. Jyoti Sharma, p.180.

17. Ibid.

18. M.K.Gandhi, An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truths, Navjivan Publishing House, Ahmedabad,1927, p.xi – xii.

19. M.K.Gandhi, Insearch of the Supreme, Navjivan Publishing House, Ahmedabad, 1961, vol. II, p.308.

20. Jyoti Sharma, p.183.

21. Young India, Ahmedabad, September 1924.

22. Raghavan N. Iyer, The Moral and Political Thought of Matama Gandhi, OUP, New York, 1973, p.16 – 17.

23. Sekhar Bandyopadhyay, p.289.

24. Ibid., p.292.

25. Ibid

26. M.M.Verma, p,19.

27. Ibid, p.20.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Anthony J. Parel (ed.), Hind Swaraj and other writings, Combridge University Press, New Delhi, 2004

2. Harijan (Ahmedabad), 23 July, 1938

3. Jyoti Sharma, Tilak and Gandhi: Perspectives on Religion and Politics, Gyan Publishing House, New Delhi, 2000.

4. M.K.Gandhi, Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule, G.A. Natesan and Co.,Madras, 1909.

5. M.K.Gandhi, An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truths, Navjivan Publishing House, Ahmedabad,1927.

6. M.K.Gandhi, Insearch of the Supreme, Navjivan Publishing House, Ahmedabad, 1961, vol. II.

7. M.M. Verma, Gandhi’s Technique of Mass Mobilisation R.K. Gupta & Co., New Delhi, 1990

8. Raghavan N. Iyer, The Moral and Political Thought of Matama Gandhi, OUP, New York, 1973.

9. Sekhar Bandyopadhyay, From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India, Orient Black Swan, New Delhi, 2010

10. Young India, Ahmedabad, September 1924.

EXERCISES

Ques.1. Do you think Gandhi was a mass leader? Give reasons for your answer.

Ques.2. What has been Gandhi’s approach in preparing the masses for Satyagraha movements?

Ques.3. What have been the various influences on Gandhi’s life that shaped his personality and prepared him to become a leader of the masses?

After getting his legal education in Britain he landed at Durban in 1893 on a one-year contract to sort out the legal problems of Dada Abdullah, a Gujarati. In South Africa, Gandhi protested against the discriminating treatments meted out to the Indians, formed The National Indian Congress and suffered imprisonment. Gandhi soon became the leader of the struggle against these conditions and during 1893—1914 was engaged in a heroic though unequal struggle against the racist authorities of South Africa. Gandhi in South Africa developed the method of passive resistance or civil disobedience, which he named Satyagraha.

His principal mouth-piece was Indian Opinion (1903). He set up Tolstoy farm which was the precursor of the later Gandhian ashrams that were to play important role in the Indian National movement.

In 1914, he was awarded Kaisar-i-Hind gold medal for raising an Indian ambulance in England during the Boer war and 1st World War. After his arrival in India in January 1915, he founded the Sabarmati Ashram at Ahmadabad (1916), where his friends and followers were to learn and practise the idea of truth and non-violence. He also set out to experiment with his new method of struggle in the Indian freedom struggle.

Gandhiji was greatly influenced by the works of Leo Tolstoy’s essay, ‘Civil disobedience’ and Ruskin’s ‘Unto This Last’. Tolstoy’s ideal of non-possession was developed by Gandhiji in his concept of Trusteeship. He was also influenced by the life and teachings of Swami Vivekananda. His political Gokhale and Dadabhai Naoroji also influenced him. Gandhi’s Thought on Politics: Gandhiji had an experience of moderate phase of the struggle in South Africa (1894-1906) and the 2nd phase of passive resistance or civil disobedience which was named as Satyagraha (1906-1914). He followed moderate techniques of prayers and petitions in the struggle against racial discrimination. He believed in careful training of disciplined cadres.

His non-violent Satyagraha involved peaceful violation of specific laws. He resorted to mass courting arrest and occasional and spectacular marches. He had readiness for Negotiations and Compromise at times leading to abrupt unilateral withdrawal. As a politician and not just a saint, Gandhi in practise sometimes settled for less than complete non-violence. Gandhi unified the national struggle against foreign rule.

Gandhian View on Society: Although Gandhiji supported the Varna system without the element of hierarchical occupation, he was against the pernicious caste system including the practicse of untouchability. He emphasised on Hindu- Muslim unity and on the equality of man and woman. He was against purdah practice and child marriage. His ideal society was ‘Ram-Rajya.’

Gandhian View on Economy: He advocated the concept of swadeshi and was opposed to large scale industries. He stressed the need for reliance on cottage industries as it would make India self-sufficient He encouraged Khadi for self-reliance and swadeshi, and gave importance to ‘Labour and Sweat’. Gandhiji fought for the interest of peasant in Champaran and Kheda, and labourers in Ahmadabad.

He was for balanced economic growth and decentralisation of economy. He tried to harmonise the relationship between the labourers and the capitalist by the concept of Trusteeship, where the profit of a factory is shared by both the capitalist and the labourers for common good. Thus, he was against capitalism and not the capitalist.

Gandhian View on Religion: Gandhiji was secular in his approach and fought for Hindu-Muslim unity till his death. Religion, is the highest necessity of human life. For him religion was the basis of morality and morality was the guiding factor in politics.

Gandhiji said “My religion knows no political limits and my religion does not teach to hate one another. To him religion was the service of the helpless, the meek and the down trodden. According to him, further, the religion of love and service cannot be practised without Ahimsa or non-violence.

Gandhian View on Education: Gandhiji gave a scheme of basic education, also known as Wardha scheme of education. The aim of true education, in his opinion, should be to make the students self-supporting and self-reliant and to realise the dignity of labour and manual work.

He was for the vocationalisation of education by teaching the pupil handicrafts and to be the medium of education till 7th standard. Education he believed was the most powerful instrument of human social transformation and should inculcate values like social service, service to the nation and ‘humanity.’

Gandhiji’s concept of ‘sarvodaya’ connotes “the greatest good of all.” In his view the highest objective of the state and of the individual should be the realization of this ideal.

His concept of Swaraj implied freedom from foreign domination and control of foreign powers. According to Gandhiji, the Government under Swaraj shall be one in which each individual, irrespective of his religion race, caste, sex and place of birth shall have as its motto the welfare of the people in general.

Emphasis on self-restraint and self-rule remained a significant corner- stone of Gandhiji’s moral dimension of Swaraj. Gandhiji saw a very close link between nationalism and internationalism, as internationalism could grow only out of true nationalism.

Gandhian Techniques of Mass Mobilisation: Gandhiji’s first great experiment in Satyagraha came in 1917 in Champaran () where the peasants were forced by the European planters to grow indigo on at least 3/20th of their land and sell it at prices fixed by the planters (tin-kathia system). Accompanied by Babu , Mazhar- ul-Huq, J. B. Kripalani, Narhari Parekh and Mahadev Desai Gandhiji reached Champaran in 1917.

In 1918, Gandhiji intervened in a dispute between the workers and owners of Ahmadabad. It was here that he used the weapon of hunger strike and won for the workers a 35% increase in wages. In 1918, the Kheda peasant struggle involved Gandhiji and Sardar Vallabhai Patel. These three significant struggles brought Gandhiji in close contact with the masses.

The 1917 Sedition Committee headed by Justice Sydney Rowtalt led to the passing of Rowtatt Act (1919). Where by the committee made recommendations to arm the government with powers to suppress all unlawful and dangerous activities. Called the Black Act, it was widely opposed.

Along with other nationalists, Gandhiji was also aroused and in February 1919, he founded the Satyagraha Sabha whose members took a pledge to disobey the Act and thus to court arrest and imprisonment. March and April 1919 witnessed a remarkable political awakening in India. Gandhiji gave a call for an All-India on 6th April 1919. The people responded with great enthusiasm.

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre at on 13th April 1919, on the order of General Dyer stunned the whole nation. The unarmed crowd had gathered at the Bagh in defiance of the ban on public meeting to protest against the arrest of their popular leaders Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr. Satyapal. Tagore renounced his knighthood in protest.

The Khilafat and the Non-Cooperation Movement (1919-22): The main object of the was to force the British government to change its attitude towards and restore the Turkish Sultan (Khalifa) to his former position. A Khilafat committee was formed under the leadership of Ali brothers, Maulana Azad, and Hasrat Mohani and a country-wide agitation was organised. In February 1920, Gandhiji suggested to the Khilafat committee to adopt a programme of non-violent non-cooperation to protest the government behaviour.

On 9 June, 1920 the Khilafat committee at unanimously accepted his suggestion and asked Gandhiji to lead the movement. The Congress leaders, incoluding Gandhiji viewed the Khilafat agitation as a golden opportunity for cementing the Hindu-Muslim unity and bringing the Muslim masses into the national movement.

The Congress at its special session in September 1920 at Calcutta supported Gandhi’s plan for non-cooperation for three cause-redressal of the Punjab grievances, rectification of the Khilafat wrongs and the establishment of Swaraj.

The people were asked to boycott government educational institutions, law courts and legislatures, to give up foreign cloth, to surrender officially conferred titles and honours. Through these negative programmes, the Indians sought to refuse to cooperate with the British government.

The positive programmes of the non-cooperation movement included establishment of national schools and colleges, setting up of panchayats, popularisation of swadeshi and khadi, development of Hindu-Muslim unity, removal of un-touch ability, etc. This decision of non-cooperation movement was endorsed at the annual session of the Congress held at Nagpur in December 1920 The Nagpur session also made changes in the constitution of the Congress. The adoption of the Non-cooperation movement (initiated earlier by the Khilafat conference on 31 August 1920) by the Congress gave it a new energy and from January 1921, it began to register considerable success all over the country. The Tilak Swarajya Fund was started to finance the Non- cooperation movement (Earlier, Lokmanya Tilak passed away on 1 August 1920).

The visit of the Prince of Wales in November 1921 also led to the observance of hartal all over the country on the day the prince landed in Bombay. On February 1, 1922 announced that he would start mass civil disobedience including non-payment of taxes unless within seven days the political prisoners were released and the press freed from government control.

The general mood of the people was also quite rebellious. On 5th February 1922 a Congress procession at Chauri-Chaura in district of U.P. was fired upon by the police. The angry crowd attacked and burnt the police station causing death of 22 policemen.

Gandhiji was afraid that the movement might take a violent turn and at his insistence the Congress Working Committee on 12 February abruptly called off the movement. Gandhiji was arrested on 10 March 1922 but was released in February 1924.

Significance of Non-cooperation movement: 1. The Indian Nationalist movement acquired real mass base for the first time with the participation of peasants, workers, students lawyers, teachers, etc. 2. The Congress became the organiser and leader of the masses in their freedom struggle.

3. It marked the height of Hindu-Muslim unity.

Very soon, the Khilafat movement also lost relevance due to the Kemalist revolution in Turkey which made it a secul7ar state.

Civil Disobedience Movement: Civil Disobedience (1930-31) Phase I: Civil disobedience of the laws of the unjust and tyrannical government is a strong and extreme form of political agitation according to Gandhi, which should be adopted only as a last resort. The Lahore Congress of 1929 had authorised the Working Committee to launch a programme of civil disobedience including non-payment of taxes. The committee also invested Gandhi with full powers to launch the movement.

The 11 points ultimatum of Gandhiji to Lord Irwin after being ignored by the British Government made Gandhiji to launch the civil disobedience moment on 12th March 1930 with his famous Dandi March. (From Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi on Gujarat coast). On 6th April, Gandhiji reached Dandi, picked up a handful of salt and broke the salt law as a symbol of the Indian people’s refusal to live under British made laws and therefore under British rule.

The movement now spread rapidly. Violation of salt laws all over the country was soon followed by defiance of forest laws in Maharashtra, Karnataka and the Central Provinces and the refusal to pay the rural Chaukidari tax in Eastern India. The people joined hartals, demonstrations and the campaign to boycott foreign goods and to refuse to pay-taxes. In many parts of the country, the peasants refused to pay land revenue and rent and had their lands confiscated. A notable feature of the movement was the wide participation of women.

In North-western provinces, under the leadership of Khan , popularly known as ‘Frontier Gandhi’ the Pathans organised the society of Khudai Khidmatgars (or Servants of God) known popularly as Red Shirts.

They were pledged to non-violence and the freedom struggle. In North-East Rani Gaidilieu raised the banner of rebellion against foreign rule. The government resorted to ruthless repression, lathi changes and firing. Over 90,000 Satyagrahis, including Gandhiji and other congress leaders were imprisoned and Congress declared illegal.

Gandhi-lrwin Pact was signed in March 1931 due to the efforts of Sir , Dr. Jayakar and others to bring about a compromise between the government and the Congress. The Government agreed to withdraw all ordinances and end prosecutions, release all plitical prisoners, restore the confiscated property of the Satyagrahis and permitted the free collection or manufacture of salt. The Congress in turn agreed to suspend the civil disobedience movement and to participate in the Second Round-Table conference.

Phase II of Civil disobediance Movement (1932-34): On his return to India after the 2nd Round Table Conference Gandhiji resumed the Civil Disobedience movement in January 1932. The Congress was declared illegal by the government and it arrested most of the leading Congress leaders.

The movement was gaining strength when it was suddenly side tracked with the announcement of Communal Award (1932) by the British Prime-minister Ramsay Mac Donald. The movement gradually waned. The Congress officially suspended the movement in May 1933 and withdrew it in May 1934.

Significance of Civil disobedience movement: 1. It had the objective of achieving complete independence

2. It involved deliberate violation of law and was evidently more militant

3. There was wide participation of women.

4. It was not marked by the same Hindu-Muslim unity which was witnessed during Non-cooperation movement.

Quit India Movement (1942): The failure of the Cripps Mission, rising prices and war time shortages and the Japanese threat forced the Congress to take active steps to compel the British for accepting the Indian demand for independence. The All-India Congress Committee met at Bombay on 8 August 1942 and passed the famous ‘Quit India’ Resolution. It proposed the starting of a non-violent mass struggle under Gandhi’s leadership to achieve this aim.

But before the Congress could start a movement the government arrested Gandhiji and other Congress leaders on 9th August 1942. Left leaderless and without any organisation, the people reacted in any manner they could. All over the country there were hartals, strikes in factories, schools and colleges and demonstrations which were lathi- charged and fired upon.

The people took to violent action and attacked the symbols of British authority—The police stations, post-offices, railway stations, etc. In some areas such as Ballia in eastern U.R, Tumluk in district of Bengal and Satara district of Maharashtra the revolutionaries set up ‘parallel government’.

In general, the students, workers and peasants provided the backbone of the ‘revolt’ while the upper classes and the bureaucracy remained loyal to the government. In the end, the govenment succeeded in crushing the movement.

Indian National Movement (1905 – 1916)

The period from 1905 was known as the era of extremism in the Indian National Movement. The extremists or the aggressive nationalists believed that success could be achieved through bold means. The important extremist leaders were , , and Aurobindo Ghosh. Causes for the Rise of Extremism

1. The failure of the Moderates to win any notable success other than the expansion of the legislative councils by the Indian Councils Act (1892). 2. The famine and plague of 1896-97 which affected the whole country and the suffering of the masses. 3. The economic conditions of the people became worse. 4. The ill-treatment of Indians in South Africa on the basis of colour of skin. 5. The Russo-Japanese war of 1904 – 05 in which Japan defeated the European power . This encouraged Indians to fight against the European nation, Britain. 6. The immediate cause for the rise of extremism was the reactionary rule of Lord Curzon:

° He passed the Calcutta Corporation Act, (1899) reducing the Indian control of this local body.

° The Universities Act (1904) reduced the elected members in the University bodies. It also reduced the autonomy of the universities and made them government departments.

° The Sedition Act and the Official Secrets Act reduced the freedoms of all people.

° His worst measure was the Partition of Bengal (1905). Main Objective of Extremists

Their main objective was to attain Swaraj or complete independence and not just self-government. Methods of the Extremists

The Extremists had no faith in the British sense of justice and fair play. They pointed out the forceful means by which the British had taken control of India. They believed that political rights will have to be fought for. They had the spirit of self-reliance and self determination. The methods used by the extremists were:

° Not cooperating with the British Government by boycotting government courts, schools and colleges.

° Promotion of Swadeshi and boycott of foreign goods.

° Introduction and promotion of national education. Leaders of the Extremists

The extremists were led by Bala Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipinchandra Pal and Aurobindo Ghosh. Swaraj is my birth-right and I will have it. Bal Gangadhar Tilak is regarded as the real founder of the popular anti-British movement in India. He was known as ‘Lokamanya’. He attacked the British through his weeklies The Mahratta and the . He was jailed twice by the British for his nationalist activities and in 1908 deported to Mandalay for six years. He set up the Home Rule League in 1916 at Poona and declared "Swaraj is my birth-right and I will have it". Lala Lajpat Rai is popularly known as the ‘Lion of Punjab’. He played an important role in the Swadeshi Movement. He founded the Indian Home Rule League in the US in 1916. He was deported to Mandalay on the ground of sedition. He received fatal injuries while leading a procession against the Simon Commission and died on November 17, 1928. Bipan Chandra Pal began his career as a moderate and turned an extremist. He played an important role in the Swadeshi Movement. He preached nationalism through the nook and corner of Indian by his powerful speeches and writings. Aurobinda Ghosh was another extremist leader and he actively participated in the Swadeshi Movement. He was also imprisoned. After his release he settled in the French territory of Pondicherry and concentrated on spiritual activities. Partition of Bengal and the Rise of Extremism

The partition of Bengal in 1905 provided a spark for the rise of extremism in the Indian National Movement. Curzon’s real motives were

° To break the growing strength of since Bengal was the base of Indian nationalism.

° To divide the and Muslims in Bengal.

° To show the enormous power of the British Government in doing whatever it liked. On the same day when the partition came into effect, 16 October 1905, the people of Bengal organised protest meetings and observed a day of mourning. The whole political life of Bengal underwent a change. Gandhi wrote that the real awakening in India took place only after the Partition of Bengal. The anti-partition movement culminated into the Swadeshi Movement and spread to other parts of India. The aggressive nationalists forced Dadabhai Naoroji to speak of Swaraj (which was not a Moderate demand) in the Calcutta Session of Congress in 1906. They adopted the resolutions of Boycott and Swadeshi. The Moderate Congressmen were unhappy. They wanted Swaraj to be achieved through constitutional methods. The differences led to a split in the Congress at the Surat session in 1907. This is popularly known as the famous Surat Split. The extremists came out of the Congress led by Tilak and others. Reasons of the Growth of Extremist Movement Growth of extremism or militant nationalism : The closing decade of the 19th century and early years of the 20th century witnessed the emergence of a new and younger group within the Indian National Congress which were sharply critical of the ideology and methods of the older leadership. These angry young men advocated the adoption of Swaraj as the goal of the Congress to be achieved by more self-reliant and independent method. The new group came to be called as extremist group. Causes for the rise of Extremism or Militant Nationalism : 1. Understanding of the True Nature of British Rule : By is their studies and writings, the early nationalist leaders have exposed the true nature of British rule in India. They repeatedly prove by study Calcutta that British rule and its policies were responsible for decrease in economic growth of India and poverty. All this led to great anger among the youths. 2. Discontent over the Council Act of 1892 : The political events from years 1892 to 1905 also disappointed nationalist and forced them to think of more radical politics. The Indian Council Act of 1892 was a completed disappointment. In 1898 law was passed making it offance to excite "feeling of this affection" towards the foreign government. In 1899, the number of Indian members in the Calcutta Corporation was reduced from 75 to 50. The 25 members who were eliminated over those persons who were the representatives of the people of Calcutta.

Even socially and culturally, the British rule was no longer progressive. Primary and technical education was not making any progress. The Indian Universities act of 1904 was seen by the nationalist as an attempt to bring the Indian universities under tighter official control and to check the growth of higher education. 3. Increasing westernisation : The intellectual and emotional inspiration of the new leadership was Indian. The drain special from Indian spiritual heritage, they appealed to heroes of the Indian history and hope to revive the glories of ancient India. The writing of Bankim Chandera, Vivekananda and Swami Dayanand appealed to their imagination. 4. Dissatisfaction with the performance of the Congress : The younger elements within the Congress were dissatisfied with the achievements of the Congress during the first 15 to 20 years and were disgusted with called and reactionary attitude of the government. They have lost all faith in the British sense of justice and fair play. 5. International influences : Events outside Indian exercised a powerful influence on the growth of militant nationalism in India. The humiliating treatment to Indians in British colonies, especially in South Africa created and they British fillings. Further national movements in the , Persia, Turkey and Russia gave Indians new hopes and new inspirations. The rise of modern Japan after 1868 showed that a backward Asian country could develop itself without Western control. 6. Militant Nationalism and revival of Hinduism : From almost the beginning, of the national movement School of militant nationalism represented by Rajnarain Bose and Ashwini Kumar Dutt in Bengal and Vishnu Shastri Chiplunkar in Maharashtra had existed in the country. The most outstanding representative of the school was Bal Gangadhar Tilak, later popularly known as "Lokmanya Tilak ". 7. Growth of Education : The growth of a patient in Indian increased the influence of Western ideas of democracy, nationalism and that radicalism. He educated Indians became the strongest advocates of military nationalism. The treatment given to them by the foreigners added to the bitterness. They were low paid. Many of them were unemployed. They felt very strongly the foreigners domination. There was a feeling in the country that self-government was necessity for the economic, political and cultural advancement of the country. 8. Growth of self-respect : Leaders like Tilak and B.C pal preached the message of self-respect and asked the nationalist to rely on the connector and capacities of the Indian people. They called upon the people to build their own future by their owner efforts. 9. Famine : The big famine occurred in India in 1896-97. It affected about 20 million people spread over in different parts of India. The British government's apathy towards people's sufferings created severe discontent among people of India. The failure to check plagues infuriated people to such an extent that Damodar Hari Chapekar shot dead Rand, the Commissioner of Poona. Achievements of Extremists

The achievements of extremists can be summed up as follows:

° They were the first to demand Swaraj as a matter of birth right.

° They involved the masses in the freedom struggle and broadened the social base of the National Movement.

° They were the first to organize an all-India political movement, viz. the Swadeshi Movement. Swadeshi Movement

The Swadeshi Movement involved programmes like the boycott of government service, courts, schools and colleges and of foreign goods, promotion of Swadeshi goods, Promotion of National Education through the establishment of national schools and colleges. It was both a political and economic movement. The Swadeshi Movement was a great success. In Bengal, even the landlords joined the movement. The women and students took to picketing. Students refused using books made of foreign paper. The government adopted several tough measures. It passed several Acts to crush the movement. The Swadeshi volunteers were beaten badly. The cry of was forbidden. Schools and colleges were warned not to allow their students to take part in the movement or else their, aid would be stopped. Some Indian government employees lost their jobs. Extremist leaders Bala Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal and Aurobindo Ghosh were imprisoned and deported.

The Swadeshi Movement : The Swadeshi movement had its genesis in the antipartition movement which was started to oppose the British decision to partition Bengal. The formal proclamation of the Swadeshi movement was made on August 7, 1905 at a meeting held at the Calcutta Town hall. At the August 7 meeting, the famous Boycott resolution was passed. Boycott was first suggested by Krishan Kumar Mitra in Sanjivani in 1905.

Phrases Of Swadeshi Movement

1905- 1 Movement confined to Bengal and launched as a protest movement 1909

1909- 2 Countrywide spread of movement and launching of anti-colonical movement 1910

1910- Swadeshi movement merged with revolutionary terrorist movement of first phase and 3 1911 led to the foundation of numerous secret associations.

The boycott of British products was followed by the advocacy of Swadeshi and to buy Indian products only. The leaders of Bengal felt that mere demonstrations, public meetings and resolutions were not in of an something more concrete was needed and the answer was swadeshi and boycott.

An important aspect of the swadeshi movement was the emphasis placed on self-reliance or atmasaki. Self-reliance meant assertion of national dignity, honour and self-confidence.

Leaders of the Swadeshi movement beyond Bengal

Punjab Lala Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh

Delhi Syed Haider Raza

Madras Chidambaram Pillai

Maharastra Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Andhra Harisarvottam Rao

Swadeshi Movement and National Education

Setting of the Bengal Technical Institute Emphasis on education through vernacular medium Setting up of a National Council Of Education on August 15, 1906 Opening of way National College at Calcutta with Aurobindo Ghosh as its principle. Efforts of Rabindranath Tagor's Shantiniketan and Satish Mukherjee's Society to combine the traditional and modern systems of education.

Difference between Moderates and Extremists over Swadeshi and Boycott : The Extremists wanted to extend Swadeshi and Boycott movement from Bengal to the rest of the country. They also wanted to extend the boycott to every form of association with the Government. The Moderates, on the other hand, wanted to confine the boycott movement to Bengal and there who limit it to the boycott of foreign goods. Formation of the Muslim League (1906)

In December 1906, Muslim delegates from all over India met at Dacca for the Muslim Educational Conference. Taking advantage of this occasion, Nawab Salimullah of Dacca proposed the setting up of an organisation to look after the Muslim interests. The proposal was accepted. The All-India Muslim League was finally set up on December 30, 1906. Like the Indian National Congress, they conducted annual sessions and put their demands to the British government. Initially, they enjoyed the support of the British. Their first achievement was the separate electorates for the Muslims in the Minto-Morley reforms. The Pact (1916)

During the 1916 Congress session at Lucknow two major events occurred. The divided Congress became united. An understanding for joint action against the British was reached between the Congress and the Muslim League and it was called the . The signing of the Lucknow Pact by the Congress and the Muslim League in 1916 marked an important step in the Hindu-Muslim unity. The Home Rule Movement (1916)

Two Home Rule Leagues were established, one by B.G. Tilak at Poona in April 1916 and the other by Mrs. Annie Besant at Madras in September 1916. The aim of the Movement was to get selfgovernment for India within the British Empire. It believed freedom was the natural right of all nations. Moreover, the leaders of the Home Movement thought that India’s resources were not being used for her needs. The two Leagues cooperated with each other as well with the Congress and the Muslim League in putting their demand for home rule. While Tilak’s Movement concentrated on Maharashtra, Annie Besant’s Movement covered the rest of the country. The Home Rule Movement had brought a new life in the national movement. There was a revival of Swadeshi. Women joined in larger numbers. On 20 August 1917, Montague, the Secretary of State in England, made a declaration in the Parliament of England on British Government’s policy towards future political reforms in India. He promised the gradual development of self-governing institutions in India. This August Declaration led to the end of the Home Rule Movement. Revolutionary Movements

In the first half of the 20th century, revolutionary groups sprang up mainly in Bengal, Maharashtra, Punjab and Madras. The revolutionaries were not satisfied with the methods of both the moderates and extremists. Hence, they started many revolutionary secret organizations. In Bengal Anusilan Samiti and were established. In Maharashtra Savarkar brothers had set up Abhinava Bharat. In the , Bharathmatha Association was started by Nilakanta Bramachari. In Punjab Ajit Singh set up a secret society to spread revolutionary ideas among the youth. In London, at , Shyamji Krishna Verma gathered young Indian nationalists like , Savarkar, V.V.S. Iyer and T.S.S.Rajan. Lala Hardyal set up the ‘Ghadar Party’ in USA to organise revolutionary activities from outside India. The Revolutionary movement for Indian independence is a part of the Indian independence movement comprising the actions of the underground revolutionary factions. Groups believing in armed revolution against the ruling British fall into this category, as opposed to the generally peaceful civil disobedience movement spearheaded by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi . The revolutionary groups were mainly concentrated in Bengal , Maharashtra , Bihar , the United Provinces and Punjab . More groups were scattered across India . Beginnings Apart from a few stray incidents, the armed rebellion against the British rulers was not organised before the beginning of the 20th century. The revolutionary philosophies and movement made its presence felt during the 1905 Partition of Bengal . Arguably, the initial steps to organise the revolutionaries were taken by Aurobindo Ghosh , his brother Barin Ghosh , , Lal Bal Pal and Subodh Chandra Mullick when they formed the Jugantar party in April 1906. Jugantar was created as an inner circle of the , which was already present in Bengal mainly as a fitness club. Bengal Anushilan Samiti Established by Pramathanath Mitra it became one of the most organised revolutionary associations, especially in the Eastern Bengal where the Anushilan Samiti had several branches and carried out major activities. Jugantar was initially formed by an inner circle of the Anushilan Samiti , like the Palmach of Haganah . In the 1920s, the Kolkata faction supported Gandhi in the Non-Cooperation Movement and many of the leaders held high posts in Congress . The Anushilan Samati had over five hundred branches. Jugantar Barin Ghosh was the main leader. Along with 21 revolutionaries including Bagha Jatin , he started to collect arms and explosives and manufactured bombs. The headquarters of Jugantar was located at 93/a Bowbazar Street, Kolkata . Some senior members of the group were sent abroad for political and military training. One of them, Hemchandra Kanungo obtained his training in . After returning to Kolkata he set up a combined religious school and bomb factory at a garden house in suburb of Calcutta . However, the attempted murder of district Judge Kingsford of by and (30 April 1908) initiated a police investigation that led to the arrest of many of the revolutionaries. Jatindranath Mukherjee Bagha Jatin was one of the top leaders in Jugantar. He was arrested, along with several other leaders, in connection with the conspiracy case . They were tried for treason, the charge being that they had incited various regiments of the army against the ruler. Jugantar, along with other revolutionary groups, and aided by Indians abroad, planned an armed revolt against the British rulers during the First World War . This plan largely depended on the clandestine landing of German arms and ammunitions in the Indian coast. This plan came to be known as the Indo- German Plot. However, the planned revolt did not materialise. After the First World War Jugantar supported Gandhi in the Non-Cooperation Movement and many of their leaders were in the Congress . Still, the group continued its revolutionary activities, a notable event being the armoury raid . Bengal Volunteers was a group formed by during the Kolkata session of Indian National Congress in 1928 to help the organisation of the session. However, afterwards the group turned into a revolutionary group with notable revolutionaries like Benoy -Badal -Dinesh being its members. [edit] Hindustan Socialist Republican Association Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) was established in October 1924 in , Uttar Pradesh by revolutionaries like Ramprasad Bismil , Jogesh Chatterjee , Chandrashekhar Azad , and Sachindranath Sanyal .[6] The aim of the party was to organise armed revolution to end the colonial rule and establish a Federal Republic of the United States of India. The train robbery was a notable act of mutiny by this group. The Kakori case led to the hanging of Ashfaqullah Khan , Ramprasad Bismil , , . The Kakori case was a major setback for the group. However, the group was soon reorganised under the leadership of Chandrashekhar Azad and with members like , Bhagwati Charan Vohra and Sukhdev on 9 and 10 September 1928– and the group was now christened Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA). In Lahore on 17 December 1928, Bhagat Singh, Azad and Rajguru assassinated Saunders, a police official involved in deadly lathi- charge on Lala Lajpat Rai. Bhagat Singh and threw a bomb inside the Central Legislative Assembly . The Assembly Bomb Case trial followed. Bhagat Singh , and were hanged in 23 March 1931. Maharashtra Kotwal Dasta Veer Bhai Kotwal alias Veer Bhai Kotwal    during Quit India Movementformed group of underground mercenaries called "Kotwal Dasta", a parallel government in the Karjat taluka of Thane district. They were about 50 in numbers including farmers and voluntary school teachers. They decided to cut down the electric pylons supplying electricity to city. From September 1942 through November 1942 they felled 11 pylons, paralyzing the industries and railways. South India The uprising against the British was evidenced at Halagali (Mudhol taluk of Bagalkot district). The prince of Mudhol, Ghorpade, had accepted British overlordship. But the Bedas (hunters), a martial community, were seething with dissatisfaction under the new dispensation. The British proclaimed the Disarming Act of 1857 whereby men possessing fire arms had to register them and secure a license before 10 November 1857. Babaji Nimbalkar, a soldier thrown out of job from Satara Court, had advised these people not to lose their hereditary right to own arms. One of the leaders of the Bedas, Jadgia, was invited by the administrator at Mudhol and was persuaded to secure a license on 11 November, though Jadgia had not asked for it. The administrator's expectation that others would follow Jadgia was belied. So he sent his agents to Halagali on 15 and 20 November and again on 21. But the entreaties of the agents did not succeed, and the agents sent on 21 November were attacked by Jadgia and Baalya, another leader, and they were forced to return. Another agent sent on 25 November was not allowed to enter the village. Meanwhile, the Bedas and other armed men from the neighbouring villages of Mantur, Boodni and Alagundi assembled at Halagali. The administrator reported the matter to Major Malcolm, the Commander at the nearby army headquarters, who sent Col. Seton Karr to Halagali on 29 November. The insurgents, numbering 500, did not allow the British to enter Halagali. There was a fight during the night. On 30 November, Major Malcolm came with 29th Regiment from Bagalkot. They set fire to the village and many insurgents died, including Babaji Nimbalkar. The British, who had a bigger army and better arms, arrested 290 insurgents; and of those 29 were tried and 11 were hanged at Mudhol on 11 December, and six others, including Jadagia and Baalya were hanged at Halagali on 14 December 1857. No prince or jagirdar was involved in this uprising, but it was the common soldiers. Violent revolutionary activities never took firm root in South India. The only violent act attributed to the revolutionaries was the assassination of Collector of Tirunelveli (Tinnevelly). On 17 June 1911, the Collector of Tirunelveli, Robert Ashe, was killed by R. Vanchi Aiyer, who subsequently committed suicide, which was the only instance of a political assassination by a revolutionary in South India. Outside India India House The India House was an informal Indian nationalist organization that existed in London between 1905 and 1910. Initially begun by as a residence in High gate, in North London , for Indian students to promote nationalist views and work, the house became a centre for intellectual political activities, and rapidly developed to be an organization that became a meeting ground for radical nationalists among Indian students in Britain at the time, and of the most prominent centers for revolutionary Indian nationalism outside India. published by the house was a noted platform for anti-colonial work and was banned in India as "seditious literature". The India house was the beginnings of a number of noted Indian revolutionaries and nationalists, most famously V.D. Savarkar , as well as others of the like of V.N. Chatterjee ,Lala , V.V.S. Iyer , M. P. T. Acharya who were, over the next decades, key members of revolutionary conspiracies in India as well as the founding fathers of Indian . The house came to be the focus of Scotland Yard 's work against Indian sedetionists, as well as the focus of work for the nascent Indian Political Intelligence Office . India house ceased to be potent organisation after its liquidation in the wake of the assassination of William Hutt by a member of the India House by the name of Madan Lal Dhingra . This event marked the beginnings of London Police's crackdown on the activities of the house and a number of its activists and patrons, including Shyamji Krishna Varma and Bhikaji Cama moved to from where they carried on works in support of Indian nationalism. Some Indian students, including Har Dayal , moved to the United States. The network that the House founded was key in the nationalist revolutionary conspiracy in India during . Gadar Party Gadar party was a predominantly Sikh organization that started operating abroad in 1913 "with the view to do-away with the British rule in India". [7] The party collaborated with revolutionaries inside India and helped them get arms and ammunition. Lala Hardayal was a prominent leader of the party and promoter of the Gadar newspaper. The in 1914 inspired several thousand Indians residing in the USA to sell their businesses and rush home to participate in the anti-British activities in India . The party had active members in India , Mexico , Japan, China, , Thailand , Philippines , Malaya , Indo-China and Eastern and Southern Africa. During World War I , it was among the chief participants of the Hindu German Conspiracy . Committee The " for Indian independence" was established in 1915 by Virendra Nath Chattopadhya, including Bhupendra Nath Dutt & Lala Hardayal under "Zimmerman plan" with the full backing of German foreign office. Their goal was mainly to achieve the following four objectives: 1: Mobilize Indian revolutionaries abroad. 2: Incite rebellion among Indian troops stationed. abroad. 3: Send volunteers and arms to India. 4: Even to Organized an armed invasion of British India to gain India's independence. and sent British back to home

Chronology Pre World War I bomb conspiracy case Several leaders of the Jugantar party including Aurobindo Ghosh were arrested in connection with bomb-making activities in Kolkata . Several of the activists were deported to the Andaman . Howrah gang case Most of the eminent Jugantar leaders including Bagha Jatin alias Jatindra Nath Mukherjee who were not arrested earlier, were arrested in 1910, in connection with the murder of Shamsul Alam. Thanks to Bagha Jatin's new policy of a decentralised federated action, most of the accused were released in 1911. Delhi-Lahore conspiracy case The , also known as the Delhi-Lahore Conspiracy,hatched in 1912, planned to assassinate the then Viceroy of India , Lord Hardinge , on the occasion of transferring the capital of British India from Calcutta to New Delhi. Involving revolutionary underground in Bengal and headed by Rashbehari Bose along with sachin sanyal, the conspiracy culminated on the attempted assassination on 23 when a home-made bomb was thrown into the Viceroys's Howdah when the ceremonial procession moved through the suburb of Delhi . The Viceroy escaped with his injuries, along with Lady Hardinge, although the Mahout was killed. In the aftermath of the event, efforts were made to destroy the Bengali and Punabi revolutionary underground, which came under intense pressure for sometime. Rash Behari successfully evaded capture for nearly three years, becoming actively involved in the Ghadar conspiracy before it was uncovered, and fleeing to Japan in 1916. The investigations in the aftermath of the assassination attempt led to the Delhi Conspiracy trial . Although Basant Kumar Biswas was convicted of having thrown the bomb and executed, along with Amir Chand and Avadh Behari for their roles in the conspiracy, the true identity of the person who threw the bomb is not known to this day. World War I The Indo-German Conspiracy, also referred to as the Hindu-German Conspiracy or the Ghadar conspiracy (or Ghadr conspiracy), was formulated during World War I between Indian Nationalists in India, United States and Germany, the Irish Republicans , and the German Foreign office to initiate a Pan-Indian rebellion against The Raj with German support between 1914 and 1917, during World War I . The most famous amongst a number of plots planned to foment unrest and trigger a Pan-Indian mutiny in , in the British from Punjab to Singapore, to overthrow The Raj in the Indian subcontinent . This conspiracy was ultimately thwarted at the last moment as British intelligence successfully infiltrated the Ghadarite movement and arrested key figures. The failed Singapore mutiny remains a famous part of this plot while mutinies in other smaller units and garrisons within India were also crushed. World War I began with an unprecedented outpouring of loyalty and goodwill towards the United Kingdom from within the mainstream political leadership, contrary to initial British fears of an Indian revolt. India contributed massively to the British war effort by providing men and resources. About 1.3 million Indian soldiers and labourers served in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, while both the Indian government and the princes sent large supplies of food, money, and ammunition. However, Bengal and Punjab remained hotbeds of anti colonial activities. Terrorism in Bengal, increasingly closely linked with the unrests in Punjab, was significant enough to nearly paralyse the regional administration. With outlines of German links with the Indian revolutionary movement already in place as early as 1912, the main conspiracy was formulated between the Ghadar Party in United States, the Berlin Committee in Germany, Indian revolutionary underground in India , Sinn Féin and the German Foreign Office through the consulate in San Francisco at the beginning of World War I . A number of failed attempts were made at mutiny, among them the February mutiny plan and the Singapore mutiny . This movement was suppressed by means of a massive international counter-intelligence operation and draconian political acts (including the Defence of India act 1915 ) that lasted nearly ten years. Other notable events that formed a part of the conspiracy include the Annie Larsen arms plot , the Mission to that also attempted to rally against British India. The Mutiny of the Connaught Rangers in India, as well as by some accounts, the Black Tom explosion in 1916 are also considered minor events linked to the conspiracy. The Indo-Irish-German alliance and the conspiracy were the target of a worldwide intelligence effort by the British intelligence agencies which was ultimately successful in preventing further attempts and plans, and in the aftermath of the Annie Larsen affair , successfully directed the American intelligence agencies to arrest key figures at the time she entered World War I in 1917. The conspiracy led to the Lahore conspiracy case in India and the Hindu German Conspiracy Trial in the USA, of which the latter at the time was one of the longest and most expensive trials in that country. [8] Largely subdued and suppressed by the end of the war , the movement posed a significant threat to British India during World War I and its aftermath, and was a major factor guiding The Raj 's India policy. Tehrek e Reshmi Rumal During the war, the Pan-Islamist movement also attempted to overthrow the Raj, and came to form a close liaison with the Indo-German Conspiracy. Out of the movement arose the Tehrek-e-Reshmi Rumal. The Deobandi leaders attempted to begin a pan-Islamic insurrection in British India during World War I by seeking support from Ottoman Turkey , Imperial Germany , Afghanistan. The plot was uncovered by Punjab CID with the capture of letters from , one of the Deobandi leaders then in Afghanistan , to Mahmud al Hasan another leaders then in Persia. The letters were written in Silk cloth, hence the name of the Silk Letter Conspiracy . Between the wars led Indian revolutionaries to raid the armoury of police and auxiliary forces and to cut all communication lines in Chittagong on 18 April 1930. After successfully completing the raid, revolutionaries establish Provincial National Government of India, after this in deadly clash with Government troops in Jalalabad Hill, revolutionaries scattered themselves in small groups. and Some revolutionaries were soon killed or arrested in a gun-fight with the police. Scores of Government officials, policeman were also killed. led the attack on European club in Chittagong in 1932. Surya Sen was arrested in 1933 and was hanged on 8 January 1934. Central Assembly Bomb Case (1929) Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw a bomb in the assembly house along with leaflets stating their revolutionary philosophy – 'to make the deaf hear'. Bhagat Singh ,Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged and several other faced the verdict of imprisonment. Batukeshwar Dutt outlived all his comrades and died in July 1965 in Delhi. All of them cremated in ferozpur (Punjab,India). Baikuntha Shukla , the great nationalist was hanged for murdering Phanindrananth Ghosh who had become a government approver which led to hanging of Bhagat Singh ,Sukhdev and Rajguru . He was a nephew of Yogendra Shukla . Baikunth Shukla was also initiated into the independence struggle at a young age taking active part in the 'Salt Satyagraha' of 1930. He was associated with revolutionary organisations like the Hindustan Seva Dal and Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. The execution of the great Indian revolutionaries BhagatSingh , Rajguru and Sukhdev in 1931 as a result of their trial in the 'Lahore conspiracy case' was an event that shook the entire country. Phanindra Nath Ghosh , hitherto a key member of the Revolutionary Party had treacherously betrayed the cause by turning an approver, giving evidence, which led to the execution. Baikunth was commissioned to plan the execution of Ghosh as an act of ideological vendetta which he carried out successfully on 9 November 1932. He was arrested and tried for the killing. Baikunth was convicted and hanged in Gaya Central Jail on 14 May 1934. He was only 28 years old. On 27 February 1931, Chandrasekar Azad died in a shootout when cornered by the police. It is unclear of the eventual fate of the Association, but the common understanding is that it disbanded with the death of Chandrashekar Azad and the hanging of its popular activists: Bhagat Singh , Sukhdev and Rajguru . Dalhousie Square Bomb Case A bomb was thrown on the Calcutta Police Commissioner, on 25 August 1930. Kakori train robbery Chandrasekhar Azad , Ramprasad Bismil , Jogesh Chatterjee , Ashfaqullah Khan , Banwari lal and their accomplices participated in the robbery of treasury money that was being transported by train. The looting took place between Kakori station and Alamnagar, within 40 miles (64 km) of Lucknow on 9 August 1925. Police started an intense man-hunt and arrested a large number of rebels and tried them in the Kakori case. Ashfaqullah Khan , Ramprasad Bismil , Roshan Singh , Rajendra Lahiri were hanged, four others were sent to the Cellular Jail in , Andaman for life and seventeen others were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment. World War II The scenario changed with the years. The British were thinking to quit India and religious politics came into play. The basic political background of revolutionary ideas seemed to evolve in a new direction. The organised revolutionary movements can be said to have nearly ceased by 1936, apart from some stray sparks, like the killing of Sir Michael O'Dwyer , generally held responsible for the Amritsar Massacre , on 13 March 1940, by Udham Singh in London. During the Quit India movement of 1942, several other activities took place in different parts of India . However, those were discrete occurrences and hardly any large scale planned terrorism took place that could shake the British administration. Meanwhile, Subhas Chandra Bose was organising an Indian National Army outside India and leading the army towards India, while at the same time the Congress was negotiating with the British. Finally India was independent on 15 August 1947, virtually by non-violence against the British but with much of bloodshed, rioting and violence among the countrymen (and near-future neighbours) during the partition , which was quite shocking to the past revolutionaries and also to Gandhi . Many revolutionaries participated in mainstream politics and joined political parties like the Congress and, especially, the communist parties and took part in the parliamentary democracy that was India. On the other hand, many past revolutionaries, being released from captivity, led the lives of common men. Notable revolutionaries Name Birth Death Activity

3 December 11 August

Khudiram Bose The Muzaffarpur killing 1889 1908

Chandra Shekhar 27 February

23 July 1906

Azad 1931

19 December

Ram Prasad Bismil 11 June 1897 Kakori Conspiracy 1927

27/28 23 March Central Assembly Bomb Case

Bhagat Singh September

1931 1929 1907

26 December

Udham Singh 31 July 1940 Shooting in Caxton Hall 1899

23 March 21 January

Hemu Kalani Sabotage of Railway Track 1923 1943

22 October 19 December

Ashfaqulla Khan Kakori Conspiracy 1900 1927

25 December 23 November

Sachindra Bakshi Kakori Conspiracy 1904 1984

Manmath Nath 7 February 26 October

Kakori Conspiracy

Gupta 1908 2000

Vasudev Balwant 4 November 17 February Deccan Rebellion Name Birth Death Activity

Phadke 1845 1883

Anan t Laxman Shooting of British Officer 1891 19 April 1910

Kanhere Jackson

Krishnaji Gopal Shooting of British Officer 1887 19 April 1910

Karve Jackson

Ganesh Damodar 16 March Armed movement against 13 June 1879

Savarkar 1945 the British

Vinayak Damodar 26 February 28 May 1883 Father of

Savarkar 1966

10 The Howrah-Sibpur 7 December

Bagha Jatin September conspiracy case, Hindu– 1879 1915 German Conspiracy

18 November Central Assembly Bomb Case

Batukeshwar Dutt 20 July 1965

1910 1929

23 March Central Assembly Bomb Case

Sukhdev Thapar 15 May 1907

1931 1929

Shivaram Hari 24 August 23 March Murder of a British police

Rajguru 1908 1931 officer, J. P. Saunders

22 January 19 December Kakori Conspiracy , Bamrauli

Roshan Singh 1892 1927 Action

23 Pahartali European Club

Pritilata Waddedar 5 May 1911 September attack Name Birth Death Activity

1932

13 27 October Hunger strike and Lahore

Jatindra Nath Das September 1904 conspiracy case 1929

Durgawati Devi 7 October 15 October Running the bomb factory

(Durga Bhabi) 1907 1999 'Himalayan Toilets'

Bhagwati Charan 4 July 1904 28 May 1930 Philosophy of Bomb

Vohra

18 September 17 August Curzon Wyllie's

Madan Lal Dhingra 1883 1909 assassination

Alluri Sitarama

1897 7 May 1924 Rampa Rebellion of 1922

Raju

Kushal Konwar 1905 15 June 1943 Train sabotage Sarupathar

Surya Sen 22 March 12 January

Chittagong Armoury Raid

(Masterda) 1894 1934

1 December 25 January

Ananta Singh Chittagong armoury raid 1903 1979

Sri Aurobindo 15 August 5 December

Alipore Bomb Case

Ghosh 1872 1950

21 January

Rash Behari Bose 25 May 1886 Indian National Army 1945

10 March 22 August

Ubaidullah Sindhi Silk Letter Conspiracy 1872 1944 Name Birth Death Activity

Jogesh Chandra

1895 1969 Kakori Conspiracy

Chatterjee

Assassination of Phanindra

Baikuntha Shukla 1907 14 May 1934 Nath Ghosh, a government Approver

Ambika 6 March

1892 Chittagong armoury raid

Chakrabarty 1962

8 December

Badal Gupta 1912 Attack at Writers Building 1930

6 December

Dinesh Gupta 7 July 1931 Attack at Writers Building 1911

11 September 13 December

Benoy Basu Attack at Writers Building 1908 1930

17 December

Rajendra Lahiri 1901 Kakori Conspiracy 1927

Barindra Kumar 5 January

18 April 1959 Alipore Bomb Case

Ghosh 1880

10 December

Prafulla Chaki 1908 The Muzaffarpur killing 1888

Ullaskar Dutta 16 April 1885 17 May 1965 Alipore Bomb Case

Hemchandra

1871 1951 Alipore Bomb Case

Kanungo

Basawon Singh 23 March 7 April 1989 Lahore conspiracy case Name Birth Death Activity

(Sinha) 1909

Bhavabhushan 27 January

1881

Mitra 1970

Attempted to Assassinate 24 August 26 December

Bina Das the Bengal Governor Stanley 1911 1986 Jackson

1 December 2 January Kotwal Dasta, Quit India

Veer Bhai Kotwal

1912 1943 Movement

DC-1 Sem-2 Paper: Nationalism in India Lesson: Marxist Approach to Study Nationalism in India Lesson Developer: Santana Khanikar College/Department: Department of Political Science, University of Delhi

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Contents

1. Introduction

2. and Nationalism

3. Marxist Historiography of Indian Nationalism

3.aEarly works

3.bInternal Criticism and Later Marxist Developments

4. The Subaltern School as a Radical Marxist Interpretation

5. Conclusion

6. References and further readings

7. Exercises

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Marxist Approach to Study Nationalism in India

1. Introduction

The movement for independence of India is one of the biggest mass movements in the history of the world. It saw the participation of wide sections of people under the leadership of the Indian National Congress. While the beginning of the Indian national movement is variously traced, a major consensus being the consideration of the revolt of 1857 as the first collective moment, the movement was given its mass appeal and national character under the leadership of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

Gandhi leading salt satyagraha, a moment in the struggle for India’s independence. Source: www.wikipedia.org

The Indian national movement has been studied widely from many different perspectives. As students of social science we are aware that what we read as history depends a lot on who writes it. Thus we have apologists of colonial rule in India who interpret the Indian freedom struggle as a product of the needs of various elite groups of India to stage a „mock battle‟, when in reality there was no basic contradiction between interests of Indian people and colonial rulers. The nationalist writers see it as a movement of the Indian people which emerged and strengthened as a result of growing awareness among people about the essentially exploitative character of colonialism. Similarly, we have a Marxist interpretation of the Indian national movement too, coming from a particular world view of Marxist ideas about economic class contradictions and perceptions of history.

The subject matter of this unit is how the Indian national movement is interpreted by Marxist historiographers of India. But before going to the specific understanding of

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Indian nationalism by Marxists, we shall briefly attempt to understand the relation of classical Marxist thought to the idea of nationalism. In the next section, we would discuss some major contributions to the Marxist historiography of Indian national movement

2. Marxism and Nationalism

Marxism as a theoretical framework of studying societies emphasises on the material relations of production and describes various historical epochs in terms of its major contradictions based on the relations of production, called the class contradictions. Thus, within Marxist thought, the prime identity of a person is his or her class identity. As the hopes of Marx and Engels were fixed on class struggle, they did not put much emphasis on the issue of nationalism which proposes to unite people across class divisions, and blunts class consciousness.

But they could not totally ignore the historical events of the time, and interpreted various nationalist movements within Europe. While recognizing the fact that nationalist movements are mostly organized by bourgeois classes, they argued that it is a necessary step in the path towards communism, as bourgeois nationalism is the harbinger of capitalism in feudal societies.

Marx and Engels, however, did not presume that the historically progressive nature of capitalism in relation to feudalism would automatically justify support for every national movement. Rather, they emphasised the need to politically assess the national movements in each context, to decide whether they are worthy of support or not. Thus, Marx and Engels opposed the national movement of the Slavic people, of the Serbs, Croats and Czechs, during the 1848 revolutions of Europe, arguing that these forces were counter-revolutionary for a communistic social change.

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Karl Marx (left) (1818-1883),was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. Marx's work in economics laid the basis for the current understanding of labour and its relation to capital, and has influenced much of subsequent economic thought.Friedrich Engels (right) (1820- 1895),was a German social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of Marxist theory, alongside Karl Marx. Source: www.wikipedia.org

Further, their support to the nationalist movements, wherever existed, was on a strategic ground rather than on any intrinsic value that they thought to be existing in national mobilizations. Rather they believed that with the expansion of capitalism, both in Europe and around the world, the significance of nation-states and movements for national independence would be lessened. The real eradication of national oppression, according to Marx and Engels, is possible not through nationalism, but only through socialism.

In this context, the writings of Karl Marx on the 'Asiatic mode of production', and his view that despite its coercive nature, a progressive role was played by colonial rule to help India break out of its age-old stagnant village societies is crucial (Thorner 1966).

Both Marx and Engels, however, at a later stage talk about the important role played by bourgeois nationalist revolutions to bring in democratic freedoms, where a socialist revolution was not yet possible.

To deal with the national question, Soviet communist said that we need to make a clear distinction between two periods of capitalism. The first period is a period of waning feudalism and absolutism when bourgeois democratic society and

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state institutions are formed. According to Lenin, during this period, the national movements are mass movements that draw all classes of the population into politics. The second period is more complex. In the second period, the capitalist state is fully formed, and is characterized by long-established constitutional regimes. This phase is also characterized by a high level of antagonism between the proletariat and the bourgeois classes.

Vladimir Lenin (1870 –1924) was a Russian communist revolutionary, politician and political theorist. Source: www.wikipedia.org

According; source: to Lenin, wikipedia to take a decision on whether to lend support to a nationalist movement or not, the second period poses more difficult challenges for a Marxist. He points out certain important questions that one must try to seek answers to, before taking any course of action. Firstly, there is a need to see whether the people asking for nationality rights are really oppressed. Secondly, we need to ask whether a consciousness of being a nation has been formed among those who are oppressed. The existence of such a consciousness shows the actual existence of a nation. Thirdly, and most importantly, socialists must ask whether the support to such a nationalist movement would advance the interests of the working class. While asking this question, Lenin pointed out, that the leadership of a nationalist movement is invariably bourgeois at the beginning; but such oppressed bourgeois leadership, working for their own minority interest, also do have a general democratic content directed against oppression. He suggested that the unconditional support of the Marxists towards nationalist movements is only for this specific democratic content.

He, however, argues that any interest a working class person might have in supporting a bourgeois-led nationalist movement, lies in the fact that a successful national struggle makes the class conflict between the bourgeois and the proletariat

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clearer, by removing an external enemy common to both. From the Leninist point of view, thus, a nationalist movement should be supported only when it leads to an alliance of proletariats against the bourgeoisie, and not be supported if it effectively divides up the working classes.

Stalin suggested that any alliance between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat should be made with enough care, so that the proletarians and the peasants do not end up being the subordinate partners of the alliance.

Joseph Stalin or Iosif Vissarionovich Stalin ( 1878 – 1953), was the leader of the from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953.

Mao, as a practitioner of Stalinist ideason nationalism, recommended that any alliance between the two classes should be result of specific historical conjunctures and should not be used as unalterable formulas in each and every context.

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Mao Zedong ( 1893 – 1976), was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and the founding father of the People's Republic of China, which he governed as Chairman of the Communist Party of China from its establishment in 1949 until his death. His Marxist-Leninist theories, military strategies and political policies are collectively known as Maoism or Mao Zedong Thought.

3. Marxist Historiography of Indian Nationalism

3.1 Early works

The conventional Marxist writers on nationalism in India include scholars like Rajni Palme Dutt, VI Pavlov and AR Desai. The writings of the conventional Marxist school analysed the class character of the Indian national movement in terms of the economic developments of the colonial period, such as rise of industrial capitalism and development of a market society. According to this scholarship, the bourgeois leadership of the movement fought to shape the movement to suit their own interests at the cost of the interests of the masses.

Looking at colonial rule in India from a classical Marxist perspective, Rajani Palme Dutta, in his book India Today (1949) described it as both „destructive‟ and „regenerative‟ , while acknowledging that the „regenerative‟ role played by colonialism was very limited. Discussing the Indian national movement in this context, he traced it only from the last quarter of the 19th century. Commenting on the 1857 revolt, which many others considered as the first war of India‟s independence, Dutt said that it was not a moment of nationalist movement and was merely a revolt of the old conservative and feudal forces and dethroned rulers.

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The Indian National Congress, which Dutt recognized as the premiere organization of the Indian national movement, was brought into existence according to Dutt, as a „safety valve‟, through British official initiative. He mentions the role played by Hume in bringing about this organization, so that a full-scale insurgency against the British rule could be prevented.

Though under pressure from populist nationalist forces the movement had to go beyond its subservient nature, the history of its origin haunted it through the whole period of the national movement, making it dual-natured. Dutt does a class analysis of the movement and shows how the pull from two opposite directions shaped the trajectory of the movement.

Rajani Palme Dutt (1896–1974), was a leading journalist and theoretician in the Communist Party of Great Britain. Source: www.wikipedia.org

The first phase of the nationalist movement, Dutt argues, is represented by the big bourgeoisie, which, according to him include,the progressive elements among the landowners, the new industrial bourgeoisie and the well-to-do intellectual elements. In the second phase, preceding the First World War, the urban petty bourgeoisie made its presence and aspirations felt. The third phase started after the First World War, when the Indian masses - both peasantry and the industrial working class – joined the movement. During this phase, as the newly entrant masses became too militant, the bourgeois leadership called off the Non-Cooperation Movement, proving the dual- character of the movement. The Civil Disobedience movement too, Dutta argues, was suddenly and mysteriously called off when it was reaching its height in 1932.

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Thus Dutt shows that, throughout the national movement, as a result of its dual nature, two distinct strands ran parallelly: first, the strand of „cooperation‟ with imperialism against the „menace‟ of mass participation, and second, the leadership of the masses.

Rajani Palme Dutt‟s was the most influential work on the conventional Marxist historiography of the Indian national movement, and all subsequent works in the tradition were at least to some extent influenced by this work.

Another important work in this tradition is the Social Background of Indian Nationalism, first published in 1948 by AR Desai. Desai discusses five developmental phases of the Indian national movement, and identifies the particular class base of the movement in each of these periods. He identifies the first phase asmarked by a narrow social base of modern Western educated intelligentsia. The second phase was marked by the founding of the Indian National Congress in 1885, and this phase spanned till 1905. This phase saw the emergence of an Indian educated middle class and merchant class as a result of expansion of modern education and development of Indian and international trade. This phase also saw the Indianisation of services and association of the Indians with the administrative machinery of the state.

The third phase identified by Desai between 1905 and 1918 was a period of militancy and inclusion of the lower-middle classes. The fourth phase from 1918 till the end of the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1934 was a period of great expansion, leading to the inclusion of the Indian masses. The leadership of the movement, according to Desai, however, remained in the hands of those who were under strong influence of Indian capitalist classes. The fourth phase also saw the rise of some socialist and communist groups, with pro-people agendas.

The fifth phase from 1934 to 1939, was marked by a growing disenchantment with the Gandhian ideology within the Congress, and the rise of the socialist group inside the party. It also saw the simultaneous rise of various movements of depressed classes, peasants, workers and linguistic groups as well as communalism outside the Congress. The All India Kishan Sabha was one such organization, which formulated as its objective a socialist state in India. These developments, according to Desai, exerted some pressure on the Congress as a result of which Congress included in its programme a charter offundamental rights guaranteeing civil liberties and alleviatory economic measures to the workersand peasants. But despite such developments, the mainstream of the Congress and the national movement, Desai held, continued to be dominated by those who represented the interests of the dominant classes, in the

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subsequent periods. So Desai argues that the basic character of the Indian national movement throughout its career, remained bourgeoisie.

3.2 Internal criticism and later Marxist developments:

The conventional Marxist historiography of the national movement of India, which followed a narrow class approach and economic determinism, was criticised by some later set of historians like SN Mukherjee, Sumit Sarkar and Bipan Chandra.

SN Mukherjee argued that Indian nationalism was a complex process with multiple layers and meanings, and cannot be understood by a reductionist class analysis. He pointed out the importance of caste as a crucial factor along with that of class, and showed that traditional languages of politics was simultaneously used with the modern ones, in organizing the national movement of India. (Bandyopadhyay 2004)

Sumit Sarkar, another Marxist who is critical of Dutt‟s paradigm discussed above, termed it as a simplistic version of Marxian class-approach, in his book TheSwadeshi Movement in Bengal 1903-1908 (1973). While Dutt talked about the dominance of „big bourgeoisie‟ in the moderate phase and the dominance of „urban petty bourgeoisie‟ in the extremist phase of the national movement, Sarkar showed that a clear class distinction between the two phases is difficult to establish, and was clearly non- existent at the leadership level. He further suggests that Dutt‟s form of Marxist interpretation has the defect of “assuming too direct or crude an economic motivation for political action and ideals” (Sarkar 1973, 1978).

In contrast Sarkar brings into fore the Gramscian categories of „traditional‟ and „organic‟ intellectuals to explain the leadership of the national movement in India. According to Gramsci, the famous Italian Marxist activist and thinker, the „organic‟ intellectuals are those who are in direct link with the people who they lead, as they themselves directly participate in the production process. A „traditional‟ intellectual is, on the other hand, not directly connected either to the production process or the people who they lead, but become leaders of certain classes by ideologically taking up the responsibility of those classes. Sarkar showed that the Indian nationalist leaders were„traditional‟ intellectuals rather than „organic‟ intellectuals, and despite coming mostly from the traditional learned classes, totally unconnected from the post 1850s commercial or industrial bourgeoisie in the country, were able to lead the bourgeoisie ideologically. These „traditional‟ intellectuals, despite not having the bourgeois social background personally, helped push the capitalist development of the country.

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Antonio Gramsci (1891 – 1937) was an Italian writer, politician, political theorist, philosopher, sociologist, and linguist.

In his later book Modern India (1983), Sarkar warned against indiscriminate use of analytical tools of Marxism such as „class‟ and „class consciousness‟, and suggested that they should be used more “skilfully and flexibly”. He further recognizes various internal tensions existing within the Indian national movement, between two levels of anti- imperialist struggle: elite and populist. He argued that we need to look at the complex interactions between these two levels, to be able to understand the complexities of the national movement in India.

Bipan Chandra advanced a slightly different critique of the conventional Marxist interpretations, basically given by RP Dutt and AR Desai. We can classify Bipan Chandra‟s reading of the Indian national movement into two different epistemological phases.

Initially, in his book Nationalism and Colonialism in Modern India (1979), Chandra criticized the narrow way in which the nationalist leaders were called bourgeois in an instrumentalist sense, that they followed the commands of the capitalists. There is no doubt that the overall social and economic outlook of the nationalist leaders was „basically capitalist‟, but their advocacy of capitalism was not based on any narrow personal interest, and was derived from the belief of the nationalists that capitalist industrialization is the only way to regenerate the country economically. Thus,

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according to Chandra, the nationalist saw advancement of capitalism as a national interest and not as a class interest.

There, however, were other points in which this early work of Bipan Chandra resembled the works of Dutt and Desai. These similarities include, Chandra‟s assessment that the nationalist leadership adopted a „peaceful‟ and „bloodless‟ approach of struggle in the interest of the capitalist classes. A peaceful non-violent struggle ensured that the capitalist classes at no time has to face a situation that would put their interests in jeopardy, even temporarily. Further, Chandra too talked about a gap between the leaders and the masses of India, and that even when the masses were organized, that they never reached the decision-making positions of the leadership. Whenever they were mobilized, the political activity of the masses were strictly controlled from the top.

In the second phase of his writing on the national movement, as found in his later work written with four other scholars, India’s Struggle for Independence: 1857-1947 (1988), Chandra moved away drastically from both his earlier work as well as the works of Dutt and Desai. In what Bandyopadhyay (2004) calls a distinctly „nationalist orientation‟, he along with his co-authors, argued that the Indian national movement was a popular movement of various classes. They commented that this movement was not exclusively controlled by the bourgeoisie. They identified two types of contradictions of interests in : the primary one is between the interests of the Indian people and the interests of the British rule. In the background of this primary contradiction, various internal contradictions remained which occupied positions of secondary importance in the context: such as, contradiction between the interests of various classes, castes and religious communities. According to Chandra, in the interest of resolving the primary contradiction, during the national movement the other secondary contradictions were compromised and all sections came together under the hegemony of a nationalist ideology. As a result the Indian national movement became a people‟s movement, though various secondary contradictions remained unresolved at this moment.

To explain the non-violent nature of the movement, now Chandra took recourse to the Gramscian category of „war of position‟. A „war of position‟ is a prolonged struggle for the attainment of a goal, so that “reserves of counter-hegemony were built up over the years through progressive stages”, on a “moral, political and ideological level. Chandra now suggested that the national movement was fought non-violently so that it can at the same time forge Indian people into a nation and undermine the colonial hegemony with a national counter-hegemony. Non-violence, Chandra and others

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argued, was used as a tool to mobilize the masses as widely as possible, and thus to generate a successful counter-hegemony of the nation.

4. The Subaltern School as a Radical Marxist Interpretation

The subaltern school of Indian historiography is a more radical strand inspired by the ideas of Antonio Gramsci, and placed in the broader Left ideological arena. This school, being closely related to the Marxist school, and deriving from some common theoretical-intellectual tools, critiques both a nationalist interpretation and a conventional Marxist interpretation of the Indian national movement. The subaltern school claims that the study of Indian nationalism cannot be completed by looking only at the „elite‟ streams of Indian nationalism, as done by most historiographies, including the nationalist and the Marxist. The subaltern historiographers suggest that the contribution made by the people on their own, independently of the elite leadership, which did not commonly find a place in the conventional historiographies, are important sources to understand the „real‟ nationalism, in contrast to the „hollow‟ nationalism of the elites. This school also pointed out the problems with focusing merely on class as an angle of analysis, and stressed the importance of other explanatory categories such as culture, mind and identity.

5. Conclusion

Like most other events of the social and political world, the interpretations of the Indian national movement are also not without contestations. In this unit, we studied just one way of looking at the freedom struggle of India. India being a plural society, and people‟s participation in the national movement influenced by their social-cultural and economic contexts, no matter which strand of the movement they were active in, no historiographical attempt to paint a complete and general picture of the national movement is ever completely successful. For a nuanced understanding of an event like the Indian national movement, we have to keep our minds open to acknowledge the interplay of various forms of struggle and resistance, with varied social backgrounds and differences in paths and particular goals, working at the same time, which come to be known as the Indian national movement.

6. References and further readings

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Bandyopadhayay, S 2004, From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India, Orient Blackswan, New Delhi.

Chandra, B 1984, Nationalism and Colonialism in Modern India, Orient Longman, New Delhi.

Chandra, B 1991, The Rise and Growth of Economic Nationalism in India,People‟s Publishing House, New Delhi.

Chandra, B et al 1988, India’s Struggle for Independence, Penguin, New Delhi.

Desai, AR 1979, Social Background of Indian Nationalism, Oxford University Press, Bombay.

Dore, E 2000, „national bourgeoisie‟, in A Dictionary of Marxist Thought, eds. Bottomore, T et al, Maya Blackwell, Delhi.

Dutt, RP 1926, Modern India, Sunshine Publishing House, Bombay.

Kiernan, VG 2000, „nationalism‟, in A Dictionary of Marxist Thought, eds. Bottomore, T et al, Maya Blackwell, Delhi.

Lewis, T 2000, „Marxism and Nationalism‟, International Socialist Review, Issue 13, August- September.

Sarkar, S 1973, 1978, The Swadeshi Movement in Bengal, 1903 – 1908, People‟s Publishing House, New Delhi.

Sarkar, S 1983, Modern India 1885 -1947, Macmillan, New Delhi.

Thorner, D 1966, 'Marx on India and the Asiatic Mode of Production', Contributions to Indian Sociology, IX, December.

7. Exercises (i) Discuss the various phases of the Indian national movement as classified by R P DUtt and A R Desai. (ii) Discuss the ideas of Marx, Lenin, Stalin and Mao on the issue of nationalism. To what extent do you think the works of Indian Marxist writers on the nature of the national movement of India, were influenced by these ideas ? (iii) Discuss some of the later Marxist historiographical developments on the issue of nationalism in India. Elaborate on their critique of earlier strands of

Institute of Lifelong Learning University of Delhi 15

Marxist interpretations as marked by a narrow class approach and economic determinism. (iv) Briefly discuss how the Marxist interpretation of Indian nationalism is different from the ideas of the subaltern school.

Institute of Lifelong Learning University of Delhi 16

Nationalism Nationalism is a belief, creed or political ideology that involves an individual identifying with his or her home country or nation. Nationalism should be distinguished from the related construct of patriotism, which is the extent to which an individual offers support for his or her home country or nation. Two major perspectives on the origins and basis of nationalism, one is the primordialist perspective that describes nationalism as a reflection of the ancient and perceived evolutionary tendency of humans to organize into distinct groupings based on an affinity of birth; the other is the modernist perspective that describes nationalism as a recent phenomenon that requires the structural conditions of modern society in order to exist.

Anderson and Gellner Anderson and Gellner, despite the perceptible distinct features of their intellectual endeavors, share some basic academic interest and diagnose regarding nationalism in their books. Firstly, they both realize that modern form of nation state and nationalism are relatively recent phenomenon, which contingent on some unique conditions. Nations, or in Anderson’s term, imagined communities, as well as nationalism, are not universal phenomenon and cannot be held true cross history (Anderson), or cross culture (Gellner). They are social construction rather than natural entities. Anderson demonstrates four waves of nationalism since the late 18th century; while Gellner, form a very different angle, argues that only three out of eight typologies of nationalism engendering would success. Secondly, they both deem nationalism as institution rather than merely specific ideology. For Anderson, nationalism is more like a virtual kinship or a virtual religion. As for Gellner, nationalism is a precondition for the formation of nation state. It is not the existence of nations that informs nationalism, but actually the other way around. Thirdly, they both give credit to culture (though vaguely used and defined) in the process of the rise of modern nationalism. Anderson argues that nationalism was born through “cultural signification” (Anderson 1991:40) and should be understood as cultural rather than political processes. Gellner also holds that culture, in both agrarian and industrial societies, is a key domain that defines political form of states. More specifically speaking, Anderson and Gellner both acknowledge literate public as a defining condition for the birth of nationalism. For Anderson, this literate public was realized through the printing press for the mass, while for Gellner, it is through education that the society achieved “homogeneity” (Gellner). First of all, their explanations of the rise of nationalism are different. Anderson sets out to explain the modern phenomenon of nation and nationalism in terms of cultural artifact and historical diffusion. According to him, the cultural roots of nationalism to two important conditions of the 18th century Europe, namely, the erosion of traditional religious community and the dynastic realm. Beneath this decline of sacred communities, language, and lineage, a fundamental change was taking place in modes of apprehending the world, thus making the transformation into new imagined community of nation possible. Nationalism is a new form of culture that spreads to massive scale through mass production of books and literate public. Nationalism, according to Gellner, is a result of culture conflict. He argues that the three key factors, namely, power, shared culture (in an anthropological sense instead of normative sense) and education, will determine the varieties of nationalist experience. For Gellner, power within a society is always unequally distributed, engendering power-holders (or rulers) and non-power- holders. On the other hand, education may be distributed evenly or unevenly. With these binary assumptions, Gellner presents eight possible situations. Only in three of them nationalism arises. Secondly, related to these two different explanations of the rise of nationalism, the relationship between nation and nationalism also varies according two these two authors. Generally speaking, Anderson sees nationalism as a result of the emergence of new form of imagined community of nation, even though he doesn’t make it explicit in his work. While Gellner makes it very explicitly in his book that nationalism, as a form of sentiment, preexists modern nation and serves as condition for the formation of modern nation state.

Partha Chatterjee on nationalism In this book, the prominent theorist Partha Chatterjee looks at the creative and powerful results of the nationalist imagination in Asia and Africa that are posited not on identity but on difference with the nationalism propagated by the West. Arguing that scholars have been mistaken in equating political nationalism with nationalism as such, he shows how anticolonialist nationalists produced their own domain of sovereignty within colonial society well before beginning their political battle with the imperial power. These nationalists divided their culture into material and spiritual domains, and staked an early claim to the spiritual sphere, represented by religion, caste, women and the family, and peasants. Chatterjee shows how middle-class elites first imagined the nation into being in this spiritual dimension and then readied it for political contest, all the while "normalizing" the aspirations of the various marginal groups that typify the spiritual sphere Nationalist Thought and the Colonial World: A Derivative Discourse Chatterjee "If it isn't obvious from the title of this book that this is going to be full of postmodern jargon, it becomes clear quite quickly that Chaterjee prefers difficult terms like 'problematic', 'thematic' and 'discourse' without always defining them - he even admits his admiration for Rorty, Barthes, Foucault and Derrida. Nonetheless, underneath all of this verbiage is a strong and convincing argument about the three stages of nationalism in India: the moment of departure (epitomized by Bankimchandra Chatttopadhyay), the moment of manoeuvre (Gandhi) and the moment of arrival (Nehru). Chatterjee clearly shows how nationalism in India was akin to Gramsci's concept of the 'passive revolution' - i.e. merely a drive towards independence, not towards transforming or breaking up colonial instutions. He argues that, instead of supporting nationalism, we should instead challenge the marriage between reason and capital. From the title of this book one might expect Chatterjee to draw links to other anti-colonial nationalisms but he doesn't; rather he only discusses India (not even other parts of South Asia). While this approach doesn't really make this book too useful for examining anti-colonial nationalisms in general, for someone like me who has never read a book on Indian nationalism this is a good introduction. this book studies novelist bankimchandra chattopadhyay, gandhi and prime minister Jawaharlal nehru. respectively partha chatterjee means for them to represet gramsci's arc of passive revolution: departure, maneuver and arrival: the people-nation's journey from colonization to svaraj chatterjee applies pan-arabist marxist thinker anoaur abdel-malek's "problematic" and "thematic" paradigm for orientalism. It seems that the "problematic" might be summarized as that which appears to the outgroup observer as a kind of incoherent difference. aside from what can be extracted for the purposes of someone else's ethnography or the force used to maintain the internal consistency of the in group, and further given what contingency we're talking about. The "thematic" more has to do with "uniting nations," rendering difference as contained and isometric within some neoliberal inclusivity scheme, agency itself as always given and located elsewhere more consequential than where and who you are, increasingly administered by people themselves. It is hard to come out of reading this confirming that nationalism is worthy of thought. What is good about this is that chatterjee is thinking about the downfalls also, and still unwilling to except marxist dismissal of nationalist ideology, here the questions come in our minds like where we are at? Here we need to discuss Gandhi, Nehru, Shyama Prasad Mukherejee and Pt Deen Dayal Upadhhyay. Gandhi and Shyama Prasad Mukherejee Here the thought of Gandhi and Shyama Prasad Mukherejee should bring to our notice to understand the concept of Indian Nationalism through the principle of satyagraha and the integration of the spiritual ideas. Gandhi Gandhi's nationalism seems simple and straightforward: he wanted an independent Indian nation state and freedom from British colonial rule. But in reality his nationalism rested on complex and sophisticated moral philosophy. His Indian state and nation were based on no ethnic identity, but were grounded on his concept of swaraj, enlightened self-control and self-development leading to harmony and tolerance among all communities in the new India. He aimed at moral regeneration, not just the ending of colonial rule. Simone Panter-Brick's perceptive and original portrayal of Gandhi's nationalism analyses his spiritual and political programme. She follows his often tortuous path, as a principal spiritual and political leader of the Indian Congress, through his famous campaigns of non-violent resistance and negotiations with the Government of India leading to Independence and, sadly for Gandhi, the Partition in 1947. Gandhi's nationalism was, in Wm Roger Louis's phrase, 'larger than the struggle for independence'. He sought a tolerant and unified state that included all communities within a 'Mother India'. The concept of Swaraj to attain Nationalism is based on moral philosophy of Self Purification where every Individual should think about his/her own negative qualities (Like cheating, robbery, violence, anger, greed and so on) and then try to completely remove all ills from his/her own body politic. And once the individual has shed all his/her negative qualities, he/she will be a pious soul, who has love, no greed, helping nature, mercy for poor and needy, no corruption, no robbery, no ill mind and hatred against others. If every Individual acquire these qualities through self purification, he/she will be a true Satyagrahi and thereby making India an ideal nation and Ram Rajya will come. He also develops his principle of Trusteeship through Satyagraha and says that the rich will automatically help poor or needy, once they have done the self purification and have adopted the path of a Satyagrahi. His concept of Nationalism which is entirely based on Satyagraha, is far from reality, his ideas seems more moral than to be real. Jawahar Lal Nehru Nehru talked of individual freedom as a exposing of positive liberty. He was in favour of freedom for Individual in terms of western liberal tradition. As like , he too, believed that if individual freedom is hampered in will have negative impact on the national growth. But, at the other hand, he was not ready for unrestricted freedom. Like Indian tradition of Oscenic view individual and community he also considered liberty in terms a providing room for the fellow beings also. So there was no antagonism in his thoughts between the man and society on the issue of freedom. He also synthesised western and Indian outlook. Jawaharlal Nehru was a great champion of national freedom, who led the freedom movement as a co-partier of Mahatma Gandhi for which he was jailed many times. He wanted to throw the foreign yokes for the sake of individuals freedom he also he believed that humanity cannot be emancipated unless each and every nation is free. Regarding Nationalism his views are both a result of his adherent patriotism as well as result of the impact of past tradition of the country and impression forms the modern nationalistic tendencies flowing world-wide. He believed that nationalism is the result of psychological unification of making of a centre in geographical area due to the impact of past tradition, culture and history. It also underlines the common identity of the people. He further, explained nationalism in terms of memories of the past and vision for the future. During the days of freedom struggle, he started thinking in terms of internationalism. He under the influence of communism, tried to look for a socialistic world free from the social disparities and international barriers. Thought teller he was somewhat dismayed with the violent methods of communism and maxims instead Gandhi's non-violent satyagraha become more prominent and shed casting effect on his mind. Therefore socialism was Indianised by Nehru and he statured talking of socialistic pattern of the society. For this, purpose after independence his ideas were directed towards the mixed economy. During the days of foreign rule also he started working for the liberties of individual in the sphere of social, political and economic sphere.

Shyama Prasad Mukherejee Dr. Mukherejee Speech at First All-lndia Session of Bharatiya Jana Sangh at Kanpur December 29th, 1952 speaks his aspiration and his thinking towards the Nation:- “Equality of rights of Indian citizens, irrespective any consideration, forms the basis of the as indeed it must be a primary characteristic of any democratic country. Pakistan's recent proposals for basing her constitution, including minority rights, on Islamic law and principles of communal separatism flagrantly expose the reactionary character of that State.” India has been for centuries past the homeland of diverse people pursuing different faiths and religions. The need to preserve and respect the personal laws of such people specially in matters of religion and fundamental social obligations, is undoubted. In all matters concerning the rights and duties of citizenship as such, there must be complete equality for all. We must be able to carry all sections of the people with us by creating in their minds a healthy and progressive attitude of co-operation based on true equality of opportunity and mutual tolerance and understanding. He believes that the future progress of India must be based on a natural synthesis between its full economic advance and the development of mind and character of the people in accordance with the highest traditions of Indian culture and civilisation. A nation that fails to take pride in its past achievements or take inspiration there-from, can never build up the present or plan for the future. He further says that there is no hope for India until and unless her people living in remote areas, mostly illiterate, speaking diverse languages, following differentiates of life, habits, customs and manners, are welded together into one harmonious pattern in which they can retain their healthy features without sacrificing the organic unity of our nation.” Dr. Shyama Prasad believed in the unity of people and believed that the both India and Pakistan will unit one day on the basis of its civilisation & cultural bonding between its people. Deen Dayal Upadhyay WHAT IS A NATION ? When a group of persons lives with a goal, an ideal, a mission, and looks upon a particular piece of land as motherland, it constitutes a nation. If either of the two-and ideal and a motherland-is not there, then there is no nation. ESSENTIALS OF NATION A nation requires four things. The first is land or people, whom. we call a country. The second is a collective will for a corporate life. The third is a system which we can call a constitution but which can far more appropriately be called |Dharma'. And the fourth is an ideal of life. The synthesis of all these four is called a Nation. As an individual is made up of body, minds intelligence and soul, a nation is mode up of country, will, Dharma and ideal. NATION IS PERMANENT The Nation is a permanent truth. The State is created to fulfill the needs of the nation. Two reasons have been given for the origin of the State. It is said that the State becomes necessary in two circumstances. The first is when some distortion enters the people of the nation. The State is established to control the problems that arise in such a situation. For example, one does not see the police when there is no quarrel. But if there is a fight the police are immediately called. The second need is when some complexity appears in society and it becomes necessary to bring order in corporate life. The State is created so that the powerful, prosperous and resourceful class of society should not exploit the weak, the helpless and the poor, and everyone should remain within the bounds of justice. It is only these two reasons that give rise to the State. To regulate the distortion that may have entered into society, to establish peace by punishes; wrong-doers and to solve the complexity within a society so that life of every individual becomes just, honourable and easy- these have been considered the functions of the State. A third function is an important aspect of the fulfilment of these two functions. It is to establish relations with other states. Hence security from external aggression is also a function of the State.

NATION HAS PERSONALITY The name Bharat denotes a nation, while the names of such provinces as Uttar Pradesh and Bengal do not denote it. Hence we must be quite clear in our minds that although a definite territory is a must and the first essential of a nation, a territory by itself does not become a nation. The existence of a nation depends upon an element which though invisible is felt with the greatest intensity. A nation has a personality just as an Individual has a personality. It is this national personality that keeps a nation alive. When it grows weak, the nation becomes weak, and when it is forgotten or destroyed the entire nation heads for ruination. This is why many nations of the past have now become mere memo- ries. Their territories are there and their people are still alive and yet ancient Persia, Greece, Egypt-all have faded. In other words they lost their basic national personality. It is in this personality that the nation resides. THE BODY NATIONAL The nation does not come into being for the fulfilment of any selfish ends. The limbs of the human body have their natural functions and do not have to be tempted or encouraged to perform them. Similarly the units of a nation function as parts of one single whole and maintain its entity. Dissipation of the national feeling leads to a weakening of these limbs of the nation, and if they become completely inactive the result can be the end of the nation. But if the national feeling is aroused in these units they again start performing their natural functions. Hence we would have to accept as the basis of the nation a practical and natural organisation that is stable, strong and self-reliant. If the organisation of the State is strong enough its limbs would be equally strong.

NATION HAS A SOUL A nation too has a soul. There is a technical name for it-Chiti. According to McDougal, it is the innate nature of a group. Every group of persons has an innate nature. Similarly every society has an innate nature, which is not the result of historical circumstances. 'CHITI' IS NATION'S TOUCHSTONE 'Chitti' is the touchstone, on which each action, each attitude is tested, and determined to be acceptable or otherwise. 'Chiti' is the soul of the nation. On the strength of this 'Chiti', a nation arises, strong and virile. It is this 'Chiti' that is demonstrated in the actions of every great man of a nation. An individual is also an instrument in bringing forth the soul of the nation, "Chiti''. Thus apart from his own self, an individual also represents his nation. Not only that, he also mens the various institutions that are created for the fulfilment of the national goal. Therefore he represents these too. The groups larger than nation, such as "mankind'' are also represented by him. In, short, an individual has a multitude of aspects, but they are not conflicting; there is co- operation, unity and harmony in them. A system based on the recognition of this mutually complementary nature of the different ideals of mankind, their essential harmony, a system which devises laws, which removes the disharmony and enhances their mutual usefulness and co-operation alone can bring peace and happiness to mankind; can ensure steady development.

NATION'S IDEAL IS 'CHITI' The state is brought into existence to protect the nation; produce and maintain conditions in which the ideals of the nation can be translated into reality. The ideals of the nation constitute "Chiti'' which is analogous to the soul of an individual. It requires some effort to comprehend Chiti. The laws that help manifest and maintain Chiti of a nation are termed Dharma of that nation. Hence it is this "Dharma'' that is supreme.Dharma is the repository of the nation's soul. If Dharma is destroyed, the nation perishes. Anyone who abandons Dharma, betrays the nation.

Nationalist and Imperialist interpretations

DC-1, Semester 2: Paper: Nationalism in India

Chapter: Nationalist and Inperialist interpretations

Author Name: Smriti Suman

Department/ University: Department of Political Science

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi Nationalist and Imperialist interpretations

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi Nationalist and Imperialist interpretations

Content

What is nationalism?

Approaches: its meaning

Emergence of historiography of Nationalism in India

Imperialistic Perspective: Cambridge School/ Colonial School/ imperialistic School

1) Orientalist School of Historiography 2) Utilitarian School of historiography

Nationalistic Perspectives

Secular Nationalists

Religious Nationalists

Economic Nationalists

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi Nationalist and Imperialist interpretations

Introduction

“Nationalism” has been remained an ambivalent concept in the history of political thought and ideas. In all the exited discourses of ‘isms’, from communalism to secularism, liberalism to communitarianism, regionalism to internationalism, ‘nationalism’ is the most debated and widely contested concept. It is an ambivalent concept and its ambivalence lies in its dual nature. As Peter Alter1 suggests, nationalism work as a force of social, economic, and political oppression as well as emancipation. Nationalism’ as an ideology remained an explanatory mechanism of both imperialism and anti-imperialism. After First World War, nationalism supported European’s thrust of imperial expansion and oppression, though after Second World War the same nationalism worked as a moral force in anti –imperialist struggle of people living in Asia and Africa. According to Ernest Gellner2 “Nationalism is a theory of political legitimacy, it requires that ethnic boundaries should not cut across political ones.” As a principle, this holds that the national and political unit should be congruent. Nationalism as a sentiment and movement completely based on this principle. Many historian in India have argued that Nationalism as an ideology or sentiment did not exist prior to the British rule. Thus in India, nationalism emerged during independence struggle. In this paper our basic focus will be upon history of nationalism in India. As a student of politics we would try to explore, and investigate the politics of this historiography of nationalism. Nationalism is a modern concept. Every modern concept, force or ideology try to justify itself on the basis of history. History always gives some sort of authenticity to the concepts, that’s why each and every faction of people related with nationalism in India tried to historicise the concept according to their aims and purposes. Thus historiography of Indian Nationalism is neither unbiased nor neutral. The major purpose of this topic is to unpack those understanding of Indian nationalism by different point of view.

Rather than naming this topic as an approach of understanding Indian Nationalism, in this paper we would try to understand different perspectives, or different point of view which have been used by historian in interpretation of Indian Nationalism. Each historiography of Indian nationalism agrees upon a fact that emergence of India as a modern nation state is an outcome of colonial modernity. They supports this idea that imagination of India as modern, unified, dominant, singular, entity has been developed during anti- colonial struggle. Beyond this point, historiographers have their different ideological, theoretical and intellectual alignments and social commitment. This is this different alignment which shape their different perspectives. At this point I would like to introduce the four major perspectives on historiography of Indian nationalism

 Colonial/ Imperialist/ Cambridge School  Nationalist School  Marxist School  Subaltern School

Here we would must understand that each perspective of interpretation of Indian nationalism has its own social-historical context. In this paper without going into very detail description of historical and social context we would describe their interpretation and as a student of Political Studies we would try to reveal the politics behind that. In

1 To understand what is Nationalism please see book Nationalism by Peter Alter.

2 Ernest Gellner, 1983, Nation and Nationalism, London: Blackwell Publishing House, Pg 1-18.

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi Nationalist and Imperialist interpretations this chapter we will discuss in detail about first two school but before that in very brief we will discuss about all four perspective.

Colonial/Imperial/Cambridge School denies the fact that nationalism in India had emerged, developed and strengthen itself against social, political, cultural, and economic exploitation of colonial power. This school believes that imperialism introduced Indians to the basic theories and principles of modernity and enlightenment, bringing along civilisation and social reforms. According to imperialist school, nationalist movement was not a people’s movement but a product of the need of the elite groups who used it to serve their own narrow interests or their group interests. Nationalist according to this school are people, who formed group on the basis of cast and religious identities and they used nationalism as an ideology to mobilise masses for their own selfish interest.

Nationalist school of historiography perceived nationalism as a major force and sentiment which strengthen the spirit of freedom and liberty. This school revealed the exploitative nature of imperialist ideology. This school explain Indian independence movement as a national movement and the movement of people. The Marxist school emerged in the horizon of historiography quite later. This school developed itself on the basis fundamental ideas of Karl Marx. Marxism understand imperialism and colonialism as an outcome of capitalism that developed in Europe due to industrial revolution. Vladimir Lenin, Rosa Luxemburg propounded this school. They explained imperialism as a most exploitative system. Marxist school analyses nationalism as an ideology of upper- class native bourgeoisies. R. Palme Dutt and A. R. Desai were founder of Marxist historiography of nationalism in India. They critiqued the class character of Indian nationalism. They argued that peasantry and other lower class people were widely ignored by nationalist elite during India’s national movement. This school explains Indian independent movement as a movement of Indian elite. They argues that nationalism in India is full of contradiction and ambivalence.

The fourth school of nationalist historiography, Subaltern school also explained nationalism as an exploitative and dominant ideology. Like Marxist school, this school also criticises the exploitative nature of both imperialist and nationalist ideology. This school was highly influenced by Marxist school though there is a slight difference between Marxist and subaltern school. Subaltern school believes in the Marxist interpretation that Indian nationalism was dominant, and exploitative in nature. It was not homogeneous and unified as it tried to portray itself. But Subalterns slightly differ from the Marxist, on the basis and nature of this exploitation. This school argues that Indian society could not be defined in terms of class only because capitalism in India at that point of time was its very initial stage, thus this school argues that rather than explaining Indian nationalism in terms of bourgeoisies class we would have to understand that Indian nationalism was exploitative in nature on the basis of caste, gender, religious and creed based division and divides. Subaltern School claims that Indian Nationalism had eschewed this internal contradiction within nation and ignored the marginal voices within its larger narrative of unified glorious past of India. This school claims that nationalist historiographer has completely ignored the small voices of history3, history of Dalits, Women, and tribal people. Subaltern School in way tried to bring forward the history from below and history of subaltern. After this brief discussion of these four school we would now shift to detail discussion of first two school as the scope of this chapter is limited to those only.

3 Ranajit Guha, 2009, “Small Voices of History” in Partha Chatterjee, ed, Small Voices of History, Ranikhet: Permanent Black, pg 304- 318.

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi Nationalist and Imperialist interpretations

Imperialist/ Cambridge/ Colonial School:

In post-enlightenment world as Bipan Chandra4 argues imperialist perspective first emerged in the writings, pronouncements, and declarations of the Viceroys, Lord Dufferin, Curzon, and Minto, and the secretary of state George Hamilton. It was firstly put forward by V. Chirol, the Rowlett Committee (sedition) report. American scholar Bruce T. McCully attempted to theorise this approach in 1940. Further this school split into liberal and conservatives. Its conservative wing further developed itself as Cambridge school. Anil Seal5 and J.A. Gallagher developed this school in India after 1968.

Cambridge School

The conservative colonial administrator who studied British Empire from imperialist point of view and supported British Empire as a source of civilization in India were known as Cambridge School. Anil Seal, J.A. Gallagher, Gordon Johnson, Richard Gordon, and David Washbrook, were main pioneers of this school.

This School developed its interpretation of Indian past on the basis of imperial needs6. Purpose of this school of history writing is to interpret Indian past in a manner so that it could facilitate British Empire. This school deny the exploitative nature of colonialism. They do not recognize the fact that Indian’s anti- colonial struggle was an outcome of British Colonialism and its economic, social, cultural and political exploitation of India. They see the Indian Struggle against imperialism as mock battle or mimic warfare. They completely overpassed the imperial contradictions as a reason of for India’s struggle for Independence. The imperialist writer deny that India was in a process of becoming nation rather they understood India as a group different caste, religions, creeds, and communities. They argue that political organisations in India is based upon group mobilisation according to these groups and these groups are using Nationalism as a cover to their selfish, and individual interests. National movement according to this school was not a people’s movement but a product of the needs and interests of the elite groups. Thus, the elite groups and their private interests provided an idea, ideology and movement of nationalism. Two main constitutive element of this group were, caste and religious identities or political connection built around patronage. They argues that each group had their very narrow selfish interests and they used nationalism as an ideology for mass mobilisation and to gain public support.

Dufferin, Curzon, Chirol, Lovett, McCully and B.B. Misra argues that India’s educated middle class used nationalism to fight against ‘benevolent Raj’. Anil seal in his book Emergence of Indian Nationalism develops an almost similar view like this. He argues that Indian national movement had not been fought against British imperialism rather it represented the struggle of one elite group against another elite group for British support. Thus Anil Seal interpreted Indian National Movement in terms of mutual rivalry and jealousiesness.

Along caste and religious identities, Anil Seal and John Gallagher7 interpreted that Indian elite groups had been formed on the basis of Patron-Client relationship. They theorise that, as the British Imperialism extended its administrative, economic and political power

4 Bipan Chandra, 1988, India’s Struggle for Independence, New Delhi: Penguin Books, pg 15 to 30. 5 Anil Seal, 1968, Emergence of Indian Nationalism: competitions and collaboration in the Later 19th Century, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pg 7to24. 6 Romila Thaper, 1975, The Past and Prejudice, New Delhi: National Book Trust of India, pg 4. 7 John Gallagher and Ronald Robinson , 1982, The Imperialism of Free trade, in Anil Seal, ed, The Decline, Revival and Fall of British Empire: The Ford Lecture and Other Essay, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi Nationalist and Imperialist interpretations

to the localities and provinces, local elites started organising politics by acquiring clients and patrons whose interest they served, and who in turn served their interest. Thus Indian politics began to be formed on the basis of this client-patron relationship. These historian argues that later bigger leader emerged who acted as a brokers and worked as a link between local population and British Raj. Anil Seal says that Chief political brokers were Gandhi Nehru and Patel. This believes that local people on whose behalf these political brokers acted, they associated themselves to this movement only after 1918. This school also believes that Indian national movement had nothing to do with exploitative nature of British colonialism rather it developed itself due to their own grievances such as war, inflation, disease, drought and depression and it is these grievances which were cleverly used by nationalist to convince them to participate into struggle against British Empire.

Romila Thapar8 in her article interpretation of Indian History: Colonial Nationalist and Post-Colonial, discusses that modern historiography of India has been inaugurated by British power. In order to legitimize their imperial rule in India they started inventing a past of modern India. This process further taken forwarded by nationalist historiographer and post-colonial historiographer (Marxist and Subaltern Interpretation of Indian History). Thapar pronounced British historiography as Colonial School. She argues that colonial historiography of India was based upon the thrust of colonial power of gaining knowledge about India. She argues that imperial historiography was based upon the idea of “knowledge is power”9. To gain legitimacy in their pursuit of power within India they started locating connection between and European past. In that process they just not only investigated Indian past for gaining knowledge but instead of that they constructed a different knowledge about Indian Past. This ideological intentions of imperial power inaugurated a whole range of debates, discussion about “the orient”. Thapar further argues that this process led to the very stereotypical project of Indian national self as a complete contrast of western and idea of Europe. This historiography was mainly responsible for shaping imagination about “The orient” as an “other” of Occident. Thapar in this essay understands colonial historiography within two major sub schools.

Those two sub-schools are:

 Orientalist School of Historiography  Utilitarian School of Historiography

The Orient means the East. This word is traditionally being used by people to discuss any things, and knowledge related with east. It’s a Latin word. Opposite of this word is the Occident. Orientalism refers to the study of the orient mostly by the Occident. Edward Said very first time theorise this process in his book ‘Orientalism’ which was published in 1978. He used this term to describe the biased nature of western academic and artistic practices which established the orient as a fixed category and as something very different antique and other to the occident. Said claims that Orientalism was an outcome of prejudiced perspective of the west. Edward Said took help of Antonio Gramsci’s concept of hegemony and Michel Foucault’s understanding of discourse and relationship between Power and knowledge.

8 Romila Thapar, 2000, “Interpreting Colonial History: Colonial, Nationalist, and Post-Colonial” in Peter Ronald Desouza, ed, Contemporary India: Transitions, Delhi: Sage Publications, pp 25-36. 9 To understand the relationship between Knowledge and Power you can read Michel Foucault’s [A French political Philosopher and Historian] famous essay “power and knowledge” that is widely available on net.

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi Nationalist and Imperialist interpretations

Orientalist School of Historiography: [1757] was a very decisive moment in the history of modern India. After this battle colonial rule founded in India in a real manner. Immediately after this war British ruler started looking for different justification for their colonial rule in this country. They took help of history for this purpose. Reconstruction of Indian history was basic need as well agenda of colonial administration. The colonial perspective on Indian History develop in phases. In first phase Colonial ruler were very critical to the Indian culture and civilization. Early source of Indian history writing was the writing of Christian missionaries. They portrayed Indians as pre-modern, primitive, savage, people. Though their knowledge was based upon the studies of Indian scriptures and religious book and conversation with pundits and mullah but they understood us as primitive and savage people. Purpose of this kind of knowledge was to portray the fact that Indian history was stagnant and non- progressive. Here I would like you to understand this fact that purpose of this kind of historiography was to justify colonial rule in India. They wanted to project the fact that only they can bring civilisation and progress to Indian society. That’s how they justified their imperial power. But very soon they started realising the fact that they can’t go very long with this process. At this juncture they took an orientalist turn. Orientalism as Edward Said argues was a knowledge thrust of Europeans for gaining power, that’s why European tries to write history from above. But in India, situation was different. European produced knowledge about Indian History after dialogue with Indian Pundits and Islamic priest those who had an authority over Indian Knowledge system but here also purpose of orientalism was only to produce the knowledge of past to meet the requirements of present. The need at that point of time was to serve the colonial state. In its very beginning this school started making connection between Indian history and European history. They started studying Indian languages, and religious scriptures. This tradition believes that like Europe India had also a great and glorious past. Sir William Jones a great British philologist (those who study linguistics). He was a most prominent linguistic scholar and philosopher of his time. He started making connection between Indian and European languages. He established a linguistic connection between Sanskrit, Greek, and Latin and by doing that he made a connection between Indo-European families of languages. His intention behind this was to establish a fact that Indian history is as old as European and Indian too have a glorious antique past as Europeans. He also defended a glorious classical past of India and tried to link it with the Biblical stories. For example, orientalist parallel the story of Noah’s Ark as an almost parallel to the story of Manu.

Orientalist tradition led to the foundation of: Asiatic Society of Bengal 1784 Sanskrit College in Banaras1794 Fort William College in Calcutta 1800

Romila Thapar in her essay argues that this school of historiography also made racial connection between Asian and Europeans. They made Aryan connection between European and Asian societies. Certainly their purpose was to unify Indian and European past, but in that process they intermingled caste with race and tried to established the fact that upper caste Indians are basically people of Aryan Race. Thus they introduced Indian society to the category of race. Shekhar Bandyopadhyay argues that we can understand orientalism in practice, in the programme and policies of Waren Hestings. Their fundamental principle was to rule India according to Indian laws and rules so that they could gain legitimacy. For this purpose it was compulsory to them to gain knowledge about Indian society. They wanted to assimilate Indians under British rule rather accommodating them with British Raj. Thomas Trautmann argues that the orientalist historiography had different political project. He has suggested that by

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi Nationalist and Imperialist interpretations promoting the kinship relationship between Indians and Europeans (racial connection) coloniser were trying to morally bind the colonized to the colonial rule through a rhetoric of love. There were two factions of orientalists. Lord Cornwallis as an orientalist administrator believed in glorious past of India but he found contemporary India in decaying status. Cornwallis was in favour of Anglicisation of the administration of contemporary India. He was in favour of intervention in Indian society but there are other faction of administrator like Thomas Munro who defended the customs and traditions of Indian society and supported the policy of non-intervention.

Thus at the end of this phase of imperialistic perspective I would like to recapitulate some of the important point of this phase

1) In this phase orientalist were inspired with the romanticism and classicism of Indian past 2) Main purpose of their project was to create an exotic image of India. Through historical representation of India they constructed a metaphysical and spiritual imagination of India. In this process orientalist, somehow conveyed the message that India is a completely different land than the Europe. India is spiritual, and believe in transcendental while Europe is scientific and believe in fact and realities. Thus they created India as an “other” of European self. 3) Thirdly in this phase mostly European were following a non-interventionist approach in Indian social custom and tradition.

Jeremy Bentham propounded the Utilitarian principle. In his book A Fragment of Government he argued that ‘it is the greatest happiness of greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong”. Though he further gave” the principle of utility” but he further argued in favour of greatest happiness of greatest number. On his line, in Indian context James mill justified the colonial power presence in India and imperial utilitarian liberal policy.

Utilitarian School of Historiography:

Romila Thapar argues that by the end of 19th century imperial ideology has shifted as its need has changed. By this time colonial conquest of India has completed, now British Empire wanted to gain a control over Indian economy so that they can acquire raw- material for Industries in England and also a market for finished product. In simple terms they wanted to gain control over Indian economy. That’s why they shifted their approach from non-interventionist to interventionist. To justify their approach from non- interventionist to interventionist they needed a justification. This phase of imperialistic historiography was concentrated upon that and they invented a new school for justification of their changed approach.

A new school was created called Utilitarian school. This school was prominently represented by James Mill, , and Lord Dalhousie. As James Mill took charge of East India Company in London he started guiding policies towards India according to utilitarian principle. In his book “History of British India” published in 1817, very first time he argued that, people like Sir William Jones created a myth about India’s glorious past. He denied all glorious interpretation of India’s cultural, spiritual and traditional richness. He emphasised the weakness, and stagnant condition of Indian society, and established the fact that to bring progress in Indian society India needed a

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi Nationalist and Imperialist interpretations change. He further argued that only British legislation could be an agent of change for Indian society. Following him, utilitarian school of thinking developed their school along this line. They wanted to bring change through education and legislation. Though there were internal paradox (paradox means ambiguity or dualism) existed within this school. People like T.B. Macaulay wanted to bring change through introduction of English education but Mill himself was in favour of vernacular education. Second example of this paradox was abolition of sati and child infanticide through legislation by Lord William Bentinck. He was a great believer of utilitarian philosophy and idea i.e to bring change through legislation. Despite this he retained a fact that he has a great respect for Indian tradition and nurtured an idea that he will give back to Indian their true religion. Thus he justified his act of abolition of sati pratha on the basis of ancient Hindu Scripture and established that this is the true Hindu religion, and in this dualism of change in the disguise of continuity, paradox of utilitarian school lies.

James mill did the periodization of History of India. He divided India into three parts. Hindu Civilisation, Muslim Civilisation, and British India. He argued that the pre-British Hindu and Muslim Civilisation were backward and stagnant. They did not find any linkages between Indian and European civilisation. They initiated whole theory of White Aryan as European and Indian as dark skinned people. Thus for them India was a part of ‘dark continent’ and Indian society was basically a caste ridden, ritualistic, unchanging static society. They argued that Indians are unaware of the revolutionaries’ idea of “The Modernity”. Indians according to them, are unaware of the idea of scintificity, rationality and individuality. Utilitarian theorist created a concept of “oriental despotism” for India. Here in very brief we will try to understand the concept of oriental despotism.

“Oriental despotism”: The Orient means the East, and “despot” is a Greek word that means tyrannical ruler. This idea has been used by different European political philosopher to describe the governing condition in oriental society. Aristotle firstly used this term to define the process of oriental governing system in his famous book “Politics”. Later on this term has been used by series of political thinker from Montesquieu, Machiavelli, and Hegel. Thus oriental despotism became a conceptual framework to define Asiatic governing society. This became a guiding idea of Eurocentric interpretation of Asia, Africa, and Middle East. Marx further argued that oriental despotism was necessary for “Asiatic Mode of Production”. Asia is an agrarian society and for agricultural society individual property right could not be accepted. Thus oriental despotism is required in this part of world.

Thus likewise Orientalist School, Utilitarian School too helped in “essentialisation” of India. They also wanted to gain legitimacy like the orientalist, both school wanted to portray India as other of Europe but there is a thin difference between both. Utilitarian school dismantled the fact that Indian past had never been as glorious as Orientalist portrayed it. Secondly, they established the fact that only colonial administrative practices could bring change, unified identity, and social reforms in Indian Society.

Thus imperial perspective never gave recognition to the nationalist and even the idea of India as a unified territory and Indian Nationalism

Nationalist Perspective:

Nationalist perspective on Indian historiography was an outcome of reinterpretation of her past by the leaders of freedom movement. This school emerged as a juxtaposition of Imperialist school. Social reformers like Raja , and counter reformer like Dayanand Saraswati were the prominent people who contributed in formation of nationalistic perspective in India. They played a major role in formation of pan-Indian identity of India. Early nationalist were trying to hegemonies over various regional and

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi Nationalist and Imperialist interpretations

provincial identities and later nationalist were trying to hegemonies the whole south-east Asian identities and try to manipulate and subordinate those identities into pan-Indian identity. Post-colonial Scholar Gyanpraksh10 in his famous article “Writing Post- Orientalist Histories of Third World: Perspectives on Indian Historiography” argues that Nationalist Historiography was an attempt of writing post-orientalist history of India. They emerged to affirm their voice against imperialist view that India is an unchanging, and static society. He argues that, in their attempt of taking a break from Imperialist Historiography, Nationalist Historiographer bring both continuity and change from the orientalist history. Nationalist continued the “Essentialisation process” as projecting the image of India as spiritual, metaphorical land as compare to scientific West. Thus as imperialistic perspective they also see India as an “other” of The West, but then there is a rupture. Nationalist Historiography in opposition to imperialist perspective constructed transformed India as an object of knowledge, from a passive to an active subject, from an inert to a sovereign territory. They deny the Imperialist claim that only colonial administration can bring change in Indian Territory. Thus Nationalist Historiographer contested the imperialist claim that India as a modern nation state could be emerged only through colonial administration. Gyanpraksh quoted some Nationalist-Historian like H.C. Raichoudhary, Beniprasad, R. C.Mazumdar, and says that these historian located the idea of India as a modern nation state in ancient Indian history, in history of Gupta and Maurya Dynasty. Romila Thapar argues that nationalist historiographer claimed that everything good in India like spirituality, Aryan Origin, political ideas, art and rich tradition had its completely Indian origin. Nationalist even claimed that India’s golden age made strong contribution in development of Southeast Asian culture. Nationalist Historiographers dismantled the concept of “oriental despotism”.Gyanprakash and Romila Thapar both argues that nationalist were agree on the periodization of Indian History into Hindu, Muslim and the British Period. Acceptance to this Imperial divides of Indian past, further inaugurated a birth of religious nationalism in India. In upper written passage we understood a continuities and ruptures between Imperialistic and Nationalistic school. Now we will discuss the different strand of nationalist school. Jawahar Lal Nerhru, V.D.Sawarkar, Dada Bhayi Naoroji, Lala Lajpat Rai, R.C. Majumdar, S.N. Banarjee, and B.R.Nanda were the prominent scholar and leader of this school, who invented, developed, and discussed the thoughts and philosophies of this school. We would understand this school in three parts:

1) “Secular” Nationalist Perspective

2) Religious Nationalist Perspective.

3) Economic Nationalist Perspective.

Secular Nationalist Perspective:

Though each faction of nationalist perspective challenged Oriental authority on India’s knowledge but Secularist approach emerged in response of specific identification of India’s Past with certain specific religion [Hindu]. GyanPrakash suggests that Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru’s “Discovery of India” could be a major source for development of this faction of Nationalist perspective. In this book Pandit Nehru argues that “it was undesirable to use Hindu or Hindu religion for Indian Culture. He states in this book that India is a culturally diverse country. It has been a great combination of religious,

10 Gyan Prakash, 1990, Writing Post-Orientalist Histories of the Third World: Perspectives on Indian Historiography, in Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 32, No. 2 (Apr., 1990), pp. 383- 408, Published by Cambridge University Press, URL: http/www.jstore.org/ Accessed: 20/10/2013.

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi Nationalist and Imperialist interpretations cultural, and social diversity. India according to Nehru, was a land of “unity in diversity”. He denied any specific relationship between Hindu religion and India’s ancient past. “Discovery of India” was according to GyanPraksh is a documentation of Indian united past through history. Thus he constructed an Image of India as a secular, and united territory. Though India has witnessed lots of religious creed-based divides but finally it has achieved a victory over it. Now India is a unified, undivided and glorious territory.

Religious Nationalist Perspective:

This approach of nationalist historiography was based upon Hindu revivalism. They argued that India was essentially a Hindu nation. It has been a land of Veds and Upnishad. It has been a land of great Sanskritik tradition and spirituality. They projected India as a fatherland for Hindus. Then they argued that in later part of history means (Middle Age) came to India and after arrival of Muslims, India’s history decayed into current status. Their nationalism was based upon religious sentiment and Hindu Glorification. Indian leader who represented this faction of Indian Nationalist Historiographer were Vinayak. Damodar. Sawarkar, Bal Ganga Dhar Tilak and others. Leaders like Aurovindo Ghosh constructed an image of spiritual India as a contrast to material west. They strongly contributed to glorious spiritual image of India with contrast to imperial interpretation of India as a society full of social evils like sati, child marriage, and dowry system. These nationalist used religious festivals and tradition to enhance nationalist feeling among people of colonial India. Further rise, of religious nationalism led to the rise of communalism in India. This led to the Hindu-Muslim divide in India and facilitated the idea of religious identity in India. These leaders also supported use of force and coercion to bring revolution against colonial power.

GyanPraksh further argues that though religious nationalism was violent in nature but they were v though religious nationalism was violent in nature but like secular nationalist they also very much supportive of idea of India as a homogenous singular entity. This we can understand with an example. Vinayak Damodar Sawarkar wrote a book “Indian War of Independence: 1857” in year 1909. In this book he very strongly condemned the approach of orientalist scholar who called Indian struggle of 1857 as mutiny. Sawarkar used a word revolt in place of mutiny. He further interpreted that arm struggle of 1857 was actually an all India revolt against colonial exploitation and atrocities.

Chetan Bhatt in his book Hindu Nationalism: Origins, Ideologies and Modern Myth presented a great critique of Hindu Nationalism in India. He argues that Hindu Nationalism is based on the claim that it is a product of authentic, spiritual, ethnic, and religious tradition of India but it’s a myth. He suggested that Hindu nationalism is a modern myth and ideology of Hindutwa is an outcome of influence of European romanticism and enlightenment ideas. Hindu religious identity according to Bhatt is based upon primordialism, organicism, vitalism as well as racism.

`

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi Nationalist and Imperialist interpretations

Though scholar like Christophe Jaffrelott argues that “Hindu nationalism” largely reflected the Brahminical view of the high caste reformers. He criticises the domination of Hindu nationalism and its subordination of other ethnic, caste-based, religious struggle that happened during anti-colonial struggle.

Economic Nationalist Perspective:

Economic nationalism was based on the economic critique of colonialism. Economic

Dadabhayi Naoroji wrote a book Poverty and Un-British Rule in India. Naoroji, Ranade, and R.C.Dutt published The Economic History of India. They published three volumes of this book. Later these book became a source for economic nationalist perspective. nationalist strongly criticises the economic exploitation of colonial power. DadaBhayi Naoroji, Justice M.G.Ranade and R.C.Dutt represented this school. Economic nationalist argues that poverty in India is an outcome of application of the classical economic theory of free trade. British Empire changed its policy of direct extraction of raw material and

Adopted a less visible policy of exploitation through free trade and foreign capital investment. Now India became a source of agricultural raw material and turned into a field for British Capital Investment. These scholar believed that India’s development could only be possible by Industrialisation with Indian capital, while foreign investment would lead to drainage of wealth by extraction of profit. Dadabhayi’s conceptualisation of drainage theory became a major explanatory terminology to reveal the hidden economic exploitation of imperial power.

Drainage Theory: Drain theory was a key-concept of economic nationalism. It was argued that home charges, military charges, and interest payment on railway investment led to direct drainage of wealth in India. This resulted into the budget deficit of British Indian Government. This resulted into stricter tax-policy of British India. Demand of High land revenue resulted to land alienation and impoverishment of peasantry.

Economic nationalist recommended that British Empire should reduce expenditure and taxes, a reallocation of military charges, a protectionist policy to protect Indian industries, reduction of land, reduction of land revenue assessment, extension of permanent settlement to ryotwari and mahalwari areas, protection of cottage industries and handicraft.

Shekhar Bandyopadhyay11 argues that by challenging the whole concept of paternal imperialism, economic nationalist like other nationalist strand questioned the whole moral authority of colonial power. Economic nationalist argued that India could only achieve the path of development through promotion of India’s indigenous capitalism. It is this idea of Indian capitalism had been further immensely criticised by Marxist critique.

At the end of this chapter we would try to understand two three basic character of Nationalist perspective. Gyanprakash summarises it in a very simple terms. He

11 Shekhar Bandyopadhyay, 2004, From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India , New Delhi: Orient Blackswan Private Limited, Pg 66-250.

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi Nationalist and Imperialist interpretations characterises two strong feature of nationalist historiography. Firstly he argued that like orientalist scholar nationalist also believed in glorious past of India but beyond that they differed. For orientalist, India was an “object of knowledge” but for Nationalist perspective India is an undivided, united, and sovereign territory. Secondly Nationalist gave India an ontological status, which had been thoroughly denied by orientalist scholar.

Partha Chatterjee further argued that Indian nationalism was different but ‘derivative discourse’ of European nationalism. Ashish Nandy, also argues that though Indian nationalism emerges as a response to western imperialism but in that process it also get into the same trap. Nationalistic perspective do not rejected the exploitative structures of global modernity. It ignored the voices of lower-class, lower-caste, tribal lives and women in India about which we will discuss in detail under the topic of Marxist and Subaltern Perspective.

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi Nationalist and Imperialist interpretations

References:

Anil Seal, 1968, Emergence of Indian Nationalism: competitions and collaboration in the Later 19th Century, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pg 7to24.

Ernest Gellner, 1983, Nation and Nationalism, London: Blackwell Publishing House, Pg 1- 18s

Romila Thapar, 2000, “Interpreting Colonial History: Colonial, Nationalist, and Post- Colonial” in Peter Ronald Desouza, ed, Contemporary India: Transitions, Delhi: Sage Publications, pp 25-36.

Shekhar Bandyopadhyay, 2004, From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India, New Delhi: Orient Blackswan Private Limited, Pg 66-250.

Summary:

This chapter will try to understand the emergence of nationalism in India from the imperialistic and nationalistic perspectives. This paper will give the detail analysis of these two schools and its critique. In conclusion this paper would argue that politics of historiography on Indian nationalism shows the fact that emergence of India as a modern nation state is a product of colonial modernity.

Glossary

Historiography: The narrative presentation of history based on a critical examination, and selection of material from primary and secondary sources and most of the time that process of selection is political in nature. Thus historiography becomes political in nature.

Orienatalism: Orientalism refers to the study of the orient mostly by the Occident. Edward Said very first time theorise this process in his book ‘Orientalism’ which was published in 1978. He used this term to describe the biased nature of western academic and artistic practices which established the orient as a fixed category and as something very different antique and other to the occident.

Utilitarianism: Jeremy Bentham propounded the Utilitarian principle. In his book A Fragment of Government he argued that ‘it is the greatest happiness of greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong”.

Secularism: secularism is a system of social and political philosophy which argue in favour of state should not be biased to particular religion.

Drainage Theory: Drain theory was a key-concept of economic nationalism. It was argued that home charges, military charges, and interest payment on railway investment led to direct drainage of wealth in India.

Ideologies: Such a body of doctrine, myth, etc with reference to some political and social intention.

Hindutva: This is an ideology forged by Vinayak Damodar Sawarkar, which interpret India as a holy land and fatherland for Hindus. It came to prominence in late 1980s and led to the rise of communalism in India.

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi Nationalist and Imperialist interpretations

Revivalism: revivalism is a desire to revive what belongs to an earlier time. Hindu revivalism was a phase when Hindu Scholar tried to save Hinduism from the charges of ritualism and backwardness.

Subalterns: A subordinated position

Subaltern School: They criticises nationalism from the perspective of History from below.

Exercises:

Analyse and explain the Imperialistic perspective of nationalism in India?

What are the differences between secular and religious perspective of nationalism in media?

What are the major point of differences between Imperialistic and Nationalistic understanding of nationalism in India?

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi CHAPTER – III

THE NATIONALIST HISTORIOGRAPHY

No ideological development came into being to challenge the mighty British imperialism for a long time to come in India. With the spread of new education, press, means of communication, economic exploitation of India’s resources, political awakening began to usher in different regions of the country. Besides, a process of founding the political organizations started at the regional and local levels during the mid of 19th century. All these factors paved way for the emergence of a national organization which was deemed essential by the newly educated classes. This organization is popularly known as the Indian National Congress founded in 1885 by 72 members from different parts of India1. This organization launched in a small hesitant and mild way but in an organized manner became instrumental in leading a powerful campaign against the British imperialism.2

In the beginning, the Indian National Congress firmly believed in the moderation and loyalty to the British Crown. When this congress founded, it indicated the beginning of a national political life destined to produce for reaching changes in the immediate future. Many newspapers in their editorials wrote newspaper of Calcutta, Indian Mirror whole : From today forward, we can speak of an Indian nation, of national opinion and national aspirations….. The first National Congress at Bombay forms an important chapter in the history of British rule in India….. It is the nucleus of a future Parliament of our country and will lead to good of inconceivable magnitude for our countrymen.”3

Such voices were aired by the press in other parts of the country. The Hindu of Madras expected that the Congress would spread ‘the spirit of patriotism’ and lead 'to the gradual diffusion and consolidation of public opinion.’ But the British officials’ attitude was not favourable as John Strachey remarked

62 that there was no any Indian nation in existence but it was a conglomeration of various communities such as Bengali, Madrasi, Punjbai, Gujrati, Mahratta, Sindi, Marwari. No Indian thought of an Indian nation but thought for themselves in a parochial manner. He delivered several lectures at Cambridge University in 1884 about his Indian experiences and rejected any symptom of political consciousness and national opinion in India4. But he was forgetting that the educated Indians would assemble soon for founding a national platform for the redressal of these grievances within few months after his Cambridge peroration.

The nationalist thinking became a voice of the educated Indians who started opposing the writings of British officials for disgracing the Indian culture and religion in the Western world. The Indian nationalists such as Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Surendra Nath Banerjea5, A.C. Mazumdar6, Dadabhai Naroji7, Bal Gangadhar Tilak8, Bipan Chandrapal9, Lala Lajpat Rai10 and others through their writings initiated and furthered the nationalist historiography in the real sense. This approach was further developed by the scholars such as R.C. Majumdar11, R.G. Pradhan12, Girija Kumar Mukerji13, Pattabhi B. Sitaramayya14, B.R. Nanda15, Bisheshwar Prasad16, Amlesh Tripathi17, Tara Chand18, S.N. Sen19, K.K. Khullar20, Virendra Sindhu21, S.R. Bakshi22, Kamlesh Mohan23 etc.

Many Indian nationalists like Naoroji, Banerjea, R.C. Dutt24, M.G. Ranade25 have tried to explain the western impact of British rule. However; they have not presented the plight of Indian economy in a Marxist frame work but in a nationalist perspective. The economic ruination was severally decried by the Indian youth known as revolutionaries in both the phases of British raj. This was the question which continued to trouble their minds frequently. The Indian revolutionaries of second phase such as Bhagat Singh, Chandra Sekhar Azad, Rajguru, Sukhdev, B.C. Vohra, J.N. Sanyal, Ajay Ghose, , etc. were greatly desperated when Gandhji withdrew Non-Cooperation movement. after .26

63 The leaders like Lajpat Rai, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Bose also denounced Gandhji for withdrawing the movement when it was on the climax. In order to pacify the feelings of the Indian nationalists, Gandhji had to say that the movement had not been abandoned but suspended : we may have to adjust our sails to the varying winds, we may have to alter our course to avoid the shoals and the breakers ahead…. But there can be no question of changing our destination or our good ship which we have chartered for the voyage.”27 Such conciliatory remarks failed to satisfy the sentiments of the revolutionaries. who were now convinced to get organized in their own manner and threaten the British officials for their anti-India attitude and policies.

It would be pertinent to mention here that the nationalist historiography of pre and post-independent India has more broader perspective. In pre-independent period, the views of Nehru, Pattabhi Sitarmayya, Patel, Subhash Bose, Maulana Azad etc. are significant as far as the revolutionary movement is concerned. Gandhiji did deliver a lot of speeches on the revolutionary movement, their leadership and programmes. He found them violent but praised their velour and patriotism.28

Many scholars have explained that most of the revolutionaries who were members of several revolutionary organizations had become Congressmen and participated in the Gandhian Satyagraha. Many of them were active in the agitation against the Simon Commission in Punjab. Gandhiji did not approve the cult of violence as he told his audience in London in September 1931 that he did not doubt their sincerity. I have endeavored to win over the school of violence from what I hold is an error; but at the same time I know there is a common cause, even between them and ourselves. They are burning to attain the freedom which is India’s birthright.” 29

64 The revolutionaries affirmed that the Gandhian movement would not qualify as true courage and sacrifice which were epitomized in the exemplary shedding of ones blood and going fighting. Gandhiji fully agreed with Maulana Azad when he wrote : “The blood of a hundred and fifty martyrs has purified one Gurudwara. Should it be any wonder if all of us have to be martyrs to purify the Gurudwara that is India.” The struggle started by the Akalis in the Punjab would show the way towards liberating India through peaceful means. But Bhagat Singh saw the end of an era of Utopian non-violence of whose futility the rising generation has been convinced beyond the shadow of doubt”.30

Dr. Fauja Singh, as eminent scholar of Punjab history, praised the emergence of socialist movement and the Punjab did not lag behind other parts of the country in having a party of this kind. Hindustan Socialist Republican Association and Kirti Kisan Party were such organizations which worked for the reduction of land revenue, abolition of nazranas etc. He emphasized that these organizations had growing influence over the rural population particularly of Lahore and Amritsar districts of the Punjab. He denounced the role of Unionist party for curbing the activities of these organizations. The students and the youth became the members of these organizations and also joined the procession under the leadership of Lala Lajpat Rai in Lahore when the 'Whites Simon Commission' came. The youth took the revenge of Lalaji’s death by killing Saunders, a police officer of the Punjab.31

Dr. Singh observed that despite nationwide appeals to the Viceroy and to the Privacy council to commute the death sentences of Bhagat Singh and his comrades into transportation for life but the British Government failed to move on this issue. The youth of the Punjab were greatly inspired by the supreme scarifies of Bhagat Singh and his comrades and one Hari Kishan, a youth of nineteen opened fire at Sir Geoffray, Lt. Governor of the Punjab in 1930. His last wish before hanging was to see Bhagat Singh and government had to accept his last

65 wish. It shows the deep impact of Bhagat Singh and other revolutionaries working for attaining the freedom of India on the youth. Though their movement could go long due to ruthlessness of the officialdom but left an indelible impact on the youth of the country.32

Gandhiji accepted that the organization of the Indian revolutionaries was, however, a small one but progressive also. They firmly believed in violence through which they intended to attain India’s freedom. He prayed them to stop their violent activities and secure their lives for the safety of the country. They should support the congress so that they could release the political prisoners and save them from execution. Khullar praised both the revolutionaries and Gandhiji as ‘the moon and sun' who showed light to the countrymen but come together for the commonhealth of the country.33

Balshastri Hardas wrote the history of revolutionary movement in two volumes. He started with the rebellion of 1851 and concluded his writing with the heroic exploits of Indian National Army, Subhas Chandra Bose, Naval's mutiny of 1946 which gave a great jolt to the British imperialism in India. The author firmly believes that the word socialism was chosen by the revolutionaries with utmost care and had nothing to do with the communist socialism. This word was induced by them in their Manifesto knowingly in order to improve the condition of the poor people i.e .workers and peasants of India.34

V.S. Joshi wrote about half a dozen books on the revolutionary movement in India and abroad. The author praised Bhagat Singh, Raj Guru and Sukh Dev for their heroism. He collected authentic sources dealing with and vicious propaganda against the armed revolution for which they had to face executions and deportations. Their role in India’s freedom struggle was very significant and meaningful. The author has criticized Gandhi and Nehru for neglecting the contribution of the revolutionaries in the liberation of India. His writings show the

66 ultra nationalist views but sometimes display Hindutva sympathies. The writers of this stream show great antagonism to all the Congress leaders who did not like the activities of the Indian youth in India’s struggle for freedom.35

B.B. Maharaj, a Kolhapur scholar, penned the biography of Bhagat Singh and the armed struggle in a prolific manner. After collection of a lot of informations from different sources, he published this book in 1982. Besides, he interviewed many revolutionaries such as , , Durga Bhabhi and family members of Sardar Bhagat Singh. He tried to get first hand informations from the family members of other revolutionaries alive at that time also. He sketched a brief biographical note on Bhagat Singh from the nationalist point of view. Like other scholars, he did not blame Gandhiji for hanging of Bhagat Singh and his comrades but decried Congress leadership for taking exclusive credit for the freedom. Besides, he has also explained the other aspects such as H.S.R.A, Savarkar brothers, shooting incidents etc. in his work.36

S.R. Bakshi, a prolific writer, has written several books on the freedom struggle and eminent Indian personalities. In his book, Shaheed Bhagat Singh and his Thought, Bakshi citing a speech of the Indian leaders quotes that when Bhagat Singh and his comrades were executed, they became heroes. All Indians have been at loss due to their death as they wanted to make India a quite different India of their dreams. The Congress justified that the freedom should not be attained by giving sacrifices at large scale but by peaceful means. But its leaders failed to accommodate them in their organization. Efforts should have been made to spare them from the execution. The auther clarified that both the violence and devotion were altogether separate matters in the given situation.37

Gandhiji, however, denied the allegation leveleed against him for the execution of Bhagat Singh and others. In his paper, Navjeewan, he frankly wrote that Bhagat Singh did not want to live. He failed to apologise and appeal in the

67 court. He should have accepted it for the welfare of others. Bhagat Singh and his friends did not believe in non-violence nor did he accept violence. He was persuaded to shoot in a different situation. He wrote in his last letter that he was imprisoned by waging a war (against imperialism). … All these warriors had won over the death. Let us salute them for their heroism”38

Gandhiji in his writings clearly admitted that revolutionaries were patriots like them and tried to save their lives. But after their execution, he did not say that he ever made any effort in this direction. He frankly accepted that this matter never became a part of pact with the Viceroy. Why did he not include in his dialogue because of their firm belief in violence. His writings and speeches clearly shows that he did approve violence of any nature applied either in India or abroad. But it is fact that he praised their valour and patriotism in a big way.39

Jawaharlal Nehru in his Autobiography clearly wrote that the people should take inspiration from their courage and patriotism. He further observed : "Terrorists have flourished in India, off and on, for nearly thirty years and at no time, except in the early days in Bengal, did any of them attain a fraction of that popularity which came to Bahgat Singh. This is a patent fact which cannot be denied, it has to be admitted. And another fact which is equally obvious, is that terrorism, inspite of occasional recrudescence, has no longer any real appeal for the youth of India..40 Fifteen years stress on non-violence has changed the whole background in India and made the masses much more indifferent to and even hostile to the idea of terrorism as a method of political action.’ 41

Nehru admitted that the youth of lower middle classes and intelligentsia had been powerfully affected by the Congress propaganda against the methods of violence. He observed that revolution did not come through terrorism and it was an 'outworm and profitless method’ which came in the way of real revolutionary action. He ensured that after the execution of Bhagat Singh and others, terrorism

68 began to die in India not because of government coercion which could only suppress not eradicate but because of basic causes and world events. He further wrote : "India has, undoubtedly, passed that stage and no doubt even the occasional ourbursts will gradually die out. But this does not mean that all people in India have ceased to believe in methods of violence. They have, very eargely, ceased to believe in individual violence and terrorism but many, no doubt, still think that a time may come when organized, violent methods may be necessary in other countries. That is today an academic issue which time alone will put to the test; it has nothing to do with terroristic methods.” 42

Nehru believed that Bhagat Singh and his comrades did not become popular because of their act of terrorism but because they seemed to indicate the honour of Lala Lajpat Rai and through him of the nation. Bhagat Singh became a symbol but his act was forgotten within a few months in each town and village of the Punjab and also in the northern India. He became so popular that innumerable songs grew-up about him and the popularity that man achieved was something 'amazing' Many British labour leader showed sympathy with the revolutionary struggle in India but Nehru did not admire the official leadership of British Labour Party which was supporting effectively anti-imperialist struggle which would ultimately lead to socialism.43

Nehru did not approve of the violent activities of Bhagat Singh and his comrades at the Congress session held in 1931. He delivered a speech disagreeing with such methods . The Congress did not believe in any political violence in whatever form it might be. However, he applauded the courage, and scarifies of the revolutionaries and sympathized with their families. He fully believed that the government would concede the feelings of the people but all that went against it. He was greatly aggrieved to hear the news of their execution. Their scarifies created great enthusiasm among the people and they became heroes within a short time because they faced the enemy in an open challenge. There was

69 a nationalistic spirit in him. It was like a small spark which became a symbol of revolution and spread in all the corners of country.'44

Dr. Tara Chand, a famous historian of nationalist school, wrote History of the Freedom Movement in India in four volumes. He has not acted as an historian but wrote the history of the freedom struggle as a Boyalist scholar to the Indian Government which engaged him in a big project to write the history of the freedom struggle when Dr. R.C. Majumdar left the project. On the persuation of Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr. Tara Chand agreed to complete the project. He has highlighted the role of the Congress and other forces in a big way. He has described the revolutionary movement as a terrorist movement in which Madame Cama, Shyamji Krishna Verma, Madan Lal Dhinga, V.S. Savarkar, have been discussed in a very brief way. The revolutionary movement emerged in different provinces did not attract the attention of this nationalist scholar. It shows that he has ignored the discussion on this important aspect of modern. Indian history knowingly in order to please the then Indian Government headed by the Congress leadership.45

It is generally observed that When the matter of ideological discussion comes many nationalist scholars have ignored such issues in their writings but the stray references on Bhagat Singh, Chandra Sekhar Azad and their comrades may be found with some important events such as Saunders’ murder, Assembly Bomb incident, Lahore Conspiracy case, hunger strike in jail, execution, Karachi session of the Congress etc. It seems that Dr. Tara Chand might have got direction from higher-ups to restrain from the discussion of the revolutionary movement otherwise he could not have ignored such an important issue of modern Indian history. The stream of revolutionary movement did play an important role in India’s freedom struggle and is accepted by a large number of scholars.

70 The scholars should not act in a partial manner in any sort of writing. It is the duty of the scholar historian to present all the aspects in an appropriate and judicious manner to become a part of true history as famous German historian, Leovon Pold Ranke, has suggested while writing history.

It is significant to note that in the second half of 20th century, Hindustan Socialist Republican Association became an important long and popular organisation of the Indin revolution aries who waged anti-imperialist struggle in India. Chandra Sekhar who was the close-associate of Bhagat Sigh did not figure any where in the works of Dr. Tara Chand. Increasing police coercion and unwanted events began to take place. Police forced the crowd to back and beat with lathis and whips. Such incidents took place in Lahore and Lucknow. In Lahore, Lala Lajpat Rai and others became prey of police oppression. After sometimes, Lalaji died due to barbaric lathi charge with serious wounds.46 Many incidents of and Bombardment took place in the Punjab and Bengal. Dr. Tara Chand throw light only on the important events and incidents happened in different parts of the country. The other important activities of the revolutionaries have not been discussed in the multiset volume written by him. In between Saunders was killed by the revolutionaries. Other events such as throwing bomb in legislative. Assembly and attention of derailing the train were an eye opener.47

Dr. Tara Chand laid great stress on Gandhi-Irwin Pact whose approval was essential from the executive committee of the Congress. Lord Irvin wanted a settlement so that a peaceful solution could become possible. Gandhiji agreed to suspend the Civil Disobedience movement and to participate in the next round table conference to be held in London. Government withdrew all the oppressive measures and released the political prisoners imprisoned during the movement. The viceroy made it clear that there would be no enquiry into the allegations of excesses by the police.48

71 Dr. Tara Chand did not mention the issue of Bhagat Singh and his comrades during the dialogue between Gandhiji and Irwin. Many Congressmen and nationalist historians have ignored this issue knowingly as alleged by many scholars of the other streams. In order to get the approval of the Congress Committee on the agreement made between Gandhi and Irvin, All India Congress Committee convened its meeting in March 1931. This session was presided over by Vallabbhai Patel. There was a great enthusiasm and pleasurable atmosphere among the Congressman. In between communal riots took place at Kanpur in which Ganesh Shanker Vidyarthi was murdered. This incident created great resentment and lessend the enthusiasm. The murder of Saunders and imprisonment of Bhagat and his comrades subsided that happy atmosphere created earlier. The execution further created anti-British feelings among the Indians throughout the country.49

Pattabhi Sitaramayya, an official historian of the Congress, highlighted the execution of Bhagat Singh, Karachi Congress session and the Presidential address of Sardar Patel in which he stated the valour and patriotism of Bhagat Singh and other revolutionaries who sacrificed their lives for the nation's cause but disagreed with their approach. Sitaramayya has raised the issue of Bhagat Singh and others in his work. He refutes all the allegations leveled against Gandhiji for not saving their lives. He affirmed that the issue of Bhagat Singh and his companions was raised during the discussion between Gandhiji and Viceroy. Gandhiji wanted not execution but life imprisonment for them. The issue was raised during the talk but the Viceroy did not agree with him.50

Pattabhi Sitaramayya came to rescue of Gandhiji as far as the issue of three revolutionaries was concerned. He did not agree with the views of those who held Gandhji responsible for the execution of these three revolutionary youth. Despite his strenuous efforts, he failed to save their lives. He made it clear that the path chosen by them was not appropriate and Congress which believed in non-violence

72 did not approve the path chosen by them. The Congressman under the leadership of Gandhiji participated in all the movements which were based on the cult of non- violence. Whenever violence erupted during the movements, he immediately suspended or withdrew. The youth disagreed with the approach of Gandhiji and opposed him at the Karachi session. The provincial leadership of the Congress had to face the brunt of the youth during the conferences held in different provinces of India.51

R.C. Majumdar, another famous historian of India, wrote History of the Freedom movement in India in three volumes published during 1962-64. Dr. Majumdar was allotted a bit project to write history of freedom struggle by the Indian Government in 1956. He was given free hand in financial and other matters for the completion of this project. He appointed more than two dozen of research associates for the collection of material from different research institues and Archives. After a year or so, Dr. Majumdar disliked the behaviour of Education Ministry's top officials and left the project. Whatever material was collected by the research associates that remained with him and wrote History of Freedom Movement in India in three volumes (1962-63)52

Dr. Majumdar has discussed the beginning of the revolutionary movement after the partition of Bengal. At that time, Eastern region of the Bengal was active in the revolutionary activities. The revolutionary organisations like Yugantar, Anushilan Samiti were formed. Dr. Majumdar has highlighted the contribution of the revolutionaries in a regional perspective. The aims of the revolutionary in a regional perspective. The aims of the revolutionary organisations were to create anti-British feelings among the educated sections of the society. To create feelings of national and political consciousness by displaying the heroic activities through act plays and folk songs were also its aims. To exhaust the military strength by holding processions and agitation was their another aim. These organisations provided military training and exercise along with religious programmes.53

73 The revolutionaries intended to receive arms and ammunition and prepare bombs and other explosive material from the foreign countries. They kept on collecting money through in banks and treasuries as without this means, such activities were impossible to prolong in the given situation. The author has a lot of praise for Prafulla Chaki, Khudi Ram Bose, Varinder Ghose etc. They were the real founders of the revolutionary movement in Bengal which continued upto the third decade of the 20th century. The government depsite such measures could not suppress these activities.54

The official oppression and brutalities gave birth to the underground movement and many revolutionaries went abroad in order to avoid their arrests and harassment. In Bombay presidency, and Mitra Melas were organised. When police oppression started, many revolutionaries left the province for the western countries. The revolutionary movement in Bengal became more violent than the other provinces. The revolutionaries in Bengal started killing the Europeans in hotels, clubs and cinema halls. The other programme was to damage the airport of Dum Dum. All the oil depots became targets of their attack. They disrupted the tram-service and destroyed the bridges, railway lines and other communication channels.55

Dr. Majumdar has greatly aired the Bengali sentiments in India's revolutionary movement as he further writes : “Twenty incidents of violence occurred in which twenty seven persons were murdered; sixteen incidents of bombing took place. Twenty three government officials were murdered; thirty six wounded and thirty three revolutionaries were murdered and six wounded. After the execution of Surya Sen, Bhagat Singh etc. the revolutionary activities came down. Efforts were made to kill the Acting Governor of Bombay, Evest Hoston, who had visited Fergusson College, Poona. A student of the College intended to murder him but escaped narrowly. The movement continued with slow speed but again became violent during the Quit India movement. When armed struggle

74 under the command of Indian National Army was started, a new trend emerged in India's freedom struggle.56

Dr. Majumdar has discussed all the movements with nationalist approach but became biased at many places when he started praising the Bengali revolutionaries beyond expectation. He was a great scholar of history and edited many works under the auspices of ‘Vidhya Bhawan Series’ but again he left the multi-volume project uncompleted. He has used the primary sources with a good way of presentation. He was a mature and intelligent scholar of 20th century India. He completed a project of UNO also. He, however, had specialization in ancient Indian history but equally worked with masterly on modern also.

Prof. S.N. Sen gives credit to two books, namely, Pather Dabi (1926) written by Sarat Chandra Chatterjee and Bandi Jeewan by which exercised tremendous influence on the youth of Bengal where revolutionary terrorism was revived by Surya Sen, Hem Chandra Qanungo, Bhuepndranath Dutta. Charles Target, an European, was shot dead in Bengal in January 1924. This was followed by the discovery of a bomb factory in Calcutta. All the terrorists were tried under the Bengal Criminal Law Amendment Ordiance in which there was no provision to right to appeal. The author further discussed the formation of revolutionary organizations in U.P., Bihar, Punjab, Delhi, Madras and various other places.57

Sen highlighted the dacoities, derailment of a train near Kakori railway station and looting the government treasury at carried. Many revolutionaries like , Rajendranath Lahiri, Roshan Singh and Ashfaqulla were arrested and sentenced to death and others were given life imprisonment. The author praised all the revolutionaries who wished to see 'the downfall of the British Empire’. When they were going to be hanged, they cited Bande Matram loudly to show their valour and patriotism. When Trade Dispute Bill and Public

75 Safety Bill were introduced, they threw bombs in the Assembly in order to terrorise the members without intention of killing any one. Now the government adopted the policy of crushing down revolutionary movement by the seditous act of terrorism.58

The author praised the activities of the revolutionaries who had no intention of killing any one but to make the deaf hear. In order to curb their activities, police discovered bomb factories at Lahore and Sahranpur. All the active members of Hindustan Socialist Republic Association were arrested and the government instituted the Lahore Conspiracy Case against them in 1929. All the revolutionaries demanded that they should be treated like the war prisoners as they were charged with waging war against the King. They protested by fasting in the jail but after getting assurance from the government, they broke their fast except Jatindranath Das. He died after 64 days of fast on September 13, 1929. The author fully agreeing with Jawaharlal Nehru who wrote : “Seldom in the history of India’s national liberation movement, martyrdom of a revolutionary produce such sweep of national emotion throughout the length and breadth of the country and outside." His death created a sensation all over the country. It brought the question of the treatment of political prisones to the front and government had to appoint a Committee for the reform of jails.59

Prof. Sen gives credit to the Lahore Conspiracy Case which gave a death- blow to revolutionary activities in the northern India. Despite this, Chandra Sekhar Azad made a futile effort to blow-up the Viceroy’s special train near Delhi in December 1929. Ultimately, he was killed in an encounter with the police at Allahabad on 27 February, 1931. After the death of Azad, there was a considerable decrease in the revolutionary activities in the United Provinces and Punjab. Besides, rare incidents continued in several parts of India during 1931-34. Like R.C. Majumdar, Sen has also thrown ample light on the activities going on in the Bengal province such as Chittagong Armoury Raid, assassination of Eurpoeans,

76 jail blast etc. It is significant to note that the bold women such as Pritilata Wadedar, Apurba Sen, Santi Ghosh, Suniti Chowdhury, , etc. entered into the revolutionary movement and made all feasible efforts to kill British officials by all means.60

In the last, Sen has discussed the failure of the revolutionary struggle. Though the movement was started with the Bengal partition, it continued to loose its edge with the passage of time. After the murder of many British officials, government adopted stern measures to curb the movement. Due to limited members of the movement, their movement was bound to fail. They failed to achieve the support of the people and cut off from the main stream of the society. It amply shows the movement collapsed after the large-scale arrest of the revolutionaries. Due to weakness of the Central Organisation and limited mass base; it continued to die down briskly. The author has rightly said that reforms of 1935 took away 'the edge of both the violent and non-violent methods in Indian politics.’61

Dr. Kamlesh Mohan, K.K. Khullar, S.R. Bakshi, D.P.Das, Singh and Chaman Lal are the scholars and historians but not contemporaries of the revolutionaries. They neither criticize the revolutionaries nor exaggerated their roles in the movement. All these scholars have highlighted the drawbacks, development and impact of the movement in an appropriate manner. To save Bhagat Singh and his comrades from executions and the efforts of Gandhiji have been given due consideration. Some other contradictions and issues did figure in their writings abundantly.

Virendra Sindhu who is the niece of Bhagat Singh and closely associated with his family wrote a book in Hindi: Yugdrasta Bhagat Singh aur Unke Mrityunjay Purkhe (Delhi, 1968). In first part, the family background, statement in the Court, fast in jail, his sacrifices etc. The early life of Bhagat, his schooling,

77 association with Dairy profession, murder of Saunders, his statement in courts, fast in jail, his sacrifices etc are discussed in the first and second parts.62 She also consulted some of the memories of the elder members of the family alongwith the letters of Bhagat Singh which throw enough light on different issues related to him. She writes that "a man can develop his perception and nature before the birth. Abhimanyu and Jinnah are the best example in this regard. Many examples are found in folk-lores and experiences. So Bhagat Singh was a born revolutionary and leader. He was made revolutionary not by others but a born revolutionary who gave leadership to the revolutionary movement…. The grand son of Bhagat Singh, Sardar Arjun Singh was a nationalist radical associated with the movement. All the members of his family were associated with Bharat Mata Society. The discussion about sacrifice used to take place in the family. there were discussion about revolutionary matters when he was in the embryo of his mother”.63

Sindhu writes a chapter on the dialogue between Bhagat Singh and Sant Randhir Singh who had claimed that Bhagat Singh became as atheist due to his influence and association. She further says that when Santji was about to leave jail after completion of imprisonment met Bhagat Singh. Both of them discussed many things in a cordial manner. Bhagat Singh came to know that soul was important and never died but changed the bodies only. All this made him happy and he prophesied that he would be reborn. He treated such things merely gossips only to show respect to an elderly man like Santji.64

Sindhu affirms that Bhagat Singh and his comrades were greatly influenced with the Communist thinking which made his embolden. His tears began to trickle on his face not by the fear of death but the torture given to informer, Hemraj Vohra. He was a revolutionary in a literary language, visionary in English language and yug drasta in political language, a rishi from religious point of view and socialist in thinking, anti in this religion approach and showed interest in the

78 publication of revolutionary literature, armed struggle etc. role in the formation of Hindustan Socialist Republican Association, Legislative Assembly incident, slogan of Inquilab Jindabad, assassiniation of Saunders, his statement, separation of religion from revolutionary movement, writings in jail etc. have been discussed in a detailed way.65

The most important drawback in this work is utmost praise of Bhagat Singh and the author has tried to prove that he was the greatest leader who had seven qualities in himself. Firstly, he knew the aspirations of the masses. Secondly, he wanted to fulfil all the aspirations. Thirdly, he encouraged the people to follow the right path. Fourthly, he intended to create unity among the people. Fifthly, he wanted to remove all the independent standing ahead. Sixthly, he grasped the problems before their presence. Seventhly he could turn the situation in his favour. All these qualities were abundantly found in him as the author claims".

Dr. Kamlesh Mohan, teacher now retired from Punjab University, Chandigarh, fully justifies the terrorist activities of the revolutionaries who never believed in any egoistic approach, but applied it in order to speedify the movement. The strategy of Bhagat Singh shows how he not only contacted the revolutionaries of western countries but prepared a mass revolutionary literature in jail also. His fast in jail, obstruction in the proceedings of court, appeal in the Privy Council show his revolutionary perception. Her research work now published, Militant Nationalism in the Punjab (Delhi, 1985) explicitly shows that it was the militant nationalism in the Punjab that made solid contribution to the awakening of the youth through successive hunger-strikes, letters, petitions, and messages in the course of the Lahore Conspiracy Case Trial, 1920-30. This was the time when the organizations of youth and students grew all over India in Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Punjab, U.P. and other parts of the country.67

79 Dr. Kamlesh in her research work fully justifies an immense organizational mobility extremely helpful in carrying out the plans, requiring its workers to move all over India. She says it was Sita Ram Bazar House, Jhandewala Road House and Naya Bazar House, Delhi figured prominently which were the prominent centres of the activities of the revolutionaries. They believed in querrila warefare by distributing bombs manufactured at Delhi and Kanpur but their arrests in Delhi and Lahore compelled them to close down these centres. However, bomb making and other activities of the party were resumed at Gwalior where the centre of the party was established. Later on, , , Jhansi also were chosen as party headquarters in order to evade police surveillance. The judgement of Lahore Conspiracy Case, 1930 shows how the revolutionaries were in communication with one another in different provinces. Besides, Bhagat Singh moments covered Lahore, Ferozpur, Amritsar, Delhi, Agra, Kanpur, Jhansi, Allahabd, Bettiash and Calcutta.68

Dr. Kamlesh has, however, highlighted the militants in Punjab but the associations of Punjab revolutionaries with other parts of the country have also been discussed. She says that a link between anti-feudal and anti-imperialist struggle in India but especially in the Punjab was forged and manifested the growing desire for joint action among workers, peasants and the middle classes. It had initiated and intensified the process of socialist orientation in the Indian National Congress as well as in the freedom struggle of India. She further writes that the period from 1920 to 1930 had revealed that the formulation and advocacy of a common ideology was the first pre-condition of the success of mass movements. Though there were several streams in the freedom movement but the militant nationalism was the first bend of the road of nationhood which led to social and economic revolution.69

After reading the nationalist literature and works, one can analyse and assess the role of the revolutionaries directly and indirectly. Their popularity and

80 revolutionary thinking are the direct bearing on their activities. Such situation in the nationalist struggle encouraged the emergence of socialist forces in the Congress which succeeded in adopting the social and economic programme. This was the influence of socialist thinking on the minds of the Congressman especially among the youth. Secondly, the Congressman have tried to justify the argument that Gandhiji made all efforts to save Bhagat Singh and his comrades from the execution but could not succeed in his mission. All the misconceptions created by others have been clarified by the Congressman and their supportive historians in this regard. Some of the scholars of this stream have tried to prove that the revolutionaries were active not in the whole of India but only in few pockets and regions of the country.

The several scholars of the nationalist stream have highlighted the drawbacks of the revolutionary movement but accept Gandhiji as the greatest leader of the freedom struggle but in reality both the nationalist stream and the revolutionary stream were altogether separate as far as their values, programmes, principles, goals and ideologies were concerned. The nationalist scholars say that the Congressmen wanted the freedom first and other progammes later on i.e after independence while the revolutionaries wanted both the freedom and transformation in the social structure. Many Indian leaders who have tried to highlight some aspects of the struggle through their writings, speeches, memories etc. have been ignored by them. Though many Congress leaders did praise the revolutionaries as far as their valour and scarifies were concerned but decried their cult of violence which had 'no meaning'.70

Both the streams functioned altogether separately while their one goal was common i.e freedom of the country. The nationalist historiography clearly indicates the massive role of the revolutionaries but the leaders like Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, Subhash etc. did not lag behind in many ways with them. It is a matter of regret that many scholars of the nationalist stream have given due

81 consideration to the revolutionaries in the freedom struggle. Why did they do so? One reason may be that they did not like the application of violence in the struggle as it was bound to fail. Consistence constitutional and peaceful agitations / movements could go longer and achieve success in the last. The revolutionary movement came like a storm and ended within a short period. The constitutional agitation prolonged and ultimately could achieve success if heroes of non violence from all the communities worked together.71

It is true to conclude that the historical contribution of the Indian revolutionaries lies in challenging the Gandhian style of leadership of the freedom struggle. They knew it well that the imperialism would not come to an end unless forced to quite India. Thus, it proved remarkably correct when British power left India in 1947 under compulsion due to several factors caused in India and world over. The Quit India movement being a mass upsurge, strikes in defence services, Second World War and the formation of the Labour Government in England changed the entire political scene of India. But side by side Congress leadership was in the comfort to a compromise so that its negotiations for the transfer of power were not affected.

The position of the Congress began to change when it strated taking keen interest in the trials of INA prisioners in 1946. It was the most significant decision taken by the Congress leadership to plead the cases of INA prisioners known as the Red Fort trials, New Delhi. The Congress achieved lions share when it got majority in forming government at the centre. It was the biggest reward ever received by the Congress when it was essential for it in indian politics. Though the INA leadership did believe in violent and armed struggle which was against the Gandhism, changed the minds of the Congress leadership in this regard. If both the streams could have fought together keeping the nationalist interests in view, Congress leadership could improve its image and many new changes could be brought about in socio-political and economic structures in the country also. The

82 Congress raised the slogans of socialism, in its election manifesto but could not turn to its achievements as the revolutionaries had dreamt. Evev S.A.Dange, a leftist leader, had to accept in 1921 that only Gandhian methods and forms of struggle would bring the socialist revolution.72

83 References

1. Besant, Annie, How India Wroguht for Freedom (Madras, 1915) pp. 210- 50. 2. Indian Mirror (Calcutta) January 3, 1886. 3. Ibid. 4. Strachey, John, India (London, 1888) pp. 10-41. 5. Banerjea, Surendra Nath, A Nation in Making (Calcutta, 1925) 6. Mazumdar, A.C., Indian National Evolution (Madras, 1915) 7. Naoroji, Dadabhai, Poverty and un-British Rule in India (London, 1902) 8. Tilak, B.G., Making a Nation (Poona, 1922) 9. Pal, Bipin Chandra, Writings and Speeches (Madras 1919). 10. Rai, Lajpat, Young India, pp. 40-61. 11. Majumdar, R.C, History of Freedom Movement in India Vol. I-III (Calcutta 1962-1863) 12. Pradhan, R.G., India's Struggle for Swaraj (Madras, 1930) 13. Mukerji, G.K. History of the Indian Naitonal Congress 14. Sitaramayya, Pattabhi B., History of the Indian National Congress. 15. Nanda, B.R., Gokhale (Delhi, 1979) 16. Prasad, Bisheswar, India in Bondage and Freedom Vol. II (Delhi, 1968) 17. Tripathi, Amlesh, The Extermist Challenge. 18. Chand, Tara, History of Freedom Movement in India, 2 Vol. Delhi, 1961 19. Sen, S.N., The History of Freedom Strugle in India (Delhi, ) 20. Khullar, K.K., Shaheed Bhagat Singh aur Kuchh Addhule Prastha 21. Sindu, Virendra, Yugdrasta Bhagat Singh 22. Bakshi, S.R., Shaheed Bhagat Singh and His Ideology (Delhi, 1981) 23. Mohan, Kamlesh, Militant Nationalism in the Punjab (Delhi, 1985) 24. Dutt, R.C., Economic History of India ( London, 1952) 25. Ranade, M.G. Essays on Indian Economy (Bombay, 1912).

84 26. Grewal, J.S. (ed.) Bhagat Singh and His Legend (Patiala, 2008) 27. Sen, op. cit. , p. 179. 28. Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, vol. XXIII, p. 456. 29. Ibid. 30. Gupta, D.N., Bhagat Singh : Selected Speeches and Writings (Delhi, 2007) p. 20 31. Singh, Fauja, Eminent Freedom Fighters of Punjab (Patiala, 1972) p. 41. 32. Ibid, p. 42 33. Khullar, K.K., op. cit , p. 82 34. Hardas Balshahstri, History of Indian Freedom Movement 2 Vol. (Nagpur, 1961-62) pp. 66-67. 35. See Joshi, V.S., Agnipathavaril Paraganda (Exiled patriots on the path of fire) (Bombay, 1987) pp. 7-15. 36. Maharaj, B.B., Bhagat Singh (, 1982) pp. 2-12. 37. Bakshi, S.R, op. cit,p. 273. 38. Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, vol. LX, pp. 335-36. 39. Ibid. 40. Nehru, Jawahar Lal, An Autobiography,p. 175. 41. Ibid. 42. Ibid, p. 176 43. Ibid. 44. Ibid., p. 265 45. Dr. Tara Chand, however, wrote his volumes with the nationalist approach but his leanings and loyalty to Nehru was well known. He was very close to Nehru and both of them discussed many issues during the draft of these volumes. See Tara Chand, op. cit. 46. Ibid. 47. Ibid. 48. Ibid.

85 49. Ibid. 50. Sitarmayya, Pattabhi B., op. cit, pp. 768-69. 51. Ibid. 52. Majumdar, R.C., op. cit, vol II, p. 53. Ibid., p. 54. Ibid. 55. Ibid. , p. 549 56. Ibid., p 57. Sen, S.N., op, cit, p. 247. 58. Ibid. pp. 247-49. 59. Nehru, Autobiography, pp. 193-94. 60. Sen, op. cit, pp. 251-52. 61. Ibid. pp. 253-255. 62. Sindhu, Virendra, Yugdrasta Bhagat Singh aur Unke Mrityunjaj Purkhe (Delhi, 1968) pp. 256-57. 63. Ibid. 64. Ibid., p. 280 65. Ibid.. 66. Ibid. , p. 299. 67. Mohan, Kamlesh , Militant Nationalism in the Punjab (Delhi, 1985) pp. 269-70. 68. Ibid., p. 273 69. Ibid., pp. 278-79 70. Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, vol. XIx, pp. 397-400, 422. 71. Garewal, P.M.S., Liberations Blazing Star (2007) p. 93 72. Joshi, Shashi, Strugglee for Hegemony in India, p. 191.

86

DC:1 SEMESTER: 2 Paper: Nationalism in India Lesson: Socio – Religious Reform Movement In India In Nineteenth Century Lesson Developer: Ashutosh Kumar Jha

College/Department:Department of Political Science, Bhim Rao Ambedakar College, University of Delhi.

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi

Chapter-4 Socio – Religious Reform Movement in India In Nineteenth Century Contents

 Introduction  State of society  The Inevitable Response  The Beginning of Indian Renaissance  Source of Influence  Beginning of a new dawn  Raja Ram Mohan Roy: Father of modern India  Arya Samaj and its contribution  Bankim Chandra chaterjee: Ideas and Influence  Jyotiba Phule and his contribution  and his influence  Ramakrishna Mission and its Contribution  Theosophical Society  Muslim Reform Movements  Impact of Reform Movement In India  Impact on the National Movement  Critical Appraisal  Conclusion

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 Introduction The decline of after the death of Aurangazeb (1707) led to the loss of political unity in India. The triumph of British in the Battle of Pallasey (1757) and the period that followed was the period of the consolidation of British hegemony in India. The period of the 18th century was marked by the lack of any nationalist aspirations among Indians and a trend towards perpetual decay of the society. During this period Tagore comments that India was in a deathlike sleep in which “her life was dried up and it showed all those dead and forgotten customs, superstitions and prejudices, all the ignorance and fear, all feuds, all bitterness and separateness, all unreasonableness and remotelessness from the wide world. (As mentioned in Mukherjee, Ramaswany 1994-95: 86) The Indian society in the nineteenth century was trapped in the vicious web of religious superstitions and social decay. The country was in a state of perpetual social and religious decline. Indian culture and civilization was facing severe identity crisis from the onslaught of an alien culture which has already tasted the fruits of enlightenment. There was an attempt by the colonial power to carry forward the subjugation process from political to social and then cultural.

 State of Society

The first governor general adopted a non-interfering educational policy. He initiated the establishment of many centres for imparting traditional education to both Hindus and Muslims. So this policy allowed these communities to remain immersed in their traditional sphere. The system of education that prevailed imparted only rudimentary Sanskrit. Arabic and Persian language and simple mathematical teachings. So the lack of scientific modern education created a situation of social degeneration which was reflected in the widespread practice of blind superstitions and inhuman customs. Polygamy, Child marriage, Sati, killing of female child, practice of untouchability were rampant in society. Furthermore the worst sufferer of these evil practices were women. Reasoning had lost all relevance in the society and its place was taken over by superstition and orthodoxy. Religion was being used by the priestly class to exploit others. Idolatry, Polytheism and religious superstitions were the other ills plaguing the nation. The social problem had a direct relation with religion as the society was extremely religious. Since religion were marred in superstition, so in order to reform society the reformation of religion was essential. But superstition could only have been fought with rationalism which required reform in education. So religious and educational reform became two important factors for reforming religion and society. The British

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gradually introduced English education in India with the intention of developing a middle class that could help them in administration. The class that benefitted out of English education saw the differences as it existed between the western and indigenous society. On the one hand society in west relied on the values of liberty, equality and fraternity while the indigenous society was based on the values of exploitation of one class by another. Many reformers took the task of reforming the ills plaguing society through these new values and ideals. The implementation of these values also required adequate governmental legislative support which was not forthcoming. The British government did not try to intervene in the religious and social affairs. They avoided intervention because they wanted to maintain the existing soio-religious backwardness in India to maintain their cultural superiority over India , thereby giving justification to their „civilizing mission‟ and „White men‟s burden‟. The Missionaries also thought that projecting the Hindu religion as a religion based on exploitation and backwardness would help them attract a substantial population of lower class towards Christianity. The other important reason for the non interference of British in the socio- religious sphere was their reluctance to face the wrath of the orthodox higher class in the period of beginning of consolidation of British empire in India. It was avoiding any social or religious opposition against the empire by following a non interfering approach. But it wanted to develop a social class in India which could become the voice of change and government in meeting their demands and could also bring in socio –religious reforms in India. But if the British government would have proactively acted to bring these reforms than the orthodox class would have easily got anti-british and would have managed support from society in the name of interfering with the traditions and culture by a foreign power. So the government did not follow a policy of intervening in the socio-religious affairs in the beginning.

 The Inevitable Response

India was subjugated not only politically and economically but also culturally. The ways in which the great civilization was tamed called for response from the society. The response was required because the challenges thrown by a modern west to the east still struggling to overcome it‟s period of „Dark Ages‟ was huge. With the advent of Nineteenth century the situation started changing with the beginning of new awareness and generation of new ideas in Indian Society often referred as Indian Renaissance. It was the time when the British rule had strengthened in India. The country was witnessing changes at the societal level and the medieval traditions and practices had started losing its significance because it was failing to change itself with changes in times. The society had degenerated and was crying for urgent reforms in the

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sphere of society and religion. The onus on the reformers was to reform society on modern and scientific lines and it was tried to be achieved by redefining religious and social practices prevailing in the country. The major problem in the society was related to deplorable condition of women. Society was plagued by several inhuman practices and customs that directly impacted the status of women in society. Women were victims of social practices like Sati, Child marriage, murder of girl child, social ban on Widow Remarriage etc. Above all this in the name of morality they were also forced to confine themselves under the four walls of their house observing Purdah system.

 The Beginning of Indian Renaissance

Towards the end of the 18th Century the establishment of Asiatic society of Bengal (1784) was an important event. A group of English scholars led by William Jones researched the knowledge hidden in Sanskrit literature and the Indian civilization. They provided lots of interesting and stimulating facts about oriental and Indian civilization; which were by then unknown to educated Indians. The works of William Jones lifted the morale of Indians and revived their dipping national self-esteem. The first major attempt to spread English education in India was made by the Charter Act of 1813. This act on the hand gave permission to the Christian missionary to propagate Christianity in India and on the other hand provided funds for education for the first time in India. The government had provided budgetary allocation for education because it wanted to help the educated Indians to develop the existing literature and promote modern science. So the British started to open schools in various parts of India to attain its objective. The Christin Missionary and Europeans like David Hare started to open school in various parts of India where education began to be imparted in English. Calcutta School Book Society and Calcutta School Society began to establish primary schools imparting education in Indian languages. Reformers like Raja Rammohan Roy petitioned the Governer General to spread English and Western education in India. The government took consideration of the fact of promoting English education in India and formed a committee for education under the Chairmanship of Lord Macaulay. Macaulay‟s minutes of 1832 changed the previous practice of the rulers not interfering in India‟s traditional educational set up. It convinced the colonial powers to transform the Indian society on western lines so that the subjugation becomes entrenched. (Mehta: 2008:157).Macaulay believed that English education would help him create a class of Indian who would be British in their morality, wisdom, interests and beliefs The introduction of English education transmitted the culture and temper of the European Renaissance to India. These were a new wave of ideas that flew to India in the nineteenth century. The ideas of Mill, Carlyle, Paine, Burke, Bentham, Voltaire, Newton

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spread to India and in course of time became household names among the educated masses. The values of French revolution had deep influence on the minds of the youth. The system of education introduced by the British led to the new awareness of the value of liberty, democracy and rule of law in India. People also started developing a hatred for the suppression meted out to them by a colonial power and made the Indians realize that the British colonialism in India should end.

 Source of Influence

The first source of influence on the Indian Renaissance was the idea of modernity in the form of modern education, values of liberty, equality and a faith in the British rule that would lead to the amelioration of the lot of Indians and eventually pave the way for the establishment of democratic government in India. Ram Mohan Roy was an exponent of this stream of influence. The German ideas of Schelling, Fichte, Kant and Herder were the other source of influence. The reaction against the British rule made people react against the British ideas of individualism, materialism and laissez- Faire. For them German ideas of community, duty and nation were appealing. (Mehta 1998: 159). They desired social reforms and democratic norms but it was secondary to the need for preservation of the Indian identity. Their ideas call for upholding traditional values and protection of people from economic and political domination. They rejected the English interference in the social life of the country. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Vivekananda were the exponents of the idea who influenced the philosophy of nationalism later developed by Bipan Chandra Pal and Aurobindo Ghosh. The Indian traditional thought was the third noteworthy infuence on the Indian Renaissance. The real contributions came from those who interpreted traditions in a positive way. The researches carried out by orientalists like William Jones and Max Muller had created a profound hope and admiration for the cultural traditions of the country. These thinkers turned to the vedic and classical age for inspiration. Gita and its philosophy of action performed with equanimity in the service of others become a strong reference point. They realised that medieval religious outlook had made India weak. These thinkers succeeded in changing the medieval worldview of fate attached to every human action. They also brought the idea of importance of this life and without denying the importance of the development of soul, shifted the emphasis in such a way as to highlight the importance of enterprise in the service of the community. The writings of Ram Mohan Roy, Swami Dayanand Saraswati , Swami Vivekanand, Bankim Chandra

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Chatterjee, laid great optimism about transforming life in this world itself. They were convinced that India was destined to be a great nation and it was up to the people to expedite the process.

 Beginning of a new dawn

The beginning of the nineteenth century heralded the beginning of a new dawn on India. The movement described as the “Indian Renaissance” or “ Indian Awakening” grew in enormity in the latter half of the century. This period heralded the phase of the great socio religious reform movements in India. The period of 19th century witnessed many reform movements. A few notable movements are Arya Samaj, Prarthana Samaj, Aligarh movement etc. These movements opposed the various forms of exploitation of women carried in the name of social and religious beliefs. The reform movements spread to both Hindus and Muslims.It was a time when the influence of west and modernity was directly or indirectly observed among religious groups. The reform movement succeeded in creating an age of rationalism in society. The development of reasoning led people to question traditions and beliefs which were based on superstitions . Now let us look into some of the important socio-religious reform movement carried out by individuals and their social, religious and political impact on society in the nineteenth century.

 Raja Ram Mohan Roy: Father of modern India Ram Mohan Roy wore many hats during his life time. He was a social thinker par excellence, a prolific writer and was at home in Hindi, Sanskrit, English, Persian, Arabic, , Hebrew, Latin, Greek, French etc:. He derived inspiration from French revolution and freedom movements of Ireland, Spain, Naples and Latin America. Roy did not give much attention to his political ideas as nationalism in India was at a very infant stage and the task of social and religious reform was his primary agenda. Although he despised Colonialism but he endorsed the British rule in India . He endorsed the British rule because he found the rule to be culturally superior than the erstwhile feudal ruler in India. He believed that the British rule would pave the establishment of democratic institutions as it exists in Britain. Ram Mohan Roy was a vocal supporter of the freedom of press. Alongwith his colleague , Dwarka Nath Tagore, he submitted a petition to the Privy Council for the freedom of press. He found it essential for the democratic functioning of the government. (Chakravarty, Pandey 2011: 10) Ram Mohan Roy was a born rebel. Despite being born in an orthodox Brahmin family he had the courage to write a rational critique of Hindu idol worship. (Pantham

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2012: 33)This infuriated his father and he has to leave home. His wanderings to places like Tibet and Beanaras secured him the knowledge of Buddhism and Hinduism.

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The degenerate features of Bengal society was captured by him in his first published work,Tuhfat-ul Muwahhiddin(A gift to Deists).He was concerned with sectarian religious dogmas and practices. Ram Mohan identified the role of priestly class in perpetuating those irreligious dogmas and irrational doctrines because they were direct beneficiary of this system. So for him religious reform was paramount as it would lead to achieving the twin tasks of social reform and political modernization.(Pantham 2012:37) So inorder to achieve his task, he founded the Atmiya Sabha in 1815, the Calcutta Unitarian Association in 1821 and the Brahmo Sabha in 1828 which later became the . Brahmo Samaj was the first great step towards the purification of our culture. Brahmo Samaj rose above religion, caste and creed and opposed idolatry and preached monotheism .The samaj opposed the rituals and ceremonies prevalent in religion. Ram Mohan strategized to fight the ills plaguing India in three important ways: 1) He had to reinvent the classical scriptures to fight the existing dogmas and irrational practices. The ways he adopted to achieve this aim was by translating Vedas and Upanishads into Hindi, Urdu and Bengali. 2) He was a modernist and he promoted modern western education to uplift the outlook of the masses. 3) His firm belief in the reformative and modernizing aspects of British rule made him seek the state action to achieve his programmes.

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Ram Mohn‟s views on modern western education and socio-religious reform were different from the other prevalent views of contemporary conservative Bengali intellectuals. Roy promoted western educaton for its scientific and emancipatory ideas while the conservatives like Radhakant Deb favoured it for its use in the employability under British services. These group of people on the one hand endorsed the British education and the other hand supported the colonial practices of non interference in the socio-religious orthodoxies of the native people. Roy‟s study of religion made him one of the fiercest critique of Polytheism and idolatory.He was attracted to Islamic monotheism and was convinced that Monotheism is also the fundamental message of Vedanta. Since Indian society was marred in religious sectarianism his idea of monotheism was an idea to reconcile the sectarian differences of society. He believed that monotheism supported one universal order for humanity while polytheism justified sectarian moralities. Over the times his conception of fundamental unity of all religions has been endorsed by several thinkers including Vivekanand , Tagore , Gandhi and Radhakrishnan. He opposed rituals and ceremonies and questioned its use as it was done with the expectation of this worldly or other worldly rewards. He also opposed Christian trinatrianism. In 1820 he expressed his views on Christianity through his publication of „The Precepts of Jesus‟A guide to Peace and Happiness. He rejected the divinity of Christ but admitted his moral teachings that preached love and harmony to mankind. He was the greatest champion for emancipation of women . His efforts are considered to be special in the abolition of Sati or Widow burning. The condition of women were deplorable. They were deprived of education , Property Rights, Child marriage was rampant, had to observe purdah system and were victim of barbaric custom Sati. Roy considered these as drag on the progress of the Hindu society. In his words Sati was a „moral debasement of the race‟.(Bishop 1982:7) He did not find any rationalism in the idea of atonement of wife for a husband‟s sin. As a result of his campaign , Sati was banned by William Bentinck in 1829. He also advocated widow remarriage, female aducation and right of women to own property. He founded an English School in 1816. In 1825, he started the Vedant college where the study of western knowledge was combined with that of Indian learning. After the death of Raja Ram Mohan Roy the influence of Brahma Samaj declined.In 1843. Devendranath Tagore took upon himself the task of the Samaj revival. He started training the Brahma Samaj members to spread the message of the Samaj throughout the length and breadth of the country. Inorder to

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promote the ideals of Samaj he started „Tatwabodhini‟ magazine with A.K Dutt. He prepared the codes of customs and books for prayers. During his times the Samaj grew in different parts of India including Punjab to . Over the times the Samaj began to be dominated by people who believed more in the reason and logic instead of the authenticity of Vedas. In 1857 Keshav Chandra Sen joined the Brahmo Samaj. His efforts resulted in the progress of the activities of the Samaj. He established Sangat Sabha in 1860. He took an an all India tour in 1864. It was a first of its kind tour taken in modern India to bring in a unity of thought. His efforts resulted in the formation of Veda Samaj in Madras and Prarthna Samaj in Maharashtra. Keshav Chandra‟s new ideas and thoughts came at variance with the ideas of Tagore . So he left the Samaj in 1865 and formed Bharatiya Brahma Samaj while the Samaj led by Devendranath Tagore began to be called Aadi Brahma Samaj. Another division of the Samaj took place when Sen got his daughter and Prince of married without attaining adulthood. People who came out the movement formed the Sadharan Brahma Samaj. The Samaj spread to many parts of India and contributed in fighting the practice of untouchability, promoted inter- caste marriage to break the shackles of caste, they played significant role in the passage of Widow Remmaraige Act in 1855 and contributed in establishment of women educational institution like Bethune college.

 Arya Samaj and its contribution

The most influential movement of religious and social reform in northern India was started by Dayanand Saraswti. He held that the Vedas contained all the knowledge imparted to man by God and essentials of modern science could also be traced in them. He was opposed to idolatry, ritual and priesthood, particularly to the prevalent caste practices and popular Hinduism as preached by the Brahmins. He favoured the study of western science. With all this doctrine, he went about all over the country and in 1875 founded the Arya Samaj in Bombay. Satyarth Prakash was his most important book. The use of Hindi in his writings and preachings made his ideas accessible to the common people of northern India. Arya Samajis opposed child marriages and encouraged remarriage of widows. It made rapid progress in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. A network of schools and colleges for boys and girls was established throughout northern India to promote the spread of education. Dayanand Anglo-Vedic School of Lahore, which soon developed into a premier college of Punjab, set the pattern

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for such institutions. Instruction was imparted through Hindi and English on modern lines. Lala Hansraj played a leading role in this field. In 1902, Swami Shradhananda started the Gurukul near Hardwar to propagate the more traditional ideas of education. This was set up on the pattern of ancient Ashrams.

Arya Samaj tried to inculcate the spirit of self-respect and self-reliance among the people of India. This promoted nationalism. At the same time one of its main objectives was to prevent the conversion of Hindus to other religions. It also prescribed a purificatory ceremony calld suddhi for those Hindus who had been converted to other religions like Islam and Christianity. There was a complete lack of any European thought or influence on Swami Dayanand. In that sense he was different from Roy although their goals were common. Dayanand found the vedic message most suitable to inspire the moribund nation which was plagued by several ills that could easily be cured. Dayanand‟s ideas were published in „Satyaratha Prakash‟ in 1875. In this book he asserts that the empirical world was no illusion but had an independent and objective existence. His refutation of Advaita and Nirguna Brahmin separated him from Roy and Vivekanand.

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He further related human action to reward and punishment by God. This was an effort made by Dayananda to play on the religious sentiments for meaningful social activities. He understood that the British vanquished India because of the divisive nature of Indian society.(chakravarty,Pandey 2011:14-15) He saw the society was crippled because of problems like child marriage. For him untruthfulness and neglect of Vedas were the prime reason for the degradation of our society.Hence the first and foremost task was to grasp the substance of Vedas that made Hindu a distinctive race.(Jones 1994). His ideas stood out in those historical times because he was referring Hindu to return to its roots. He gave Hindu a sense of identity through Vedas who till now as a community had remain largely fractured and had no answer to the superirority of the foreign rulers. He called for purging of the degenerated practices of Hindus which was leading to their downfall. He opposed the prevailing caste practices of Hindu society and educated them of the social hierarchies of the vedic times which was based on merit, ability and temperament of the individual rather than one‟s birth. Dayanand‟s primary task was to strengthen the moral foundation of the Hindu society which was weakening due to its inherent weaknesses. He was a reformer of the Ram Mohan mould as he also has no interest in politics . This is why he succeeded in establishing Arya Samaj which functioned in a strict non political way. It could also be seen in the light that such an organization which was in its infancy could not have carried political overtones because of the might of the empire. He fulfilled his historical role by staying away from politics and articulating a nationalist response that drew on Vedas (Purohit 1986). Arya Samaj tried to establish the superiorty of Vedic religion.Slowly and steadily Arya Samaj attracted large number of youths of the country and brought forward many political leaders of India‟s movement for independence. Arya Samaj was the most powerful and influential movement of the era of the reform movement. It raised its voice against Child marriage, Purdah system, Untouchability, prevailing notion on crossing the sea etc. It supported Girl education and Widow remarriage. He opposed Sati by calling it barbaric and gave stress on the equality of men and women. He also decalred that women and men should have equal right to study Vedas. Arya Samaj appealed for doing away with Idol worship, division of society into castes and class and the ritualistic traditions of Hinduism. It preached that God is formless and it should not be worshiped in any form through an Idol. He tried to base Hinduism on the basis of

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logic and reason instead of obsolete tradition based on superstition. He said that Vedic religion was the true religion as Vedas were infallible and source of divine knowledge imparted to humanity. He fiercely criticized orthodoxy that existed in any religion. The Shuddhi movement started by Dayanand antagonized orthodox Islamic groups and Missionaries. It opened doors for people of other religion to come to or return to the Hindu fold. He said that Vedic religion is the essence of all the religions of the world and every religion is directly or indirectly influenced by it. There were people who were leaving the Hindu fold and getting converted to Christianity or Islam because many ills had engulfed the Hindu society. People who were finding difficult to continue with the Hindu tradition of Untouchability or Widow remarriage were leaving the Hindu fold because such ills did not existed in Islam and Christianity. Swami Dayanand attacked the roots of this issues and tried to strengthen the Hindu society. Many people returned to the Hindu fold because of the effort of Arya Samaj but in doing so they weakened the Indian nationalism because many Muslims began to see Arya Samajists as their enemies and the British used it to increase the distrust between the two communities. The Samaj gave a new sense of identity to the Hindu religion which began to question as well as oppose. But in re-establishing Hindu religion he became a critique of other religion and followed an aggressive approach towards it. In „Satyartha Prakash‟ he made a severe critique of other religion. So we could also say that his aggressive stance towards other religion worked towards sowing the seeds of communalism in our Independence movement. The Cow protection programme became an issue of discord between Hindus and Muslims and also led to riots . Although the programme found support from many quarters but the aggressive nature of appeal by some enthusiasts Arya samajists led to tension between the two communities.

 BANKIM CHANDRA CHATERJEE : Ideas and Influence

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Bankim‟s thought can best be understood by his transformation evident in his early and later writings. In his earlier days he shows acceptance of the most radical currents of European thought. He was greatly influenced by the positivism of Comte. In his later writings he is seen reconciling post enlightenment European rationality with the patriotic urge to assert the cultural and intellectual identity of colonized people. He identifies lack of solidarity as the primary reason for subjection of India. For him the diverse nationalities living in this country who are separated by language, habit, race and religion has made national solidarity completely absent in this country.He finds the British rule as an opportunity to discover our national solidarity. In a nutshell he explains the subjection of India in terms of its culture(Pantham 2012:68-69) He explains the cultural value and explains its relation with power. For west Knowledge is power while Knowledge is salvation in our culture. He makes an assessment that in the course of history some cultural values are more advantageous than other in relation to power and those cultures which fails to imply rational evaluation of power in material life are thrown into subjection. He considered religion to be the most powerful weapon for political and moral awakening. He tried to instill the faith that love towards humanity is the biggest devotion and love for one‟s country is the biggest duty of individual. He made an effort to uplift Hindu religion and combined the idea that the root of religious upliftment is political upliftment.

 JYOTIBA PHULE AND HIS CONTRIBUTION Jyotiba phule hailed from a low caste and understood the prevailing social inequalities faced by low caste Hindus . he tried to provide a framework for the liberation of the

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sudras from the unequal and unethical social system. He was influenced by Thomas Paine and believed in the equality of men and women. Like Dayanand he believed that social organization should reflect merit of an individual rather than enforcing birth as the criteria for occupation and religious status. He published a play Tritya Ratna in 1855 which depicted the exploitation of the superstitious peasent family by a cunning priest and their subsequent enlightenment by a Christian Missionary.(chakravarty , Pandey 2011:16-17) He through the play depicted the oppressive nature of Hinduism, impoverishment of shudras and conversion as a practical device to get out of the exploitative system. He believed that access to education and English literacy have provided vital resources on the Brahmins as a social group. This has catapulted Brahmins importance in the social hierarchy as they have redefined their roles according to the requirements of the day.

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He tried to give a vision of society free from Brahminical exploitation. He considered the British rule as a blessing in disguise because it has struck at the foundation of caste hegemony of the Brahmins. He was opposing the Brahman discourses and Hinduism and its scriptures. For him the Brahmins have distorted Shrutis and Smritis to rationalize their hegemony. He found literacy especially English education as the most useful tool in eradicating the Brahmanical hegemony. It had the potential of not only altering the existent social order but also gender equality. He vigorously pursued the task for women literacy and on his behest an exclusive girls school was opened in 1842. He tried to fulfill his objectives by establishing Satyashodhak Samaj in 1873. The Samaj extensively worked for girls education,widow remarriage and prohibition. It also led vigorous debates on the nature of the Hindu society. He was largely successful in providing a critique of the prevalent brahminical practices and values which were being justified in the name of religion and

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religious texts. He even went to the extent of criticizing various socio religious organizations including Prarthana sabha which he said was used by the Brahmins to confuse between Sudras and Atisudras. He criticized Sarvajanik sabha and even the Indian National congress because these organization according to him were monopolized by Brahmins and did not work in their intetests.

 MAHADEV GOVIND RANADE AND HIS INFLUNCE

Source –https://www.google.co.in/url?sa He is credited with presenting his idea in the liberal mould. He was instrumental in the establishment of Poona Sarvajanik Sabha and Prarthana Samaj. He favoured an interventionist state instead of a lassiez fare state. He tried to capture the nature of a transitional economy which was passing from a semi feudal stage to a commercial order. He believed n the equality of all and following the theistic doctrine argued that Women and Men are equal as children of god. Everyone occupies equal level before god and since god is the common father, therefore all men are brothers.

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He was a critique of the caste system but justified Bhakti movement. The Bhakti Marg rejected the idea that Brahmins are creation of god and other castes should serve them. In this the low caste were free to attain salvation through faith and love. Here members of the lowest of castes could become saints. Ranade considered caste system as a blot in the Indian social system. It has encouraged discrimination, isolation and exclusiveness. He preached to establish fraternity and recognize the essential equality between man and man. Ranade gave instances from vedic ages and ancient India to establish equality between man and woman. The women participated as equal in religious rites and deliberations of the state during vedic times. The institution of marriage recognized female liberty and dignity of woman. He argued that dignity and status of women should be reestablished by reforming the marriage and family system and by allowing them to avail the benefits of education. Ranade emphasized the need for social and religious reform but he always believed in the natural dependence of the social economic and political spheres of society. He understood that institutions like family should be reformed first otherwise there was no meaning to political freedom because we would fail to preserve it. He favoured a gradual process of transformation of society on the liberal values of liberty and equality. He was a strong believer in tradition and in his views was aiming to restore the dignity and freedom of the ancient period. In his idea of elitism he assigned greater roles to the educated class. He believed that this class would be the agent of change. He found that it was in the interest of the state to provide sound and useful education to the elite of the rising generation. Brahmins, educated middle class , Zamindars were included under the category of elites and he wanted special representation to be given to this class in the scheme of extending self rule. His justification for aristocracy has been controversial and have been severely criticized by Phule and others.

 Ramkrishna Mission and its Contribution

It was established as a religious organization but it had great impact on society and polity of India.Swami Ramkrishna Parmahansa was the founder of the Ramkrishna Order of Monks and the spiritual founder of Ramkrishna Movement. He preached that different religion are different paths towards a single destination. He like Swami Vivekananda said that we should refrain from aping the cultures of the west. Ramkrishna Mission was founded on 1st May 1987 by his chief disciple Swami Vivekananda. He tried to restore the pride of place of Hinduism in India which was struggling to find its feet in the light of western

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onslaught. Ramkrishna Mission is even today preaching the principles of Vedanta around the world through its branches.

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Vivekananda provided new vigour, pride and direction to the society and religion through his teachings. His great oratory at the World Religious conference in 1892 preaching the purity and rationality of Vedanta earned him world wide fame. People from foreign shores came to India to become his disciple. He was the soul of the movement. His speeches talking about the lofty ideals of Hinduism made people aware of the greatness of their culture .His teachings were directed to educate people to take pride in their culture preserve their civilization which seemed to be falling apart. He said Hindus that the Western civilization is based on consumerism and self-aggrandizement but still they should have knowledge of modern education and modern means of work . In a changed circumstances development can only be attained by changing to the needs of the times. He said that India could conquer the world spiritually by its spiritual message of Vedant. Vivekananda was proud of India‟s spiritual heritage, but he believed that no individual or nation can live by holding himself or itself apart from the community of others. He condemned the caste system, rigid rituals, century old superstitions and advocated liberty, free thinking and equality. Vivekananda was indeed, a patriot from the core of his heart. He had tremendous faith in the evolution of Indian culture and an intense zeal to revive all that was good and great in her culture so as to serve her in all possible ways for her onward march. Swami Vivekananda laid stress on Ramakrishna‟s teaching on the essential oneness of all religions. He promoted the Vedanta philosophy which he considered the most rational system. The principal feature of Vivekananda‟s social philosophy was his insistence on the upliftment of the masses. For him, service to the poor and downtrodden was the highest religion. To organise such service, he founded the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897. This Mission to date has played an important role in providing social service in times of national distress like famine, floods, and epidemic. Many schools, hospitals, orphanages are run by it.

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In 1893 he participated in the All World Religious Conference (Parliament of Religions) at Chicago in the United States of America. He argued that Vedanta was the religion of all and not of the Hindus alone. His address there made a deep impression on the people of other countries and thus helped to raise the prestige of Indian culture in the eyes of the world. Though his mission was mainly of religious nature, he was keenly interested in the improvement of all aspects of national life. He expressed his concern for the miserable and poor conditions of the people and said that neglect of the masses is a sin. He frankly stated, “It is we who are responsible for all our misery and all our degradation.” He urged his countrymen to work for their own salvation. For this purpose bands of workers devoted to this cause were trained through the Ramakrishna Mission. Thus Vivekananda emphasized social good or social services. He gave the message of self reliance and self confidence to the Indians. His teachings generated a new lease of life among the people of this country. He gave a call to eradicate all differences based on caste, community and untouchability. He equated service of the poor and destitute to then service of God. His vision for India was that of a strong and developing nation. The organization engaged in many philanthropic activities catering especially to the needs of poor and destitute.

 Theosophical Society

The Theosophical society was formed in New York city, United States in November 1875 by H. Blavatsky, H S Olcott and others. The society‟s headquarter was established in India in 1882. Mrs Annie Beasent popularized the society throughout the length and breadth of India. She won the support of the large sections of people including orthodoxy Brahmins by her splendid presentation of Indian philosophy. She performed the wonder of transformation of religious life in India particularly of Hindus. It promoted universal brotherhood which attracted many intellectuals towards it. She translated Geeta and wrote short commentaries on Mahabharat and Ramayana.

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source - https://www.google.co.in/url?sa

The society established a number of schools and colleges .In 1898 Annie Beasent founded the Central Hindu School and College in Benaras. A few years later she started the Hindu School for girls. The society performed tireless work for the upliftment of Women and pleaded for radical changes in the social condition. They opposed child marriage, issue of widow remarriage, untouchability and other existing vices in the culture.

 Muslim Reform Movements

The movements for reform also took place among the Muslims . Sir Sayyed Ahmed Khan was the pioneer of muslim reform movement. The main movements that began in 19th century was Wahabi movement, Aligarh movement and Ahmadi movement. Syed Ahmed of Bareli and Ismail Haji Maulvi Mohammed were the main leaders of Wahabi movement. The movement stressed on the purity and unity of Islam. Since the movement was an orthodox movement it could not achieve the desired success. Sir Syed Ahmed started the Aligarh movement. He is considered as one of the architects of modern India. The 1857 revolt was one of the turning points of Indian history. Sir Syed foresaw the imperative need for the Muslims to aquire proficiency in English language and modern sciences. He recognized the critical

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role of education for the empowerment of the poor and backward Muslim community. He started number of schools for Muslim education.He instituted Scientific Society in 1863 to to create scientific temperament among the muslims and to make western knowledge available to them in their own language. The most respected and important educational centre for Indian Muslims was initially founded as Mohammedan Anglo Oriental College at Aligarh in 1875 by Sir Syed which was subsequently raised to the status of Aligarh Muslim University. Sir Syed had a broader vision and he had put forward the need of the hour to get equipped with modern education to improve the social and economic conditions of Muslim in India. He was one of the first to provide a fresh orientation to Islam and work for it. He institiuted All India Muslim Educational Conference in 1866 that revived the spirit of muslims at the national level. The Aligarh movement helped open a number of educational institutions for Muslims and awakened them from their deep slumber infusing social and political awareness among them. Syed Ahmed Khan rightly felt that isolation would harm the Muslim community and to prevent that he did his best to create a link with the progressive cultural forces of the outside world. He worked hard to remove the hostility of the British rulers towards the Muslims whom they considered as their real enemies. He felt that the religious and social life of the Muslims could be improved only with the help of modem Western scientific knowledge and culture. Therefore, promotion of modern education was the first task. As an official, he founded schools at many places. He got many Western books translated into Urdu. He started the Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875 at Aligarh. It was meant to be a centre for spreading Western sciences and culture. Later, this college grew into the Aligarh Muslim University. The liberal, social and cultural movement started by among the Muslims is known as the Aligarh Movement as it originated in Aligarh. The Anglo-Oriental College was the centre of this movement. It aimed at promoting modern education among Muslims without weakening the ties with Islam. It became the central educational institution for Indian Muslims. The Aligarh Movement was largely responsible for the Muslim revival that followed. It provided a focal point for the scattered Muslim population in different parts of the country. It gave them a common fund of ideas and a common language - Urdu. A Muslim press was developed for the compilation of works in Urdu. Syed Ahmad‟s efforts extended to the social sphere as well. He worked for social reforms. He wanted women to be educated and advocated the removal of the purdah. He was also against polygamy

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source - https://www.google.co.in/url Ahmadiya movement was started by Mirza Ghulam Ahmed Qadani. The Ahmadiyas emphasized the belief that Islam is the final dispensation for humanity as revealed to Prophet Muhammad and it is essential to restore it to its true essence and pristine form which had been lost through centuries. It was a movement towards revitalization of Islam.

 Impact of Reform Movement in India The British wanted to appease the orthodox upper section of society. As a result only two important laws were passed. Some legal measures were introduced to raise the status of Religious Refroms Movements in Modern India includng women. For example Sati was declared illegal (1829). Infanticide was declared illegal. Widow remarriage was permitted by a law passed in 1856. Marriageable age of girls was raised to ten by a law passed in 1860.A law passed in 1872, sanctioned inter-caste and inter-communal marriages. The other law passed in 1891, aimed at discouraging child marriage. For preventing child marriage, the Sharda Act was passed in 1929. According to it a girl below 14 and a boy below 18 could not be married. In the 20th century and especially after 1919 the Indian national movement became the main propagator of social reform. Increasingly, the reformers took recourse to propaganda in the Indian language to reach the masses. They also used novels, dramas, short stories, poetry, the Press and in the thirties (1930‟s), the cinema too spread their views. Numerous individuals, reform societies, and religious organizations worked hard to spread education

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among women, to prevent marriage of young children, to bring women out of the purdah, to enforce monogamy, and to enable middle class women to take up professions or public employment. Due to all these efforts Indian women played an active and important role in the struggle for independence of the country. As a result many superstitions disappeared and many others were on their way out. Now, it was no longer a sin to travel to foreign countries.  Impact on the National Movement The socio religious movement in India had profound impact on its national movement. It formed an essential part of the evolution of the national consciousness Swami Dayanand Saraswati believed in „Swaraj‟ and „Swadeshi‟. He also appealed to the people to use indigineous and not foreign goods. His Swadeshi also stood for native rule .Many Arya Samajists like Lala Lajpat Rai and Munshi Ram actively participated in the national movement. Shyamjee Krishna Verma who established India House in England and were notable Arya Samajists who took up the cause of national movement in India. Vivekanand‟s message was filled with nationalism. He extensively dealt with the issue of Hindu spirituality which posed direct question to the notions of white supremacy used by the colonisers. We can say that mahatma Gandhi and Sarvapalli Rdhakrishnan were influencd by this aspect of Vivekanad‟s thought and they later carried forward this brand of Hindu spiritualism. Sri Aurobindo was one of the earliest to embrace the idea of complete political independence for India. His source of inspiration was Swami Vivekananda and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya. He was also a part of the Anusilan Samiti whch was involved in Arms struggle against the British. Bal Gangadhar Tilak used the press and Hindu occossions like Ganpati festival and Hindu symbols like cow to organize against the British empire. Bipan Chandra Pal was another prominent leader in the struggle for independence and always opposed sectarianism and majoritarianism of Hinduism. He was also a prominent modern Hindu reformer. Subhash Chandra Bose referred to Vedanta and Bhgwat Geeta as his source of inspiration for the struggle against British. Vivekanand‟s teaching on Universalism, his thoughts on nationalism inspired people like Subhash Bose to take up the call of nation. Annie Beasant helped in the promulgation of nationalism in India through two journals, the „ commonweal‟ and the „New India‟. She promoted and popularized the cause of Home Rule for India through these journals.

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 Critical Appraisal

The socio religious reform movement left a deep imprint on the Indian society. But the movement also has certain fallouts which had a very long term impact on the Indian polity and society. The movement weakened the inter-religious tolerance which led to increase in inter-religious bitterness. The idea of the reform movement promoted communalism which reached its culmination in the form of division of India and Pakistan . If we analyse the reach of the movement we could say that it failed to reach the common mass and it was mainly confined to the literate class. The common mass was not touched by the waves of reforms and continued to observe the old traditional way of his social and religious life. The movement in Bengal was confined to a small class identified as „‟. Zamindars as a social class were the biggest beneficiary of this movement as it was a class which were closely connected to the British. Brahmins, and were the largest beneficiary among the castes in Hindu. The reformers could never manage to connect with the common mass because of their approach or their usage of the language which was not comprehended by the illiterate or ignorant masses of this country. But the strength of the reform movement lies in locating a reference point in our history where the Indians under foreign occupation led the cause of reform . This led to the flowering of idea of democracy and liberty leading to the era of national movement in this country. The nationalists were influenced by many streams of the reform movements that took place in different parts of the country .

 Conclusion

It was seen that India was facing a stiff challenge in the form of intrusion of the colonial culture and ideology. So an attempt was being made to reinvigorate the traditional culture . All intrusions into the cultural realm were felt very intensely. So a defence of indigenous culture developed . So creation of an alternate cultural ideological system and the regeneration of the traditional institutions were the high point of 19th century reform movement.The perpetual social distinction on the basis of caste was strongly felt and it was called for urgent reform. It stopped the patriotic feelings to rise and negated democratic ideas. It was taken note that no reform would be complete without changes in the domestic condition. It was realized that no country could make significant progress whose women folk continues to remain ignorant and exploited. The reformers were aiming at modernization instead of Westernization. A blind

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imitation of the west was never promoted as part of the reform. We can say that the cultural –ideological struggle represented by the socio –religious refom movement were an integeral part of the evolution of national consciousness in this country. Out of this reform came a new India ready to take on the might of the British empire.

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 References: Bishop,D.H. 1982 Thinkers Of the Indian Renaissance ,New Delhi, Wiley Eastern

Chakrabarty, Bidyut and Rajendra Kumar Pandey. 2011 Modern Indian Political Thought,New Delhi, Sage India Publication Pvt. Ltd.

Chandra,Bipan. 1988 India’s Struggle for Independence New Delhi, Penguin India Pvt. Ltd.

Jones, Kenneth.1994 Socio Religious reform movement in British India, Cambridge , Cambridge University Press

Mukherjee, Subroto and Sushila Ramaswamy (ed) Political Science Annual 1994- 95,New Delhi, Deep And Deep.

Pantham, Thomas and Kenneth L. Deutsch (ed.) 2012 Political Thought In Modern India ,New Delhi, Sage Publications

Rai, Lajpat 1967 A history of the Arya Samaj ,New Delhi,Orient Longman

Mehta,V.R 2008 Foundations of Indian Political Thought New Delhi, Manohar

Webliography Aligarhmovement.com/sir_sayed www.ts-adyar.org

Ashutosh Kumar Jha Assistant Professor (Adhoc) Bhim Rao Ambedkar College University of Delhi

Phone:8826367035 Email: [email protected]

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi

Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi

DC-1

प्रथम :वषष सेमेस्टर-2

चार वषीय स्नातक प्रोग्राम : राजनननतक ववज्ञानं

ऩेऩर-3 : भारत मᴂ राष्ट्रवाद

ववषय: उꅍनीसवीं शता녍दी मᴂ भारत के प्रमुख सामाजजक और धा셍मकष सुधार आꅍदोऱन ऱेखक: प्रकाश कु मार ऩटेऱ

कॉऱेज/ववश्ववव饍याऱय: शोधाथी (राजनननतक ववज्ञानं ववभाग)

दद쥍ऱी ववश्ववव饍याऱय

1

 ववषय सूची:-

 ऩरयचम  19व ॊ शताब्दी भᴂ बायत की साभाजजक-धार्भिक जथथतत

 बायत भᴂ सुधाय की प्रक्रिमा  ब्रह्भ सभाज  आमि सभाज  प्राथिना सभाज

 अन्म ऩुन셁त्थानवादी आन्दोरन  थथमोसोक्रपकर सोसाइटी

 भुजथरभ सभाज सुधाय आन्दोरन  बायत के साभाजजक-धार्भिक आन्दोरनⴂ का आरोचनात्भक ऩयीऺण  तनष्कषि

2

19वीं शता녍दी मᴂ भारत के प्रमुख सामाजजक-धा셍मषक आꅍदोऱन

 ऩररचय:-

बायत शु셂 से ही एक ववववधताऩूण ि सभाज यहा है. महाॉ धभि,जातत, नजृ ातत,नथर,बाषा औय ऺेत्र के आधाय ऩय

व्माऩक ववववधताएॉ ऩाई जात हℂ. बायत म सभाज शु셂 से ही ऩयम्ऩयाओॊ, यीतत-रयवाजो औय भू쥍मⴂ ऩय आधारयत

सभाज यहा हℂ तथा मे ऩयम्ऩयाएॉ तत्कार्रन साभाजजक-धार्भकि भू쥍मⴂ ऩय आधारयत थ . तत्कारीन साभाजजक-धार्भिक

भू쥍म ब उस सभम के सभाज की आवश्मकता के अनु셂ऩ फनामे गमे थे हाराॉक्रक उनके तनधाियण भᴂ कु छ वगⴂ के

तनहहत थवाथ ि ब तछऩे हुए थे. इसके फावजूद बायत म सभाज एक तनजश्चत गतत से तनयॊतय आगे फढ़ता गमा क्मोक्रक

इस सभाज भᴂ ऐस सॊथथाएॊ औय ववर्बन्न ववचायधायाएॉ सदा से ही भौजूद यही हℂ; जो एक दसू ये ऩय प्रबाव औय

तनमॊत्रण यखत हℂ. बायत म सभाज भᴂ ऩाम जाने वारी कोई ववचायधाया मा भू쥍म अगय नैततकता औय व्मावहारयकता

ऩय आधारयत नही यहता तो महाॉ उसके ववऩयीत भत औय भू쥍मⴂ की गुॊजाइश हभेशा फन यहत है, क्मोक्रक बायत म

सॊथकृ तत भᴂ ववयोध ववचायⴂ औय भू쥍मⴂ के प्रतत सदा से ही सहहष्णुता औय आदय का बाव यहा हℂ. गौतभ फु,

भहाव य, तथा नाजथतकवादी चावािक के ववचायⴂ को ब बायत म सभाज भᴂ ऩमािप्त सम्भान औय ऩहचान र्भरा जफक्रक

उनका ववचाय सभाज की भुख्मधाया से अरग था. बायत भᴂ साभाजजक औय धार्भकि भाभरे सदा से ही एक दसू ये ऩय

आधारयत यहे हℂ. जहाॉ धभ ि अऩन वैधता के र्रए शु셂 से ही सभाज ऩय आधारयत यहा है; वही साभाजजक तनमभⴂ के

तनधाियण भᴂ धभ ि की प्रबाव बूर्भका यही है. चूक्रकॊ बायत म सभाज शु셂 से ही एक धभ ि प्रधान सभाज यहा है; अत्

साभाजजक तनमभ हभेशा धार्भकि भू쥍मⴂ ऩय आधारयत यहे हℂ. इसर्रए जफ ब बायत भᴂ साभाजजक सुधाय की फात की

जात है, तो भतरफ साप है क्रक धार्भकि सुधाय ब अतनवाम ि है, क्मोक्रक बफना धार्भकि भू쥍मⴂ औय ववश्वास को

ऩरयवततित क्रकमे साभाजजक ऩरयवतिन नही हो सकता. जफ साभाजजक औय धार्भकि भू쥍म सभम की आवश्मकताओॊ के

अनुसाय ऩरयवततति नही होत े तो वे 셂हढमⴂ का 셂ऩ रे रेत े हℂ औय सभाज को ववकास औय प्रगतत के भाग ि ऩय रे

जाने के र्रए मह आवश्मक हो जाता हℂ क्रक उन 셂हढमⴂ को इस प्रकाय ऩरयवततित क्रकमा जामे जजससे वे साभाजजक

ववकास भᴂ 셁कावट नही फनकय इसके वाहक फने.(अवस्थी 1976: 24)

 19वीं शता녍दी मᴂ भारत की सामाजजक-धा셍मषक जस्थनत और उसऩर राजनननतक प्रभाव:-

3

18व ॊ शताब्दी के उत्तयाध ि भᴂ जफ अॊग्रेज बायत भᴂ अऩना ऩैय जभा चुके थे; बायत म सभाज एक नए प्रकाय की सोच

भᴂ ढरने रगा. भध्मकारीन ऩयम्ऩयाएॉ व यीतत-रयवाज अऩने प्रबाव खोने रगᴂ क्मोक्रक वेफदरते सभाज की

आवश्मकता के अनुसाय नही फदर यहे थे औय वे सभाज भᴂ जड़ फन गमे. अत् उन्हᴂ ऩरयवततित कय सभाज को

आधुतनक भू쥍मⴂ व ववचायधाया ऩय आधारयत कयने के र्रए अनेक भहाऩु셁षⴂ ने उन साभाजजक-धार्भिक रयवाजⴂ भᴂ

सुधाय का फ ड़ा उठामा औय धार्भकि - साभाजजक भू쥍मⴂ की सही औय प्रासॊथगक व्माख्मा प्रथतुत की. इस साभाजजक-

धार्भकि सुधाय की प्रक्रिमा भᴂ जहाॉ कु छ भहाऩु셁षⴂ ने सभाज के गरत व अवैऻातनक ऩयम्ऩयाओॊ की आरोचना की

औय उनभे सुधाय की आवश्मकता फताई; वही कु छ वव饍वानⴂ ने धभ ि औय सभाज के अ楍छे भू쥍मⴂ औय ऩयम्ऩयाओॊ को

उबायकय धभि को प्रततथथावऩत क्रकमा. साभाजजक सुधाय की इस प्रक्रिमा ऩय बब्रहटश शासन का ब प्रबाव ऩड़ा क्मोक्रक

उनके आने के फाद कु छ बायत म रोग मूयोऩ म आधुतनक सॊथकृ तत से अवगत हुए औय बायत भᴂ आधुतनक र्शऺा का

प्रसाय हुआ. 19व ॊ शताब्दी भᴂ बायत भᴂ साभाजजक-धार्भकि सुधाय आन्दोरनⴂ की एक श्ॊखृ रा शु셂 हुई जजसका उेश्म

बायत म सभाज को आधुतनक भू쥍मⴂ के के अनु셂ऩ ढारना था. मे सुधाय आन्दोरन औऩतनवेर्शक बायत भᴂ उबय यहे

भध्मभ वगि की फढ़त साभाजजक आकाॊऺाओॊ की अर्बव्मजक्त थे. 19व शताब्दी तक बायत म सभाज भᴂ पैरे धार्भिक

व साभाजजक अॊधववश्वासⴂ, 셂हढमⴂ औय असभानता की प्रवजृ त्तमⴂ को बब्रहटश सयकाय के आने के फाद उबये बायत म

भध्मभ वग ि ने जो आधुतनक र्शऺा औय ववचायⴂ से ऩरयऩूण ि हो गमा था; ने एक कहठन चुनौत ऩेश की. उसने

साभाजजक व धार्भिक सयॊचनाओॊ को सभानता, थवतॊत्रता व न्माम के आधुतनक भू쥍मⴂ के अनु셂ऩ ढारने के र्रए

आन्दोरनⴂ का सहाया रेना शु셂 क्रकमा.

बायत म सभाज भᴂ प्रभुख सभथमा भहहराओॊ की सभाज भᴂ दमन म जथथतत को रेकय थ . 19व ॊ शताब्दी के बायत म

सभाज भᴂ भहहराएॊ सत प्रथा, कन्मा फार्रका हत्मा, फार वववाह औय ववधवाओॊ के वववाह ऩय योक जैस अनेक

शोषणकायी ऩयम्ऩयाओॊ औय यीतत-रयवाजⴂ की र्शकाय थ .इसके अरावे उन्हᴂ ऩदाि प्रथा औय श र यऺा जैस खोखरी

नैततकता की ऩरयथध भᴂ अऩना ज वन व्मत त कयना ऩड़ता था. झूठी प्रततष्ठा औय खोखरी ऩयम्ऩयाओॊ की यऺा के

नाभ ऩय बायत म सभाज भᴂ भहहराओॊ के ऊऩय अनेक प्रकाय की फॊहदशे औय प्रततफन्ध रगाए गमे थे औय उन्हᴂ घय

की चायदीवायी के अन्दय कैद होकय यहना ऩड़ता था. इससे उनके ज वन के ववकास की गतत 셁क गम थ . अत्

भहहराओॊ को झूठी औय तकि हीन ऩयम्ऩयाओॊ से भुक्त कय उन्हᴂ सभाज की भुख्म धाया भᴂ शार्भर कयने के र्रए

19व ॊ शताब्दी भᴂ अनेक सभाज सुधायक आगे आए. इनभे से ब्रह्भ सभाज, आमि सभाज, प्राथिना सभाज, अरीगढ

आन्दोरन, र्सहॊ सबा इत्माहद प्रभुख थे. इन सॊगठनⴂ ने जहाॉ एक तयप भहहराओॊ के खखराप होने वारे अभानुवषक

4

व्मवहायⴂ औय शोषण की प्रवतृ त का ववयोध क्रकमा वही दसू यी तयप इसने बायत म सभाज भᴂ पै रे जाततवाद औय

छु आछु त के आधाय ऩय होने वारे बेदबाव व असभानताओॊ के वव셁 ब आवाज़ उठाई औय इन ऩयम्ऩयाओॊ को

धार्भिक व वैऻातनक आधाय ऩय गरत ठहयामा. बायत भᴂ सभाज औय धभि हभेशा से एक-दसू ये से जुड़ े यहे हℂ औय

महाॉ की साभाजजक ऩयम्ऩयाएॉ औय 셁हढमⴂ का आधाय धार्भिक व्माख्मा है; अत् साभाजजक ऩरयवतनि औय सुधाय के

र्रए मह अतत आवश्मक था क्रक धार्भकि भू쥍मⴂ औय भान्मताओॊ की सही व तकि ऩूण ि व्माख्मा की जामे ताक्रक उसके

आधाय ऩय सभाज भᴂ वाॊतछत सुधाय रामे जा सके . इसके र्रए धार्भकि ऺेत्र भᴂ पै री अनेक फुयाइमⴂ व अॊधववश्वासⴂ

मथा-भूतत ि ऩूजा, देवदास प्रथा, फहुदेववाद औय धार्भकि 셁हढ़वावाहदता का अॊत कय धभ ि को तकि श र फनाना अतत

आवश्मक था. जफ अॊग्रेज बायत भᴂ आमे तो उन्हⴂने एक वैऻातनक व तकि ऩूण ि र्शऺा प्रणारी को देश भᴂ रागु क्रकमा

ताक्रक उन्हᴂ एक अॊग्रेज र्शक्षऺतभध्मभ वगि र्भर सके जो उनकी प्रशासतनक काभ-काज भᴂ सहामता कय सके . बायत

भᴂ अॊग्रेज र्शऺा का प्रबाव मह हुआ क्रक कु छ इने-थगने रोग ही सही ऩय एक वगि भᴂ ऩजश्चभ वैऻातनक ववचायⴂ का

प्रसाय हुआ औय वे अऩने सभाज के भान्मताओॊ व भू쥍मⴂ का ऩजश्चभ रोकताजन्त्रक ऩयम्ऩयाओॊ के साथ तुरना कयने

रगे. इससे उन्हᴂ अऩने सभाज भᴂ पै री 셁हढवाहदता औय खोखरी ऩयम्ऩयाओॊ का ऻान हुआ जो भूरत् कु छ वगⴂ

饍वाया अन्म वऩछड़ वगⴂ के शोषण ऩय आधारयत थ औय कु छ ववर्शष्ट वगⴂ की थवाथऩि ूतत ि का साधन थे. ऩजश्चभ

रोकताजन्त्रक भू쥍मⴂ मथा- थवतॊत्रता, सभानता,न्माम औय फॊधुता के बायत के कु छ ऩढ़े-र्रखे वगⴂ के भध्म प्रसाय होने

से बायत म जनता ऩय इसका भहत्वऩूण ि प्रबाव ऩड़ा. कु छ ववचायकⴂ ने बायत म सभाज भᴂ इन भू쥍मⴂ को थथावऩत

कयने के र्रए सुधाय आन्दोरनⴂ का सहाया र्रमा. इन भू쥍मⴂ को बायत म सभाज भᴂ थथावऩत कयने के र्रए सयकाय

饍वाया उऩमुक्त ववधाम सहमोग की आवश्मकता थ .

बब्रहटश सयकाय बायत म साभाजजक औय धार्भिक भाभरⴂ भᴂ अनेक कायणⴂ से हथतऺेऩ नही कय यही थ. ऩहरा इस

कायण क्रक वे जानफूझ कय बायत म साभाजजक व धार्भकि भू쥍मⴂ को मथावत यखना चाहत थ ; जजससे क्रक उन्हᴂ

अऩन सॊथकृ तत व भू쥍मⴂ को उ楍च औय बायत म सॊथकृ तत व भू쥍मⴂ को तनम्न हदखाने का भौका र्भरता था औय

इस के आधाय ऩय वे बायत मⴂ को सभ्म फनाने के तकि का सहाया रेकय अऩन शासन को वैधता प्रदान कयते थे.

इसके अततरयक्त इसाई र्भर्सनयी जानफूझ कय बायत म सभाज को न चा हदखने चाहत े थे ताक्रक हहन्द ू धभ ि की

फुयाइमⴂ को फढ़ा-चढ़ा कय हदखाने औय उसे शोषण ऩय आधारयत हदखने से तनम्नवगीम जनता को ईसाइमत की तयप

भोड़ा जा सके . अॊग्रेज सयकाय बायत म साभाजजक व धार्भकि भू쥍मⴂ भᴂ इस कायण से ब कोई हथतऺेऩ औय सुधाय

कामििभ नही चरा यही थ ; क्मोक्रक उसे बम था क्रक ऐसा कयने से उसे उ楍च वगीम 셂हढ़वादी रोगⴂ के ववद्रोह व

5

असॊतोष का साभना कयना ऩड़ सकता था. औय अऩने शासन के प्रायॊर्बक दौय भᴂ वह ऐसे क्रकस साभाजजक व

धार्भिक प्रततयोध का साभना नही कयना चाहत थ जो उसके शासन के र्रए खतया ऩैदा कये. इस र्रए बब्रहटश

सयकाय बायत भᴂ एक ऐसे देश वगि का उदम चाहत थ ; जो आगे फढ़कय सभाज भᴂ पै री कु यीततमⴂ व शोषण के

खखराप आवाज उठा सके ताक्रक उनके भाॊग के अनु셂ऩ सयकाय सुधाय की प्रक्रिमा शु셂 कय सके . अगय अॊग्रेज सयकाय

खुद ऩहर कय साभाजजक व धार्भकि सुधाय कयने का प्रमास कयत तो बायत के 셂हढ़वादी फहुत आसान से बब्रहटश

सयकाय 饍वाया बायत म सभाज भᴂ हथतऺेऩ फताकय जनता को इसके खखराप गोरफॊद कय सकते थे. इस र्रए न

र्सपि सयकाय ने क्रकस ब प्रकाय के साभाजजक औय धार्भकि हथतऺेऩ से खुद को दयु यख फज쥍क मूयोवऩमन ईसाई

र्भशनरयमⴂ को ब बायत भᴂ धभ ि प्रचाय कयने की अनुभतत नही दी. रेक्रकन इसाई र्भर्सनयी बायत भᴂ चुऩके -चुऩके

धभि प्रचाय कयते यहे. चा쥍सि ग्राॊट जैसे अॊग्रेज का भानना था क्रक बायत भᴂ अॊग्रेजⴂ का वाथतववक वचिथव ऩजश्चभ के

उन श्ेष्ठतय नैततक ज वनभू쥍मⴂ के प्रमत्न से ही सॊबव था, जो उसके इसाई ववयासत भᴂ व्मक्त हो यहे थे. उसके

अनुसाय बायत म जनता भᴂ इसाई धभ ि के भू쥍मⴂ को सभाहहत कयने से जनता 饍वाया बब्रहटश सयकाय के वव셁 ववद्रोह

की सॊबावना कापी कभ हो सकत थ , क्मोक्रक मह भूर जनता को उसके फहुदेववादी हहन्द ू धभ ि से भुक्त कयत औय

उसको उऩतनवेशवाद की आत्भसात ऩरयमोजना का अॊग फनात .(ववश्वनाथन 1989 : 71-74)

भारत मᴂ सुधार की प्रक्रिया:- बायत भᴂ अॊग्रेज र्शऺा को प्रोत्साहहत कयने की हदशा भᴂ ऩहरा प्रमास 1813 के चाटिय एक्ट के जरयमे क्रकमा गमा.

इस एक्ट के 饍वाया जहाॉ एक तयप इसाई र्भशनरयमⴂ को बायत भᴂ धभ ि प्रसाय कयने की अनुभतत प्रदान की गम ;

वही दसू यी तयप ऩहरी फाय र्शऺा के र्रए एक तनजश्चत यार्श प्रदान की गम . र्शऺा के र्रए फजट प्रदान कयने के

दो उेश्म थे--ऩहरा क्रक इसके 饍वाया सयकाय र्शक्षऺत बायत मⴂ को र्शक्षऺत कय बायत म साहहत्म भᴂ सुधाय को

प्रोत्साहहत कयना चाहत थ औय दसू या, उनभᴂ आधुतनक वैऻातनक ऻान को फढ़ावा देना चाहत थ .(घोष 1995 : 20)

इस उेश्म को प्राप्त कयने के र्रए सयकाय ने देश के ववर्बन्न बागⴂ भᴂ सयकायी थकू र खोरने प्रायम्ब कय हदए. इस

कड़ भᴂ इसाई र्भशनरयमⴂ औय डवे वड हेमय जैसे मूयोऩ म ने बायत के सब बागⴂ भᴂ थकू र खोरने आयम्ब कय हदए,

जहाॉ अॊग्रेज र्शऺा का भाध्मभ फन गम. उसके फाद करकत्ता थकू र फुक सोसाइटी औय क्रपय करकत्ता थकू र

सोसाइटी ने प्राथर्भक र्शऺा के र्रए देश बाषाओँ के थकू र खोरने आयम्ब कय हदए. रेक्रकन सयकाय 饍वाया

वैऻातनक र्शऺा के प्रसाय कयने के थथान ऩय सॊथकृ त जैस बाषा को प्रोत्साहहत कयने की न तत का याजा याभभोहन

याम जैसे सुधायवाहदमⴂ ने ववयोध क्रकमा औय इसे सभाज को ऩ छे रे जाने वारे कदभ के 셂ऩ भᴂ देखा. उन्हⴂने इसके

6

खखराप बायत के गवनिय जनयर को एक ऻाऩन सौऩा औय बायत भᴂ अॊग्रेज औय ऩजश्चभ र्शऺा को प्रसारयत कयने

की गुजारयश की. अॊग्रेज सयकाय ने उनके ऻाऩन का सकायात्भक जवाफ हदमा औय गवनिय जनयर राडि ववर्रमभ

फᴂहटगॊ ने राड ि भैकारे के नेतत्ृ व भᴂ र्शऺा ऩय एक सर्भतत का गठन क्रकमा. सर्भतत ने बायत भᴂ र्शऺा के प्रसाय ऩय

एक खाका ख ॊच औय बायत मⴂ भᴂ अॊग्रेज भाध्मभ से र्शऺा के प्रसाय ऩय फर हदमा. उसका तकि था क्रक ऐस र्शऺा

हभाये औय हभाये 饍वाया शार्सत कयोड़ो व्मजक्तमⴂ के फ च भᴂ ऐसे व्मजक्तमⴂ का एक वगि ऩैदा कयेग , जो खून औय

यॊग भᴂ बायत म भगय 셁थचमⴂ औय ववचायⴂ भᴂ, नैततकता औय फुव भᴂ अॊग्रेज हⴂगे. इसप्रकाय 셂हढ़वादी बायत मⴂ के

घोय ववयोध के फावजूद ब सयकाय ने भैकारे के प्रथताव को भॊजूयी दे दी.सव्मसाच बट्टाचाम ि के अनुसाय बायत भᴂ

ऐस नई र्शऺा व्मवथथा का आयम्ब हुई जजसभे ऻान के सजृ न का काभ तो भार्रक देश को सौऩा गमा, जफक्रक

उसके ऩुन셁त्थान, दोहयाव औय प्रसाय का काभ उऩतनवेश की जनता को सौऩा हदमा गमा. इसतयह बायत भᴂ एक ऐस

र्शऺा प्रणारी की शु셁आत हुई जजसने साभाजजक व धार्भकि सुधाय की ऩष्ृ ठबूर्भ तैमाय की. साभाजजक औय धार्भिक

सुधाय की मह प्रक्रिमा के वर हहन्द ू धभ ि भᴂ ही नही फज쥍क मह भुजथरभ, र्सख औय अन्म धभⴂ भᴂ ब शु셂

हुई.(भट्टाचायष 1998: 7)

सुधायवादी आन्दोरन हहन्दओु ॊ औय भुसरभानⴂ दोनⴂ भᴂ हुए ऩय दोनⴂ ही जाततमⴂ के सुधायकⴂ भᴂ कोई भैतक्म नही

था. हहन्द ू औय भुजथरभ सुधायकⴂ भᴂ कई गुट थे, जजनभᴂ एक तयप तो वे रोग थे जो वव쥍कु र कट्टय थे औय मह

कहते थे क्रक ऩरयवतिन कभ से कभ होना चाहहए, दसू यी तयप वे रोग थे जो सायी ऩयम्ऩयाओॊ को तोड़ कय

आधुतनकता के दामये भᴂ प्रवेश कयने के र्रए आतुय थे. इन सब ऩय प्रत्मऺ मा ऩयोऺ 셂ऩ से ऩजश्चभ प्रबाव ऩड़

चुका था. इसभᴂ वे रोग ब आ जाते थे, जो ऩयॊऩया प्रेभ थे, क्मोक्रक उनऩय ब मुग का प्रबाव ऩड़ा था. अग्रगाभ

उदाय गुटⴂ भᴂ भहान व्मजक्त थे, जैसे हहन्दओु ॊ भᴂ याजा याभभोहन याम, देवेन्द्रनाथ ठाकु य, केशवचॊद्र सेन, यानाडे,

ईश्वयचॊद्र वव饍मासागय औय भुसरभानⴂ भᴂ सैमद अहभद खाॊ, अभ य अरी, औय भुहम्भद इकफार. जो रोग प्राच न

ऩयॊऩया के बक्त थे, उनभᴂ से हहन्दओु ॊ भᴂ थवाभ दमानॊद सयथवत , याभकृ ष्ण ऩयभहॊस, वववेकानॊद औय फॊक्रकभचॊद्र

औय भुसरभानⴂ भᴂ अहरे हदीस औय अहरे कु यान औय काहदमान जैसे सम्प्रदामⴂ के अनुमाम थे. इन धार्भिक-

साभाजजक आन्दोरनⴂ ने देश भᴂ फुववादी 饃जष्टकोण उत्ऩन्न कय हदमा. कट्टय ऩयम्ऩयावादी रोगⴂ के 셁ख भᴂ ब मह

ऩरयवतिन आमा क्रक बफना सोचे-सभझ े रीक ऩ टने के फतनथऩत मुजक्त औय तकि से अऩने ववचायⴂ का, ऩयम्ऩयाओॊ का

सभथिन क्रकमा जाए. फुववादी 饃जष्टकोण औय तकि वप्रमता के परथव셂ऩ आधुतनक धभ-ि तनयऩेऺ थचॊतन सशक्त 셂ऩ भᴂ

आगे फढा औय सम्ऩूण ि बायत से एक नई क्रपजा ऩैदा हुई.

7

इसप्रकाय १९ व ॊ शताब्दी भᴂ ऩजश्चभ अॊग्रेज र्शऺा के प्रसाय के परथव셂ऩ जजस आधुतनक र्शऺा का प्रसाय हुआ

उससे ऩैदा हुए फुवज व वग ि ने देश भᴂ साभाजजक औय धार्भकि सुधाय आन्दोरन का नेतत्ृ व क्रकमा. इन आन्दोरनⴂ

को नेतत्ृ व देने भᴂ कु छ सॊगठनⴂ औय व्मजक्तमⴂ का भहत्वऩूण ि मोगदान था जजनका हभ अध्ममन आगे कयेगे.

 ब्रह्म समाज:-

याजा याभभोहन याम. Source-http://www.google.co.in

बायत भᴂ सभाज सुधाय की हदशा भᴂ सफसे ऩहरा औय प्रबाव कदभ याजा याभभोहन याम के नेतत्ृ व वारे ब्रह्भ

सभाज ने उठामा. याजा याभभोहन याम ब्राह्भण कु र भᴂ ऩैदा हुए ऩजश्चभ र्शऺा प्राप्त व्मजक्त थे. ब्राह्भण कु र भᴂ

जन्भ रेने के कायण उन्हⴂने कभकि ाॊडो औय धार्भकि कु यीततमⴂ को फहुत नजदीक से देखा था. अत् वे उसकी

तकिहीनता से वाक्रकप थे. याजा याभभोहन याम ने धभ ि की स楍च व्माख्मा प्रथतुत कय धार्भकि कभकि ाॊडⴂ का ऩदािपाश

क्रकमा औय उन्हᴂधभि के तनमभⴂ के ववऩयीत फतरामा. बायत भᴂ धभि औय सभाज के फ च के सम्फन्धⴂ के भहत्व को

सभझत े हुए उन्हⴂने सभाज भᴂ शोषण औय असभानता का कायण कु छ तनहहत थवाथⴂ 饍वाया धभ ि की गरत व्माख्मा

को भाना. अत् उन्हⴂने व्मजक्त औयधभि के फ च के बफचौर्रमⴂ को सभाप्त कयने का फ ड़ा उठामा ताक्रक आभ

जनता खुद धभ ि के र्सान्तⴂ औय भू쥍मⴂ से अवगत हो सके . यववन्द्रनाथ ठाकु य के अनुसाय “ याजा याभभोहन याम ने

ऩूव ि को हीन भाने बफना ही ऩजश्चभ का सन्देश थव काय कयने के र्रए अनुप्रेरयत क्रकमा.” वह प्रथभ बायत म थे

जजन्हⴂने बायत भᴂ सुधायवादी आन्दोरनⴂ का सूत्रऩात क्रकमा औय बववष्म के ब तय 饃जष्ट डारकय देखा क्रक जजतन

ज쥍दी बायत का आधुतनकीयण हो जामे उतना ही अ楍छा होगा.

याभभोहन याम 饍वाया थथावऩत ब्रह्भ सभाज बायत म सॊथकृ तत के ऩववत्र कयण की हदशा भᴂ ऩहरा भहान कदभ था.

इस सभाज ने नथर, जातत, औय धभ ि के बेदबावⴂ से ऊऩय उठत े हुए एके श्वयवाद ऩय फर हदमा औय उऩासना के

र्रए क्रकस प्रततभा, भूतत ि तथा कभकि ाॊडⴂ को तनवष ठहयामा. इसने फार वववाह का ववयोध क्रकमा औय ववधवा वववाह

8

का सभथिन कयने के साथ-साथ कन्मा व वय वविम, कन्मा वध, सत -प्रथा आहद साभाजजक दोषⴂ के वव셁 एक

प्रफर आन्दोरन खड़ा क्रकमा. इससे सभाज भᴂ पैरी तकिहीन व 셁हढ़वादी ऩयम्ऩयाओॊ के खखराप एक जन-जाग셂कता

कामभ हुई औय शासन ऩय ब इन फुयाइमⴂ को कानून के 饍वाया प्रततफॊथधत कयने का दफाव फढ़ा. राडि ववर्रमभ

फᴂहटगॊ को जजस सफसे फड़ साभाजजक सुधाय के र्रए जाना जाता है; वह सत प्रथा थ . उस सत प्रथा ऩय प्रततफन्ध

याजायाभभोहन याम के प्रमासⴂ से ही सॊबव हो ऩामा. क्मोक्रक उन्हⴂने इस साभाजजक फुयाई के खखराप जनभत तैमाय

क्रकमा जजससे सयकाय को इसके खखराप तनमभ फनाने औय इसे प्रततफॊथधत कयने भᴂ सहामता र्भरी. सत प्रथा बायत

भᴂ प्राच न कार से ही चरी आ यही थ . इसका तात्ऩम ि क्रकस भतृ ऩतत के च त े ऩय ववधवा ऩत्न का जजन्दा जर

जाना था. भुगरकार भᴂ मह प्रथा बायत के के वर कु छ बागⴂ- भुख्मत् याजथथान के याजऩुताना याजघयाने तथा

दक्षऺण बायत के ववजमनगय साम्रा煍म तक स र्भत थ; रेक्रकन फाद के सभम भᴂ मह देश के उन बागⴂ भᴂ ब फ़ैर

गम , जहाॉ ववकास की दय सफसे अथधक थ . अथाित याजधान करकत्ता औय आसऩास के जजरⴂ भᴂ मह न केवर

सवणि जाततमⴂ भᴂ, फज쥍क तनचरी औय भझोरी जाततमⴂ भᴂ ब फ़ैर गम . तनचरी औय भझोरे जाततमⴂ के रोग इस

प्रथा को अऩनाकय अऩने औय उ楍च जाततमⴂ के भध्म के अॊतय को ऩटना चाहते थे .(शेखर 2006: 147) इस

सभाजशाथत्र म कायण के अरावा, एक आदशि ऩत्न को ज वन भत्ृ मु दोनⴂ भᴂ अऩने ऩतत की सहचयी भानने वारी

धायणा के अततरयक्त एक औय कायण रयश्तेदायⴂ का रोब ब था.सफसे ऩहरे इस प्रथा ऩय इसाई र्भशनरयमⴂ ने कठोय

हभरे क्रकमे औय इसे हहन्द ू सभाज के 셂हढवाहदता की ऩयाकाष्ठा के 셂ऩ भᴂ ऩरयबावषत क्रकमा. रेक्रकन इस कु यीतत ऩय

सफसे प्रबाव हभरा याजा याभभोहन याम के नेतत्ृ व भᴂ उत्ऩन्न हुए एक जोयदाय उन्भूरनवादी आन्दोरन ने क्रकमा.

जजसने बब्रहटश सयकाय को इस अभानुवषक प्रथा को प्रततफॊथधत कयने के र्रए फाध्म कय हदमा.

गवनिय जनयर फᴂहटॊग ने एक सयकायी आदेश 饍वाया इस प्रथा को 1829 भᴂ प्रततफॊथधत कय हदमा. रेक्रकन इस

प्रततफन्ध के फाद सत प्रथा की घटनाओॊ भᴂ जहाॉ धये-ध ये कभ आई, वही ऩजश्चभ र्शऺा प्राप्त भध्म वगⴂ की

आधुतनकतावादी सभारोचना औय उऩतनवेश प्रशासन के सुधाय के उत्साह के फावजूद रोक भानस भᴂ सत के ववचाय

औय र्भथक की जगह फन यही. इसके अरावे ब्रह्भ सबा ने हहन्द ू सभाज भᴂ प्रचर्रत छु आछु त तथा अथऩश्ृ मता को

दयू कयने का फड़ा प्रमत्न क्रकमा औय सभता के र्साॊत का प्रततऩादन कय के राखⴂ रोगⴂ को इसाई धभ ि अऩनाने से

योका. इसने जाततवाद के फॊधन को तोड़ने के प्रमास के साथ अॊतयजात म वववाह का सभथिन क्रकमा. इसप्रकाय ब्रह्भ

सभाज ने हहन्द ू जातत की ववर्बन्न साभाजजक फुयाइमⴂ ऩय कठोय प्रहाय कयत े हुए उसभᴂ नव-चेतना राने का प्रमास

क्रकमा.

9

जैसा क्रक हभ जान चुके हℂ क्रक बायत भᴂ साभाजजक तनमभ धार्भकि भू쥍मⴂ के आधाय ऩय तनधािरयत होत े हℂ; अत् धभि

के तनमभⴂ भᴂ ऩरयवतनि रामे बफना सभाज भᴂ उऩमुक्त ऩरयवतनि नही रामे जा सकत.े इस फात को ध्मान भᴂ यखते

हुए याजा याभभोहन याम के नेतत्ृ व वारे ब्रह्भ सभाज ने ववर्बन्न धार्भकि आडम्फयⴂ मथा- भूतत-ि ऩूजा, अनेकेश्वयवाद

एवॊ जाततमⴂ की कट्टयता के वव셁 आवाज़ उठाई. इसने फहुदेववाद औय भूततऩि ूजा जैस प्रथाओॊ को धभ ि के र्सान्तⴂ

के ववऩयीत फतरात े हुए इसे सभाज भᴂ भानव म एकता के भाग ि भᴂ फाधक भाना. याजा याभभोहन याम ने वेदाॊत

एकेश्वयवाद का अध्ममन क्रकमा 1815 भᴂ करकत्ता आकय फसने के फाद इसाई एकसत्तावाद से उनका ऩरयचम हुआ.

ऐसे फौवक प्रबावⴂ ने उनको ईसाइमत की श्ेष्ठता के र्भशनयी दावⴂ को चुनौत देने के र्रए प्रेरयत क्रकमा; उनका

उत्तय फुव की यौशन भᴂ हहन्द ू धभ ि का सुधाय कयना था औय इसके र्रए उन्हⴂने उसके शु 셂ऩ का सहाया र्रमा

जो वेदाॊत ग्रॊथो भᴂ ऩामा जाता था. उन्हⴂने भूतत-ि ऩूजा, ऩुयोहहत औय फहुदेववाद की तनदॊ ा की औय फाॊग्रा भᴂ उऩतनषदⴂ

का अनुवाद मह हदखाने के र्रए क्रकमा क्रक प्राच न हहन्द ू ग्रॊथ थवमॊ ब एके श्वयवाद के प्रचायक थे.(सरकार 1981: 5-6)

ब्रह्भ सभाज एकेश्वयवाद भᴂ इसर्रए ववश्वास कयता था; क्मोक्रक इसके 饍वाया सभाज भᴂ एकता राम जा सकत थ.

इसने देवदास प्रथा; जो भहहराओॊ के शोषण ऩय आधारयत थ का घोय ववयोध क्रकमा. धभि की उदाय व्माख्मा कयने

के साथ-साथ इसने व्मजक्त औय बगवान के भध्म क्रकस ब प्रकाय के बफचौर्रमⴂ की अवधायणा को नकायत े हुए

इसने जनता को स धे धभ ि ग्रॊथⴂ भᴂ हदए गमे तनमभⴂ के अनुसाय आचयण कयने को प्रोत्साहहत क्रकमा.

1833 भᴂ याम के भत्ृ मु के फाद ब्रह्भ सभाज का नेतत्ृ व देवेन्द्र नाथ ठाकु य ने सॊबारा औय उसे एक फेहतय साॊगठतनक

ढाॊच े औय वैचारयक स-ु सॊगतत से रैस क्रकमा. रेक्रकन इस आन्दोरन को करकत्ता के ऩढ़े-र्रखे रोगⴂ के स र्भत

कु रीन वगⴂ से फाहय तनकार कय वाथतव भᴂ उसे ऩूवी फॊगार के कथफⴂ तक रे जाने का काम ि 1860 के दशक भᴂ

ववजमकृ ष्ण गोथवाभ औय के शवचॊद्र सेन ने क्रकमा. गोथवाभ ने ब्रह्भ-र्साॊत औय वैष्णववाद की रोकवप्रम धार्भिक

ऩयम्ऩया की खाई को ऩाटा, जफक्रक सेन ने अऩना ध्मान भुख्मत् गॊगा के ऩूवी भैदानⴂ की ओय ऩजश्चभ यॊग से

प्रबाववत फॊगार्रमⴂ की औय ब फड़ सॊख्मा तक ऩहुचने तथा आन्दोरन को फॊगार से फाहय, दसू ये बायत म प्रान्तⴂ

तक रे जाने ऩय केजन्द्रत क्रकमा.(जोन1994:4् )

इसप्रकाय याजा याभभोहन याम एवॊ अन्म ब्रह्भसभाज नेताओॊ के नेतत्ृ व भᴂ ब्रह्भ सभाज ने बायत मⴂ भᴂ नम चते ना

जागतृ की औय देश को याष्रीमता के ववकास-ऩथ ऩय फढामा. के शवचॊद्र सेन के नेतत्ृ व भᴂ ब्रह्भ सभाज ने वैमजक्तगत

थवतॊत्रता तथा साभाजजक सभानता का नमा भन्त्र पूॊ का औय इसका हभायी र्शशु याष्रीमता की बावना एवॊ त셁ण

फॊगार के नव याजन ततक ज वन औय आकाॊऺाओॊ ऩय गहया प्रबाव ऩड़ा. अऩने गोये याजन ततक प्रबुओॊ की श्ेष्ठता

10

थव काय कयने की जगह, हभाये र्शक्षऺत देशवार्समⴂ भᴂ एक नए आत्भववश्वास के थचहन 饃जष्टगोचय हुए. ब्रह्भसभाज

ने चाहे सॊख्मा की 饃जष्ट से कोई सयाहन म सपरता नही ऩाई तथावऩ सभाज सुधाय के आन्दोरनⴂ ऩय उसका प्रबाव

फहुत अथधक यहा तथा देशबजक्त की बावना को उत्ऩन्न कयने भᴂ, याष्रीमता का प्रसाय कयने भᴂ उसने प्रभुख बूर्भका

तनबाई. मह वाथतव भᴂ दबु ािग्म की फात थ क्रक काराॊतय भᴂ ब्रह्भ सभाज के नेताओॊ भᴂ भतबेद फढ़ जाने से इसके

प्रबाव को गहयी ठेस ऩहुॊच . अत् नव न सॊथथाओॊ का जन्भ हुआ जजन्हⴂने मवऩ बायत म याष्रीम काॊग्रेस को फड़-े फड़े

नेता प्रदान क्रकमे, रेक्रकन उनका प्रबाव जनता ऩय नगण्म यहा औय उनके 饍वाया याष्रीम भुⴂ ऩय होने वारी फैठकᴂ

अॊग्रेज ऩढ़े-र्रखे रोगⴂ की गोजष्ठमाॊ फनकय यह गम .

 आयष समाज :-

ब्रह्भ सभाज के सभान आम ि सभाज ब ब एक दसू या धार्भकि आन्दोरन था जजसने बववष्म की याजन तत ऩय एक

अर्भट छाऩ छोड़ . आमि सभाज फताता था क्रक ऻान औय प्रकाश के र्रए बायत को ऩजश्चभ दशिन की ओय नही,

फज쥍क वेदⴂ की ओय देखना चाहहए. मह वेदⴂ को वैऻातनक ऻान का स楍चा श्ोत भानता है. ब्रह्भ सभाज की तयह

आमि सभाज ब ईसाई धभि प्रचाय औय धभि-ऩरयवतनि के वव셁 एक चुनौत फनकय आमा.

आमि सभाज की थथाऩना 1875 भᴂ थवाभ दमानॊद सयथवत ने की. थवाभ दमानॊद की भान्मता थ क्रक महद बायत म

वेदⴂ के अनुसाय अऩना आॊचयण कयने की आदत डार रे तो उनकी हीनता की बावना जात यहेग औय एक प्रफर

आत्भ-ववश्वास उनभᴂ जागतृ होगा.आमि सभाज ने मह र्स कयने का प्रमास क्रकमा क्रक वैहदक धभि ही सविश्ेष्ठ हℂ.

सभम के साथ-साथ आम ि सभाज र्शक्षऺत उत्साही मुवकⴂ का कᴂ द्र फनता गमा औय इस सॊथथा ने देश की बाव

याजन तत को कई अ楍छे नेता ब हदए. आम ि सभाज आधुतनक बायत के सुधाय-आन्दोरन भᴂ सफसे अथधक

शजक्तशारी एवॊ प्रबावशारी आन्दोरन साबफत हुआ. ऩजश्चभ की आॊध से सवथि ा अप्रबाववत औय हहन्द ू सभाज के

ऩुन셁त्थान के र्रए कहटफॊ आम ि सभाज ने बायत म जन-ज वन के ववर्बन्न ऺेत्रⴂ भᴂ फहुत ही भहत्वऩूण ि बूर्भका

अदा की. इसने फार-वववाह, अॊध-셂हढवाहदता, अर्शऺा, ऩदाि-प्रथा, छु आछू त तथा सभुद्र मात्रा-तनषेध के वव셁 आवाज़

11

फुरॊद की एवॊ ववधवा वववाह तथा थत्र -र्शऺा को प्रोत्साहहत क्रकमा. थवाभ दमानॊद ने हहन्दओु ॊ को अऩने प्राच न धभ ि

की माद हदराकय थवावरॊफ फनाने का प्रमास क्रकमा. आम ि सभाज के प्रमत्नⴂ से ही हहन्द ू धभ ि ववर्बन्न आघातⴂ से

फच ऩामा. थवाभ दमानॊद ने सत -प्रथा को ऩाऩ औय िू यता फतरात े हुए सभाज भᴂ जथत्रमⴂ की सभानता ऩय फर

हदमा. उन्हⴂने घोषणा की क्रक वेदⴂ के अध्ममन-अध्माऩन का अथधकाय जथत्रमⴂ को ब उतना ही होना चाहहए जजतना

क्रक ऩु셁षⴂ को.

आम ि सभाज ने हहन्दओु ॊ भᴂ प्रचर्रत सम्प्रदामवाद, भत-भतान्तयⴂ, भूतत-ि ऩूजा, श्ा, जातत-ऩाॊतत, अथऩश्ृ मता, कन्मा-

वध, कन्मा औय वय-वविम इत्माहद का घोय ववयोध कयत े हुए वैहदक धभ ि तथा प्राच न आम ि सभ्मता के ऩुन셁त्थान

का बाग यथ प्रमास क्रकमा. आम ि सभाज के अनुसाय ईश्वय तनयाकाय है, अत् उसकी भूतत ि फनाकय ऩूजा कयना उथचत

नही है. आमि सभाज ने अनेकेश्वयवाद औय अवतायवाद का ववयोध कयके एकेश्वयवाद को सम्भातनत क्रकमा औय

फतामा क्रक ईश्वयोऩासना, सत्कभि एवॊ ब्रह्भचमि व्रत के 饍वाया भोऺ की प्राजप्त की जा सकतहै. आमि सभाज ने

हहन्द ू धभ ि की कु यीततमⴂ के खखराप सॊघष ि कय उसे तकि श रता ऩय आधतृ क्रकमा. थवाभ दमानॊद ने आग्रहऩूव ि मह

प्रततथथावऩत कयने कीचेष्टा की क्रक क्रक भत-भतान्तय रोगⴂ को स楍च े धभ ि से ववभुख कयत े हℂ, अतएव वे भानने

मोग्म नही हℂ. केवर भात्र वैहदक धभि ही भानव का स楍चा धभि है, क्मोक्रक वेदⴂ के 饍वाया ही ईश्वय ने भनुष्म को

ईश्वयीम ऻान उऩरब्ध कयामा है. थवाभ दमानॊद 셂हढ़मⴂ के कठोय शत्रु थे औय अफौवक भान्मता उन्हᴂ पू टी आॉखⴂ

नही सुहात थ . वे क्रकस धभि से नफ़यत नही कयते थे, ऩय जहाॉ कही ऩाखॊड, ढⴂग, असत्म व्मवहाय, दॊब, आडम्फय

र्भरता, उनका आरोचना कयने से नही चुकत े थे.

आम ि सभाज ने जजस शुव आन्दोरन को जन्भ हदमा वह एक अर्बनव िाॊततकायी मोगदान था जजसने अनेक

कट्टयऩॊथ भुसरभानⴂ औय ववदेश तत्वⴂ को िु कय हदमा. इसने इथराभ औय ईसाइमत की तयह हहन्द ू धभ ि का

दयवाजा ब अन्म धभि वारे रोगⴂ के र्रए खोर हदमा. इसका भानना था क्रक वेद कही ब धभि ऩरयवतिन ऩय योक

नही रगाते फज쥍क वैहदक धभि सॊसाय के अन्म सब धभⴂ का साय है औय ववश्व के अन्म सब धभि प्रत्मऺ मा ऩयोऺ

셂ऩ से इस से अऩन र्शऺा ग्रहण कयते हℂ. आम ि सभाज के सम्भुख भुसरभानⴂ औय इसाई प्रचायकⴂ का उदाहयण

था जो अऩने धभािवरॊफ की सॊख्मा फढ़ाने के र्रए धभि ऩरयवतिन का सहाया रेते थे. बायत भᴂ रगबग 90% बायत म

भुसरभान हहन्द ू धभ ि से ही इथराभ भᴂ गमे, हहन्दओु ॊ को भुजथरभ औय ईसाई फनाने का काम ि तनत्म प्रतत चरता

यहा. अऩन ऩयम्ऩयागत 셂हढ़मो औय यीतत-रयवाजⴂ भᴂ सभम के साथ ऩरयवतनि नही कयने के कायण हहन्द ू धभ ि भᴂ

अनेक फुयाइमाॉ आ गम थ . जैसे फार-वववाह, जजसका ऩरयणाभ था फार/मुवत ववधवाओॊ की सॊख्मा भᴂ ववृ , ववधवा

12

वववाह तनषेध औय अथऩश्ृ मता औय इन दोषⴂ से भुक्त इथराभ औय ईसाई धभ ि इन दखु व्मजक्तओॊ को शयण देत े थे.

इसप्रकाय हहन्दओु ॊ की सॊख्मा भᴂ कभ से भुसरभानⴂ की सॊख्मा भᴂ ववृ होत जात थ . थवाभ दमानॊद ने इन

फुयाइमⴂ की जड़ ऩय प्रहाय कय हहन्द ू धभ ि को भजफूत प्रदान कयने का काम ि क्रकमा.(शेखर, 2013: 158)

आम ि सभाज के अथक प्रमासⴂ से ऐसे फहुत से हहन्द ू वाऩस अऩने धभ ि भᴂ रौट आए जो इथराभ औय ईसाई धभ ि

अऩना चुके थ.े उन्हᴂ क्रपय से हहन्द ू सभाज भᴂ उथचत साभाजजक सम्भान प्रदान क्रकमा गमा. रेक्रकन आमि सभाज का

मह प्रमास, अथाित शुव आन्दोरन औय ऩुन् धभऩि रयवतनि ने बायत म याष्रवाहदता ऩय अघात क्रकमा क्मोक्रक फहुत से

भुसरभान आम ि सभाजजमⴂ को अऩना शत्रु सभझने रगे, जजससे अॊग्रेज सयकाय को आम ि सभाज के शुव आन्दोरन

के नाभ ऩय हहन्द-ू भुजथरभ बेदबाव को फढ़ाने का भौका र्भरा. वाथतव भᴂ धभि-ऩरयवतनि औय ऩुन् धभ-ि ऩरयवतिन का

प्रचाय बायत के याष्रीम औय याजन ततक ज वन के र्रए हातनकायक ही र्स हुआ. उसके परथव셂ऩ जाततमाॊ कभजोय

होत गई औय अॊग्रेज शजक्त फढ़त गम . रेक्रकन जैसा क्रक श् भतत एन फेसᴂट ने कहा है क्रक थवाभ दमानॊद प्रथभ

व्मजक्त थे जजन्हⴂनेसविप्रथभ घोषणा की क्रक बायत बायत मⴂ काहै. वथतुत् थवाभ दमानॊद औय उनके आम ि सभाज

ने हहन्द ू जातत भᴂ सॊगठन का फ ज फो हदमा जजससे उनभᴂ आत्भ-सम्भान औय आत्भ ववश्वास की बावना आई. ऩहरे

हहन्दओु ॊ को क्रकस का ववयोध कयने से बम रगता था, अफ वह खुरे आभ इथराभ औय ईसाइमत की आरोचना

कयने से नही हहचकते थे. हाराॉक्रक आम ि सभाज के प्रमासⴂ से जहाॉ एक तयप हहन्द ू धभ ि भᴂ सुधाय हुआ औय हहन्दओु ॊ

के भध्म एकता का सॊचाय हुआ रेक्रकन इसने बायत भᴂ अॊतय-धार्भकि ववश्वास औय सहहष्णुता को गॊब य ऺतत

ऩहुचाई. आम ि सभाज ने सभाज के ब तय सुधायवादी ववचायⴂ के प्रचाय भᴂ फड़ सहामता दी, तथावऩ जातत-ऩाॊतत के

वव셁 अथधक सपरता प्राप्त नही की जा सकी. इसका सफसे फड़ा मोगदान मह यहा क्रक बायत के बूतकार भᴂ गौयव

फोध जागतृ हुआ, जजससे अऩने को सभ्म फताने के बब्रहटश मा ऩजश्चभ दॊब के खखराप बायत मⴂ भᴂ एक प्रकाय का

आत्भववश्वास आमा. अऩने उेश्मⴂ के र्रए आमि सभाज ने र्शऺा सम्फन्ध सॊथथाओॊ की थथाऩना की मातन उ楍चतय

र्शऺा के र्रए कॉरेज, भाध्मर्भक र्शऺा के र्रए वव饍मारम, जथत्रमⴂ की र्शऺा के र्रए सॊथथाएॉ औय प्राच न बायत म

तयीकⴂ के अनुसाय र्शऺा देने के र्रए गु셁कु र थथावऩत क्रकमे.

आम ि सभाज का मोगदान धभ ि औय सभाज सुधाय के ऺेत्र भᴂ तन्सॊदेह ही िजन्तकायी यहा, तथावऩ उसके कु छ काम ि

वववादाथऩद थे. दमानॊद एक आिाभक सभाज सुधायक औय हहन्द ू थे जजन्हⴂने हहन्द ू धभ ि की कर्भमⴂ ऩय यऺात्भक

饃जष्टकोण अऩनाने के थथान ऩय अन्म धभⴂ के प्रतत एक आिाभक 饃जष्टकोण अऩनामा. उन्हⴂने अऩन कृ तत सत्माथ ि

प्रकाश 셂वऩ अऩन यचना भᴂ अन्म धभⴂ की कड़ आरोचना की. इसप्रकाय हहन्द ू धभ ि को ऩुनथथािवऩत कयने के प्रमास

13

भᴂ अन्म धभⴂ के प्रतत उनके आिाभक 셁ख ने बायत के थवतॊत्रता आन्दोरन भᴂ साम्प्रदातमकता का फ ज फोनेका

कामि क्रकमा. गौ-यऺा के उसके कामििभ ने बायत भᴂ गॊब य धार्भिक तनाव ऩैदा क्रकए. मह एक ऐसा कामि था जजसके

ऩऺ भᴂ फहुत कु छ कहा जा सकता था, औय इसकी यऺा के नाये ने हहन्दओु ॊ की बावना को थऩशि क्रकमा था. दबु ािग्म

से आम ि सभाज के कु छ अततउत्साही कामकि तािओॊ ने अऩने कामो को कु छ आिाभक ढॊग से चरामा औय मवऩ फहुत

से अहहदॊ ,ू जजनभे कु छ भुसरभान ब थे, इस आन्दोरन से सहभत थे, क्रपय ब कट्टय भुजथरभ भु쥍राओॊ तथा उनके

गयीफ तफकⴂ के अनुमातममⴂ ने इस ऩय फहुत नायाजग प्रगट की. नत जा मह हुआ क्रक हहन्दओु ॊ औय भुसरभानⴂ भᴂ

गॊब य दॊगे हुए, जजससे दोनⴂ सभाजो के फ च फढ़ता हुआ भनभुटाव औय ब फढ़ गमा.(ताराचंद, 1976 : 378)

 प्राथषना समाज:-

आत्भयॊग ऩाॊडुयॊग (स्रोत-ववक्रकऩ डडमा)

1867 भᴂ के शवचॊद्र सेन के आगभन के परथव셂ऩ भहायाष्र भᴂ प्राथनि ा सभाज की थथाऩना हुई.इसके प्रभुख सदथमⴂ

भᴂ भहादेव गोववन्द यानाडे, आय. ज . बॊडायकय, नायामणचॊद्र फकि आहद थे. इस आन्दोरन को आध्माजत्भक नेतत्ृ व

भहादेव गोववन्द यानाडे ने ही प्रदान क्रकमा औय उन्ही के प्रमास से इसने कापी सपरता ब प्राप्तकी. प्राथिना सभाज

के भुख्म र्साॊत ईश्वयवादी थे औय इसका उेश्म सभाज सुधाय कयना था. शनै:-शनै: इसके कामिकराऩⴂ का प्रसाय

हुआ औय सभाज सुधाय तथा सभाज क쥍माण के काम ि को अथधकाथधक प्रोत्साहन र्भरा.

प्राथिना सभाज के प्रधान तनभािता भहादेव गोववन्द यानाडे, 19व ॊ सदी के बायत के सफसे ऊॉचᴂ फौवक व्मजक्तओॊ भᴂ से

थे जो बायत के न्माम ववबाग के सफसे ऊॉ च े ऩद ऩय ऩहुॉच गमे. मवऩ याष्रीम ज वन का कोई भहत्वऩूण ि अॊग ऐसा

नही था जजसभᴂ उनकी हदरचथऩ नही यही, ऩय उन्हⴂने धार्भकि तथा साभाजजक सुधायⴂ भᴂ अऩन सफसे अथधक

शजक्त रगाई. साभाजजक-धार्भिक सभथमाओॊ के प्रतत उनकी ववचाय-ऩतत फुववादी थ . वह सॊकीणिता औय

अॊधववश्वासⴂ से भुक्त थे औय हहन्दओु ॊ के अरग यहने की तथा दसू यⴂ को अरग यखने की प्रवजृ त्त की तनदॊ ा कयत े थे.

उन्हⴂने सन्देश हदमा क्रक सायी भानव जातत का ह्रदम खोरकय आर्रॊगन कयो. उन्हⴂने कहा क्रक धार्भिक सत्म को

ताक्रकिक 셂ऩ से प्रततऩाहदत नही क्रकमा जा सकता, उसे केवर अन्त-प्रेयणा से तनजश्चत क्रकमा जा सकता है. भनुष्म को

14

अऩने अन्त्कयण की आवाज़ ऩय चरना चाहहए, हातन-राब के ववचाय से नही. यानाड े ने सुधाय के ववचाय को 饃ढ़ता

से थथावऩत क्रकमा औय फुव एवॊ तकि से उसका सभथनि क्रकमा. उन्हⴂने कहा क्रक सुधाय का वाथतववक अथ ि है भुजक्त-

उन अवयोधⴂ से भुजक्त जो हभाये थवाथ ि के कायण अ楍छे धभ,ि कानून तथा याजन ततक ऩतत, सॊथथाओॊ औय रयवाजⴂ

ऩय रगा हदए गमे हℂ. ऩुन셁煍ज वनवाद औय सुधाय ऩय फोरत े हुए उन्हⴂने कहाॉ- महद वाथतववक सुधाय कयना है तो

हभᴂ फाहयी 셂ऩ से नही फज쥍क ब तयी तत्व को औय ववचायⴂ को फदरना है, जो फाहयी 셂ऩ का तनणिम कयते हℂ.

यानाड े औय सहमोथगमⴂ के प्रमत्नⴂ से प्राथनि ा सभाज ने शजक्तशारी सभाज सुधाय आन्दोरन का 셂ऩ ग्रहण कय

र्रमा. प्राथनि ा सभाज के र्साॊत औय ववचाय ब्रह्भ सभाज के अनु셂ऩ ही थे. इसने जातत-प्रथा की सभाजप्त, ववधवाओॊ

के ऩुनवववि ाह, नायी-र्शऺा, फार-वववाह के अॊत आहद के ऩऺ भᴂ जोयदाय आवाज़ उठाई. मह सभाज धार्भिक

गततववथधमⴂ की अऩेऺा साभाजजक ऺेत्र भᴂ अथधक कामशि र यहा औय ऩजश्चभ बायत भᴂ सभाज सुधाय सम्फन्ध

ववर्बन्न क्रिमाओॊ का कᴂद्र फना. इसके 饍वाया अनाथारम, याबत्र-ऩाठशाराएॊ, ववधवा-बवन, दर्रतवगि-र्भशन औय इस

तयह की अनेक उऩमोग सॊथथाएॊ थथावऩत की गम . प्राथिना सभाज के प्रधान तनभािता यानाडे ने याष्रीम ज वन के

प्रत्मेक भहत्वऩूण ि ऩहरु भᴂ 셂थच री, तथावऩ उन्हⴂने धार्भकि एवॊ साभाजजक सुधाय भᴂ अऩन सफसे अथधक शजक्त

रगाई औय बायत म सभाज की दरयद्रता के र्रए उत्तयदाम कु सॊथकायⴂ तथा फुयाइमⴂ से रोहा र्रमा. उन्ही के प्रमत्नⴂ

के परथव셂ऩ ववधवा-वववाह सॊघ की न व ऩड़ . भजदयु वग ि को र्शऺा देने के र्रए प्राथनि ा सभाज 饍वाया याबत्र

वव饍मारम ब खोरा गमा.

अऩन सभथत गततववथधओॊ के दौयान प्राथिना सभाज ने अऩने सभकऺ के अन्म सॊगठनⴂ से अॊतय फनामे यखा,

खासकय फॊगार के ब्रह्भ आन्दोरन से. सफसे उ쥍रेखन म अॊतय फॊगार के ब्रह्भवाहदमⴂ के अऩेऺाकृ त अथधक

टकयाववादी यवैमⴂ के ववऩयीत उसका सावधान बया 饃जष्टकोण था. यानाडे ने कहाॉ क्रक – फम्फई प्रेस डᴂस भᴂ आन्दोरन

का प्रभुख तत्व उसका मह रक्ष्म था क्रक अत त से नाता न तोडा जामे औय हभाये सभाज से साये सॊफॊध बॊग न हⴂ.

प्राथिना सभाज भᴂ िर्भक ऩरयवतिन राने के ऩऺ भᴂ था, वह साभाजजक-धार्भिक सयॊचना को तोड़कय ऩरयवतिन राने

के ऩऺ भᴂ नही था. दसु ये शब्दⴂ भᴂ प्राथनि ा सभाज आधुतनकता फनाभ ऩायम्ऩरयकता के थथान ऩय ऩायम्ऩरयकता सॊग

आधुतनकता की फात की. अऩने भध्मभागी 饃जष्टकोण के कायण ही प्राथनि ा सभाज का ववथताय ब 煍मादा हुआ औय

मह ऩूना,सूयत, अहभदाफाद, कयाॊच , क्रकयकी, को쥍हाऩुय औय सताया इत्माहद जगहⴂ ऩय उसकी शाखाएॊ थथावऩत हुई.

उसके कामिकराऩ दक्षऺण बायत भᴂ ब पैरे, जहाॉ आन्दोरन का नेतत्ृ व तरे गु सुधायक ववयेजश्रॊगभ ऩान्तुरू कय यहे

थे. 20व ॊ शताब्दी के आयम्ब तक भद्रास प्रेस डᴂस भᴂ इसकी18 शाखाएॊ थ .(जⴂस, 1994 : 143)

15

कु रर्भराकय प्राथनि ा सबा ने बायत के साभाजजक औय धार्भकि सुधाय की एक िर्भक प्रक्रिमा को फढ़ावा हदमा

जजससे सभाज को ब इसे अऩनाने भᴂ कोई कहठनाई नही भहसुस हुई. इसने फाद के सॊगठनो जैसे- वेद सभाज औय

याभकृ ष्ण र्भशन के र्रए एक आधाय का काम ि क्रकमा. इसके अततरयक्त इसने बायत म सभाज की फुयाइमⴂ के प्रतत

सुधायवादी यवैमा अऩनाकय औय इसकी अ楍छाइमⴂ को उबायकय ऩजश्चभ सभ्मता के अहॊ को तोड़ने औय बायत म

सभ्मता को ऩुन् उसके ऩुयाने थथान ऩय थथावऩत कयने भᴂ सहामता की.

 अꅍय ऩुन셁配थानवादी आꅍदोऱन :-

1857 की िाॊतत के फाद देश के याजन ततक वातावयण भᴂ एक ऩरयवतिन आमा औय साभाजजक ऺेत्र भᴂ नए तत्वⴂ का

प्रबाव छाने रगा. धार्भकि ववचायⴂ भᴂ उग्र सुधायवाद का प्रबाव तथा सभाज सुधाय की प्रवतृ त ऩ छे हट गम औय

अऩरयवतनि वादी प्रवतृ तमाॉ जोय ऩकड़ने रग . ऩाश्चात्म सॊथकृ तत के वव셁 बावना तजे से पै री औय अॊग्रेजो की

याजन ततक तानाशाही व साॊथकृ ततक अहॊ के कायण ऩाश्चात्म श्ेष्ठता के दावे को ठु कयामा जाने रगा. मह ववश्वास

फढ़ता चरा गमा क्रक बायत की सभथमामⴂ का सभाधान हहन्द ू धभ ि के ऩुनजीवन भᴂ है. इस ऩुन셁煍ज वनवादी

आन्दोरन को नव हहन्दवु ाद ब कहा गमा. फॊगार भᴂ इस आन्दोरन भᴂ दो ऩयथऩय र्बन्न ववचायधायाएॉ ऩनऩ . एक

ववचायधाया के ऩोषक वे रोग थे जो क्रकस -क्रकस फात भᴂ सुधाय को थव काय कयत े थे, ऩय भुख्म फातⴂ भᴂ उनका 셁ख

सभझौतावादी नही था अथाित क्रकस प्रकाय की फात उन्हᴂ अभान्म थ. ऩहरी ववचायधाया के अग्रण नेता थे शशधय

तकि चूड़ाभखण औय दसू यी ववचायधाया के नेता थे फॊक्रकभचॊद चटजी.

शशधय एक कट्टय ऩयम्ऩयावादी ववचायक थे तथा उन्हᴂ ऩौयाखणक बायत म धार्भिक ग्रॊथो औय यीतत-रयवाजⴂ भᴂ कु छ

गरत नही रगता था तथा उसे वे ताक्रकिक औय वैऻातनक आधाय ऩय उथचत साबफत कयने का प्रमासकयते थे. इस

ववचायधाया के रोगⴂ का भानना था क्रक बायत म साभाजजक ज वन भᴂ जो ब यीतत-रयवाज जैसे- जातत-ऩातत भᴂ, फार-

वववाह औय वण ि के अन्दय वववाह भᴂ कु छ न कु छ अ楍छाइमा ज셁य है. वे एकेश्वयवाद की फात तो कयते थे ऩय साथ

ही भूतत ि ऩूजा का ब सभथनि कयत े थे. उन्हⴂने ऩजश्चभ -धभि तनयऩेऺ र्शऺा का ववयोध क्रकमा औय धभ ि के भू쥍मⴂ ऩय

आधारयत र्शऺा देने की वकारत की.

दसू यी तयप फॊगार के एक प्रर्स सुधायवादी ववचायक फॊक्रकभचॊद चटजी थे, जो बायत म ऩुनजािगयण के अग्रण नेता

थे. चटजी के व्मजक्तत्व भᴂ याष्रीमता औय बजक्त का अदबुत सभन्वम था. वे जहाॉ एक तयप तो ऩाश्चात्म र्शऺा के

सभथकि थे वही दसू यी तयप वे बायत म सॊथकृ तत औय ऩयम्ऩयाओॊ की अ楍छाइमⴂ को सहेजना चाहत े थे. जफ ईसाई

16

धभ ि प्रचायकⴂ ने बायत भᴂ धभ ि ऩरयवतनि का याथता अऩनामा तो वे हहन्द ू धभ ि की यऺा के र्रए खुरकय आगे आमे

औय धभि की अ楍छाइमⴂ को उबायने का कामि क्रकमा. वे एक ऩक्के याष्रबक्त ब थे, जो बायत को अॊग्रेजⴂ की

ऩयाध नता से भुक्त कयना चाहत े थे इसके र्रए ज셁यी था क्रक ऩजश्चभ साॊथकृ ततक सवो楍मता के बाव को ऽारयज

कयत े हुए बायत के साॊथकृ ततक सत्व को थथावऩत कयना. फॊक्रकभचॊद्र ने धभि को सभाज के नैततक एवॊ याजन ततक

ऩुन셁煍ज वन का शजक्तशारी शथत्र भाना. उन्हⴂने बायत म जनता को सन्देश हदमा क्रक धभि को उऩमोथगता अथवा

हहतवाद से अरग नही क्रकमा जा सकता. भानवता के प्रतत प्रेभ को उन्हⴂने सफसे ऊॉच ईश्वय बजक्त भाना औयजन-

साधायण भᴂ मह बावना बयने की कोर्शश की क्रक थवदेश से प्रेभ भनुष्म के प्रतत सवो楍म कतव्ि म है.उन्हⴂने जनता को

भूर भन्त्र हदमा क्रक देश प्रेभ धभ ि है तथा धभ ि बायत प्रेभ है. उन्हⴂने हहन्द ू धभ ि को ऊऩय उठाने का ऩुयजोय प्रमास

क्रकमा औय अऩना थऩष्ट भत यखा क्रकधार्भिक उन्नतत ही याजन ततक उन्नतत कीजड़है. प्रर्स इततहासकाय डॉ.

तायाचॊद ने र्रखा है क्रक फॊक्रकभचॊद्र ने जजस हहन्द ू धभ ि का प्रचाय क्रकमा, उसभᴂ भनुष्म का साया ज वन आ जाता था.

मह बोग औय त्माग का सभन्वम तथा ऩुयथकाय की आशा क्रकमे बफना कभ ि का र्साॊत था. इसभᴂ वह नैततक न व

प्रथतुत हो जात थ , जजस ऩय हहन्द ू सभाज औय याष्र का गठन होने वारा था. ऩय हहन्द ू धभ ि के ववषम भᴂ इस

व्माऩक थचतॊ न के फावजूद वह बायत म सभाज की भहत्वऩूण ि प्रकृ तत को, अन्म धभो को बूर गए औय उन्हⴂने के वर

हहन्द ू सभाज के नैततक औय याजन ततक उत्थान ऩय अऩना ध्मान के जन्द्रत क्रकमा.

फॊगार के अरावे साभाजजक-धार्भकि सुधाय आन्दोरन के प्रभुख कᴂ द्र के 셂ऩ भᴂ भहायाष्र था. भहायाष्र भᴂ साभाजजक-

धार्भकि सुधाय आन्दोरन का उबाय याजन ततक भुⴂ के साथ र्भरा हुआ था. मह ऩजश्चभ फौवकता के प्रततक्रिमा

थव셁ऩ उबया, जो थवमॊ को उ楍च सभ्मता के 셂ऩ भᴂ तथा बायत म सभ्मता को तनम्न सभ्मता के 셂ऩ भᴂ हदखाने ऩय

जोय देत थ . जफ देश भᴂ बब्रहटश उऩतनवेशवाद के खखराप आन्दोरन का बाव उत्ऩन्न हुआ तो इसका ऩरयणाभ मह

हुआ क्रक साभाजजक व धार्भकि सुधाय की प्रवजृ त्तमाॉ कभजोय ऩड़ गई औय रोगⴂ के भन ऩय याजन तत का असय

煍मादा हो गमा. भयाठी थचन्तक ववष्णु शाथत्र थचऩरूनकय के अनुसाय अॊग्रेजो ने हभायी थवतॊत्रता का हयण कय र्रमा

है औय थवतॊत्रता का अथि है- जो कु छ ब हभ भू쥍मवान सभझत े है, उन सफका अऩहयण. थचऩरूनकय के अनुसाय

ववदेश शासन की सफसे फड़ फुयाई है हभाया नैततक ऩतन जो हभाये थवतॊत्र न यहने के कायण हुआ है. हभाये

देशवास गुराभ के बायत भᴂ ऩहुॉच गमे है जजसभे वे अऩन दासता अथवा गुराभ को चुऩचाऩ भान रेत े है औय

अऩना आत्भ-सम्भान औय थवार्बभान चुऩचाऩ खो देत े हℂ. वाथतव भᴂ हभाये चरयत्र का ऩूण셂ि ऩेण ऩतन हो गमा है.

थचऩरूनकय के शब्दⴂ भᴂ देश को धभ,ि जातत-प्रथा मा फार-वववाह जैसे साभाजजक-धार्भकि कु 셂ततमⴂ से उतन हातन

17

नही ऩहुॊच है, जजतन क्रक ववदेश शासन से. भहायाष्र भᴂ उनके ववचायⴂ का सभथिन अनेक नेताओॊ औय सभाज

सुधायको ने क्रकमा, जजससे उदायवादी यानाड े के प्रबावⴂ भᴂ भहत्वऩूण ि 셂ऩ से कभ आई.

फाद के सभम भᴂ भहायाष्र भᴂ फार गॊगाधय ततरक जैसे मोग्म, साहस औय सॊघषिश र नेता आगे आमे, जजन्हⴂने नव-

हहन्दवु ाद का नाया हदमा. ततरक का भानना था क्रक जफ तक आभ जनता को इन आन्दोरनⴂ से नही जोड़ा जामेगा

तफतक साभाजजक-धार्भकि सुधाय आन्दोरनⴂ मा याजन ततक ऩयतॊत्रता के जॊज य को नही उखाय पे का जा सकता.

ततरक आभ हहन्द ू जनता को याजन ततक झॊड े के न च े राना चाहत े थे, ताक्रक उनको एकजुट कयके साभाजजक-

धार्भकि सुधायⴂ ऩय उनकी सहभतत री जा सके औय साथ ही बब्रहटश शासन के खखराप उनको खड़ा क्रकमा जा सके .

ततरक का ववचाय था क्रक सभाज सुधाय से ऩहरे याजन ततक शजक्त प्राप्त होना चाहहए. उन्हᴂ बम था क्रक सभाज

सुधायⴂ ऩय ही ववशेष ध्मान देने ऩय रोगⴂ भᴂ भतबेद ऩैदा हो सकता था, जजससे थवतॊत्रता आन्दोरन की एकता

प्रबाववत हो सकत थ .

बायत भᴂ साभाजजक औय धार्भकि ऺेत्र भᴂ सुधाय के 饃जष्टकोण से एक अन्म भहत्वऩूण ि सॊथथा थ याभकृ ष्ण र्भशन.

जजसके प्रभुख थवाभ याभकृ ष्ण ऩयभहॊस का भानना था क्रक ववर्बन्न धभⴂ के एक ही रक्ष्म ऩय ऩहुचने के ववर्बन्न

भागि हℂ. इस सॊगठन का सन्देश था क्रक हभᴂ ऩजश्चभ का ऩर नही कयना चाहहए फज쥍क अऩने गौयवशारी अत त

ऩय गवि कयने के साथ-साथ उसभे आई फुयाइमⴂ के प्रतत जाग셂क यहना चाहहए. इसका मह सन्देश बायत मⴂ भᴂ

याष्रवाद की बावना के सॊचाय भᴂ भहत्वऩूण ि 셂ऩ से सहामक यहा. थवाभ याभकृ ष्ण ऩयभहॊस के मशथव र्शष्म थवाभ

वववेकानॊद ने अऩने गु셁 के नाभ ऩय इस सॊगठन का तनभािण क्रकमा औय मह सन्देश हदमा क्रक ववश्व के सब धभⴂ

भᴂ एक आतॊरयक भौर्रक एकता ऩाई जात है. इसने ववश्व भᴂ सविधभि सदबाव का सन्देश हदमा. उनके इस सन्देश

के कायण हहन्द ू धभ ि के प्रततष्ठा भᴂ भहत्वऩूण ि 셂ऩ से फढ़ोतयी देख गम . याभकृ ष्ण र्भशन ने वेदाॊत के र्शऺा ऩय

जोय देत े हुए बायत के सभाज औय धभⴂ को एक नमा भोड़ , जोश औय आत्भ-गौयव का बाव हदमा. थवाभ

वववेकानॊद के ओजथव बाषणⴂ औय बायत म सॊथकृ तत के वैऻातनक तथा प्रबाव प्रततऩादन से आकवषति होकय अनेक

ववदेश र्शक्षऺत वव饍वान थत्र -ऩु셁ष उनके र्शष्म हो गमे. याभकृ ष्ण र्भशन औय उसके प्रणेता थवाभ वववेकानॊद ने

ववश्व के ववर्बन्न धभािवरजम्फमⴂ को सब प्रकाय के बेदⴂ को र्भटाकय भानवता셁ऩ एकता का सन्देश हदमा. अऩने

प्रवचनⴂ के भाध्मभ से वववेकानॊद ने दतु नमाॊ को फता हदमा क्रक सॊसाय भᴂ कोई ब धभ ि भनुष्मता की गरयभा को इतने

उ楍च थवय भᴂ प्रकट नही कयता जजतना क्रक हहन्द ू धभ ि कयता है. वववेकानॊद ने हहन्द ू धभ ि की भहानता का वह

प्रबावशारी प्रदशिन क्रकमा क्रक बायत का सय गौयव से ऊॉचा होगमा.

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उन्हⴂने सब सभ्मताओॊ औय सॊथकृ ततमⴂ भᴂ कु छ न कु छ अ楍छाइमⴂ को थव काय क्रकमा औय हहन्दओु ॊ को मह सन्देश

हदमा क्रक वेदाॊत धभि है औय बायत मⴂ को अऩने अध्मात्भ तथा दशिन से सॊसाय को अवगत कयाना है. उनकी इस

घोषणा से धार्भकि ऺेत्र भᴂ एक भहान िाॊतत उत्ऩन्न हुई. (अवस्थी, 1998 : 32) इसप्रकाय थवाभ वववेकानॊद ने

बायत मⴂ को आत्भ-ववश्वास औय आत्भ-तनबियता का सन्देश हदमा तथा उन्हᴂ थवार्बभान का ऩाठ ऩढामा. अऩने

ओजथव बाषणⴂ से उन्हⴂने बायतवार्समो को हीनता की बावना से तनकार कय उनभे नवज वन का सॊचाय कय हदमा.

अत् थवाभ वववेकानॊद ने बायत मⴂ को उनके सत्व से अवगत कयामा औय उन्हᴂ अऩने सभ्मता औय सॊथकृ तत ऩय

गवि कयने के साथ-साथ उसभे आई ववकृ ततमⴂ के खखराप सॊघष ि कयने तथा उन्हᴂ दयू कयने का आह्वाहन क्रकमा

 थथयोसोक्रपकऱ सोसाइटी:-

श् भतत एन फेसᴂट (स्रोत-ववक्रकऩ डडमा)

थथमोसोक्रपकर सोसाइटी की थथाऩना अभेरयका के न्मूमाकि शहय भᴂ 1875 भᴂ हुई थ . 1882 भᴂ इस सोसाइटी ने

बायत भᴂ अऩना ऩहरा भुख्मारम भद्रास भᴂ खोरा औय इसके फाद श घ्र ही इसकी शाखाएॊ ऩूये देश भᴂ फ़ै र गम .

रेक्रकन इसके प्रसाय को फढ़ावा तफ र्भरा जफ 1880 भᴂ श् भतत एन फेसᴂट इसकी सदथम फन . 1893 भᴂ बायत भᴂ

फसने के फाद उन्हⴂने र्शक्षऺत बायत मⴂ को इस सॊथथा से जोड़ने भᴂ भहत्वऩूण ि बूर्भका तनबाई. थथमोसोक्रपकर

सोसाइटी के र्शऺण भᴂ धभि, दशिन औय ब्रह्भवव饍मा का अदबुत र्भश्ण था. इसकी धार्भिक र्शऺा के चाय भौर्रक

बफदॊ ु थ-े (1) ईश्वय की एकता, (2) ईश्वय का थचत्रा 셂ऩ, (3) हदव्म आत्भाएॊ, प्राखणमⴂ, देवता तथा प्राखणमⴂ के वगि का

िभ इस प्रकाय था, सवोऩरय भनुष्मⴂ की आत्भाएॊ औय भनुष्म के न च े की मोतनमाॉ, ( 4) ववश्व फॊधुत्व जजनभे मह ब

भाना गमा था क्रक कु छ जाततमाॊ अथधक उन्नत है, कु छ कभ.(ताराचंद, 1976 : 375)

19

थथमोसोक्रपकर सोसाइटी ने हहन्दओु ॊ भᴂ अऩन सॊथकृ तत के प्रतत ववश्वास औय गौयव की बावना को जागतृ क्रकमा.

रोग इस फात से प्रबाववत हुए क्रक क्रकस प्रकाय एक ववदेश भहहरा हहन्द ू धभ ि की भहानता का जमघोष कय यही थ .

इससे रोगⴂ भᴂ अऩने धभ ि औय सॊथकृ तत के प्रतत एक आतॊरयक फर तथा ववश्वास की बावना आई.थथमोसोक्रपकर

सोसाइटी के 饍वाया प्रसारयत ववश्व फॊधुता की बावना से फहुत से फुववाहदमⴂ को सॊतोष हुआ. एन फेसᴂट 饍वाया ग ता

के अनुवाद औय याभामण व भहाबायत के प्रचाय से बायत म धभ ि ग्रॊथो – वेद, उऩतनष饍, ऩुयाण, भहाकाव्म आहद के

ववकास को फढ़ावा र्भरा. रेक्रकन थथमोसोक्रपकर सभाज ने हहन्द ू धभ ि की श्ेष्ठता का प्रततऩादन कयत े हुए ब धार्भकि

सहहष्णुता को प्रोत्साहन हदमा औय सॊसाय के सब वगⴂ भᴂ फॊधुता का सन्देश हदमा. इसने ब आमि सभाज की बाॊतत

बायत मⴂ भᴂ अऩने अत त के प्रतत औय अऩन धार्भकि ववयासत के प्रतत थवार्बभान जागतृ कयके बायत म याष्रवाद

के ववकास भᴂ भहत्वऩूण ि बूर्भका तनबाई.

थथमोसोक्रपकर सभाज ने अनेक थथानⴂ ऩय थकू र, कॉरेज तथा छात्रवास थथावऩत क्रकमे. इस सोसाइटी ने वायाणस

भᴂ सᴂरर हहन्द ू थकू र की थथाऩना की जो फाद भᴂ फनायस हहन्द ू ववश्ववव饍मारम के अॊतगति चरा गमा. बायत भᴂ

र्शऺा के प्रसाय भᴂ सभाज ने भहत्वऩूण ि बूर्भका का तनवहि न क्रकमा. इसके अततरयक्त सोसाइटी ने फार-वववाह, कन्मा-

वय वविम, ववधवा-वववाह औय छु आछू त जैस साभाजजक कु यीततमⴂ का घोय ववयोध कयके सभाज सुधाय की हदशा भᴂ

उ쥍रेखन म मोगदान हदमा. उसके इन्ही सफ क쥍माणकायी कामो के कायण बायत के र्शक्षऺत हहन्दओु ॊ भᴂ इसे फड़ा

सम्भान र्भरा.

 भारत मᴂ मुजस्ऱम सुधार आꅍदोऱन :-

हहन्द ू धार्भकि औय साभाजजक आन्दोरनⴂ के साभान ही बायत म भुसरभानⴂ भᴂ ब अनेक प्रकाय के आन्दोरन हुए.

1891 भᴂ प्रकार्शत अभ य अरी की ऩुथतक “इथराभ की आत्भा” ने बायत म भुसरभानⴂ भᴂ सुधायवादी औय

ऩुन셁煍ज वनवादी आन्दोरन को फढ़ावा देने भᴂ भहत्वऩूण ि बूर्भका तनबाई. प्रभुख भुजथरभ आन्दोरनⴂ भᴂ फहाव

आन्दोरन औय अहभहदमा आन्दोरन प्रभुख थे.

20

सय सैमद अहभद खान. (स्रोत-ववक्रकऩ डडमा)

भुजथरभⴂ भᴂ आत्भ-ववश्वास औय गौयव की बावना के ववकास भᴂ फहाव आन्दोरन ने भहत्वऩूण ि बूर्भका का तनवहि न

क्रकमा. इसके प्रभुख प्रवतकि ⴂ भᴂ सैमद अहभद औय इथभाइर हाज भौरव भोहम्भद प्रभुख थे. इस आन्दोरन ने

इथराभ की ऩववत्रता औय एकता ऩय जोड़ हदमा. इस आन्दोरन के उऩज सय सैमद अहभद खान ने बायत म

भुसरभानⴂ भᴂ र्शऺा के प्रसाय के र्रए अरीगढ भᴂ एक भुजथरभ ववश्ववव饍मारम की थथाऩना की. वे भुसरभानⴂ भᴂ

उदाय ववचायधाया का प्रसाय कयना चाहते थे, जजसके र्रए ऩजश्चभ उदायवादी र्शऺा का प्रसाय फहुत ज셁यी कदभ था.

रेक्रकन फाद के सभम भᴂ सय सैमद अहभद के ववचायⴂ भᴂ धार्भकि अरगाववाद की बावना आन शु셂 हो गम औय वे

बायत म थवतॊत्रता आन्दोरन को एक अव्मवहारयक औय भुसरभानⴂ के 饃जष्टकोण से हातनकायक भानने रगे. क्मोक्रक

उनका भानना था क्रक बायत से अॊग्रेज याज की सभाजप्त के फाद भुसरभानⴂ को हहन्दओु ॊ के अध न यहना ऩड़गे ा.

इस र्रए उन्हⴂने भुजथरभⴂ के अरग ऩहचान औय सॊथकृ तत ऩय जोय हदमा औय उन्हᴂ हहन्दओु ॊ से अरग बब्रहटश सयकाय

के साथ भेर-जोर की न तत अऩनाने की सराह दी, ताक्रक अऩने हहतⴂ के र्रए बब्रहटश सयकाय से 煍मादा से 煍मादा

भोरतोर क्रकमा जा सके . उन्हⴂने भुजथरभⴂ भᴂ र्शऺा के प्रसाय, थत्र -र्शऺा औय सब प्रकाय के बेदबावⴂ को सभाप्त

कयने ऩय जोय हदमा.

भुजथरभ आॊदोरनⴂ भᴂ दसू या भहत्वऩूण ि आन्दोरन अहभहदमा आन्दोरन था, जजसके भहत्वऩूण ि उन्नामकⴂ भᴂ र्भजाि

गुराभ अहभद कहदन का नाभ सवप्रि भुख था. इस आन्दोरन ने सब धभⴂ भᴂ सुधाय की प्रक्रिमा ऩय जोय हदमा

क्मोक्रक इसका भानना था क्रक सब धभⴂ भᴂ आऩस भᴂ एक प्रकाय की एकताहै. चूक्रकॊ सभाज भᴂ सब धभⴂ के रोग

एक साथ ही यहत े हℂ अत् उनकी ज वन ऩतत एक दसु ये को प्रबाववत कयत है. 1885 भᴂ अॊजुभन-ए-हहभामत-

21

इथराभ की थथाऩना हुई, जजसने भुसरभानⴂ की साभाजजक नैततकता भᴂ ववृ कयने की औय उनकी फौवक उन्नतत

कयने की चेष्टा की. खान अब्दरु गफ्पाय खाॊ के नेतत्ृ व भᴂ खुदाई खखदभदगाय आन्दोरन चरा. इन ववर्बन्न

आन्दोरनⴂ के परथव셂ऩ बायत म भुसरभानⴂ भᴂ याजन ततक जाग्रतत पै री, उनकी र्शऺा भᴂ सुधाय हुआ औय उनके

饃जष्टकोण भᴂ कु छ व्माऩकता आई.

इसप्रकाय बायत म साभाजजक औय धार्भकि सुधाय आन्दोरन ने देश के आधुतनकीकयण भᴂ औय सभाज भᴂ प्रचर्रत

फुयाइमⴂ को दयू कयने भᴂ भहत्वऩूण ि काम ि क्रकमा. साभाजजक सुधाय की 饃जष्ट से 1887 भᴂ आजथतत्व भᴂ आने वारी

साभाजजक सुधाय सबा उ쥍रेखन म है. सॊक्षऺप्त 셂ऩ से बायत भᴂ साभाजजक व धार्भिक आन्दोरन ने न केवर सभाज

व धभ ि फज쥍क याजन ततक भाभरⴂ तथा बायत म थवतॊत्रता आन्दोरन भᴂ ब भहत्वऩूण ि बूर्भका तनबामा. इसने

बायत मⴂ के भध्म एक भौर्रक एकता का सॊचाय कयत े हुए औय आत्भ-सम्भान की बावना का सॊचाय क्रकमा जजससे

वे ऩजश्चभ सभ्मता के सम्भुख अऩन हीनता की भनोदशा से फाहय आमे. इसने बायत भᴂ साभाजजक-धार्भकि सुधाय

के 饍वाया बायत म सभाज को सभावेश औय ऩायदशी फनामा औय इसभे व्माप्त हो गमे डोग्भा औय कु यीततमⴂ को

इससे फाहय कय इसे आधुतनक तकि ऩय आधारयत क्रकमा. जजससे बायत म गौयव की थथाऩना हुई. इसने सभाज के

सब वगⴂ- खासकय भहहराओॊ, दर्रतⴂ औय अन्म दफे-कु चरे वगⴂ को सभाज के भुख्म धाया भᴂ शार्भर कयने की

कोर्शस की. इसने जन्भ,वववाह, औय भत्ृ मु के सभम क्रपजूर खची भᴂ कभ राने, वववाह मोग्म आमु को फढ़ाने, फार-

वववाहⴂ ऩय योक, थत्र -र्शऺा ऩय जोय औय बफधवा वववाह को उथचत प्रोत्साहन, फहुऩत्न प्रथा को हतोत्साहहत कयना,

औय सत प्रथा जैस अभानुवषक कु यीतत के खखराप सॊघष ि कय के भहहराओॊ की जथथतत भᴂ भहत्वऩूण ि सुधाय कयने की

हदशा भᴂ भहत्वऩूण ि बूर्भका तनबाई.

इसके अततरयक्त इन सुधाय आन्दोरनⴂ ने धार्भकि वववादⴂ के सभाधान के र्रए ऩॊचामत े तनमुक्त कयना औय ऩॊचामतⴂ

को भैत्र बाव के प्रसाय के र्रए प्रोत्साहहत कयके बायत भᴂ धार्भकि सदबाव के प्रसाय भᴂ भहत्वऩूण ि बूर्भका तनबाई.

इसने फहहष्कृ त सभाज को क्रपय से भुख्म धाया भᴂ शार्भर कयने, जातत-प्रथा का रोऩ कयने औय अॊतयजात म वववाहⴂ

को प्रोत्साहहत कयत े हुए सभाज के एकता राने का प्रमास क्रकमा. इन आन्दोरनⴂ की सफसे भहत्वऩूण ि ववशेषता मह

थ क्रक इन्होने साभाजजक-धार्भकि ऩहचान औय व्मजक्त की थवतॊत्रता के फ च सॊतुरन थथावऩत कयने का प्रमास क्रकमा

औय उदायवादी रोकताजन्त्रक भू쥍मⴂ मथा- थवतॊत्रता, सभानता, न्माम, फॊधुता, औय धभितनयऩेऺता को सभाज भᴂ

प्रसारयत कयने भᴂ भहत्वऩूण ि बूर्भका तनबाई. इन आन्दोरनⴂ ने एक ऐसे साहहत्म की शु셁आत की जजसभᴂ देशबजक्त

औय याष्रप्रेभ का ऩुट था. ववथभतृ त भᴂ डूफे हुए प्राच न साहहत्म, दशिन, ववऻानॊ, कानून, करा तथा थथाऩत्म क्रपय से

22

प्रकाश भᴂ आमे औय उनसे सॊसाय भᴂ बायत की ख्मातत पैरी औय साथ ही अऩन आखⴂ भᴂ ब बायत की जनता का

आत्भ-सम्भान फढ़ा.

 भारत के सामाजजक-धा셍मषक आꅍदोऱनⴂ का आऱोचना配मक ऩरीक्षण:-

बायत भᴂ शु셂 होने वारे साभाजजक-धार्भिक आन्दोरनⴂ ने मवऩ बायत म सभाज ऩय अऩना व्माऩक प्रबाव छोड़ा,

रेक्रकन इसके कु छ प्रबाव ऐसे थे जो आगे चरकय बायत के दीघकि ारीन हहतⴂ की 饃जष्ट से हातनकायक ब यहे. इनभे

से सफसे भहत्वऩूण ि था, धार्भकि ऩुन셁त्थान आन्दोरनⴂ का उबाय, जजसने एक तयप तो धभⴂ के अन्दय सुधाय की

प्रक्रिमा को ध भा क्रकमा वही दसू यी तयप इसने अॊतय-धार्भकि सहहष्णुता की बावना को कभजोय कयने का काम ि

क्रकमा. इस दौय भᴂ धभि-ऩरयवतनि की प्रक्रिमा तजे हुई जजससे ववर्बन्न धभⴂ के फ च कटु ता भᴂ ववृ हुई. इस धार्भिक

कटु ता के कायण बायत भᴂ धार्भकि अरगाववाद को फढ़ावा र्भरा जजसकी ऩरयणतत अॊतत् साॊप्रदातमक आधाय ऩय देश

के ववबाजन के 셂ऩ भᴂ साभने आई. इसने धार्भकि ऩहचान को इतना उबाय हदमा क्रक हहन्द ू रोग हहन्द ू याष्रीमता

की, औय भुजथरभ रोग भुजथरभ याष्रीमता का प्रततऩादन कयने रगे. इस प्रकाय बायत भᴂ दो-याष्र र्साॊत का उदबव

हुआ. इसके अततरयक्त मवऩ इस इन आन्दोरनⴂ का गुणात्भक प्रबाव ऩड़ा, रेक्रकन मे आन्दोरन आभ जनता को

अऩने साथ नही रे ऩाए औय भुख्मत् ऩढ़े-र्रखे तफके तक ही स र्भत यहे. आभ अनऩढ़ जनता अब ब उस ऩुयाने

ढये ऩय चरत यही.

इन सुधाय आन्दोरनⴂ का प्रबाव फहुत सॊकीण ि साभाजजक ऺेत्र तक स र्भत था. क्मोक्रक सुधाय की बावना एक छोटे

से कु रीन वग ि को ही प्रबाववत कयत थ , जो भुख्मत् उऩतनवेश शासन के आथथकि औय साभाजजक राबाथथमि ⴂ का

सभूह था. फॊगार का आन्दोरन ऩजश्चभ र्शऺा से रैस कु रीनⴂ की छोटी स सॊख्मा तक ही स र्भत था, जजनको

साभान्मत् फॊगारी बद्ररोक के नाभ से जाना जाता था. इन सुधाय आन्दोरनⴂ से भुख्मत् जभ दाय वग ि को 煍मादा

राब हुआ क्मोक्रक मह वग ि साभाजजक 셂ऩ से सशक्त होने के साथ-साथ अॊग्रेजो के ब कापी नजदीक था. ब्रह्भ

सभाज के प्रततऩादक याजा याभभोहन याम ने ब भुख्मत् जभ दायⴂ के कय को ही कभ कयने की भाॊग की. उन्हⴂने

कब ब आभ जनता मा गयीफ क्रकसानⴂ के हहत भᴂ अॊग्रेज हुकू भत ऩय दफाव फनाने की कोर्शश नही की. इन सुधाय

आन्दोरनⴂ के राबाथथमि ⴂ भᴂ भुख्मत् त न ऊॉ च जाततमⴂ के सदथम, अथाित ब्राह्भण, कामथथ औय वैश्म थे .(मुखजी,

1993: 128-38)

23

सुधायकⴂ ने सुधाय की प्रक्रिमा को कब जनता तक रे जाने की कोर्शश ब नही की तथा सुधाय की बाषा, जैसे

याभभोहन याम के ग की ठेठ सॊथकृ तभम फाॊग्रा, अर्शक्षऺत क्रकसानⴂ औय दथतकायⴂ की सभझ से ऩये ही यही. इस

तयह ऩजश्चभ बायत भᴂ प्राथिना सभाज के सदथम ऩजश्चभ र्शऺा-प्राप्त थचत्तऩावन औय सायथवत ब्राह्भण, कु छ

गुजयात सौदागय औय ऩायस सभुदाम के कु छ रोग थे. भद्रास प्रेस डᴂस भᴂ, जहाॉ अॊग्रेज र्शऺा की प्रगतत फहुत ध भ

यही औय ब्राह्भणⴂ का जाततगतवचिथव अप्रबाववत यहा, सुधाय के ववचाय औय ब देय से आए. वाथतव भᴂ उन्न सव

शताब्दी के आयॊर्बक वषⴂ के सुधाय आन्दोरन का साभान्मत् सवण ि चरयत्र ही जातत के प्रश्न ऩय अऩन साऩेऺ

चुप्ऩ की एक फड़ हद तक व्माख्मा कयता है. इस प्रकाय एक व्माऩक साभाजजक आधाय के अबाव भᴂ उन्न सव

सदी के आयम्ब के सुधायकⴂ ने इस कायण उऩतनवेश शासन की कृ ऩाकायी प्रकृ तत भᴂ एक सहज ववश्वास का ऩरयचम

हदमा औय ऊऩय से सुधायⴂ के आयोऩण के र्रए कानूनⴂ का सहाया र्रमा.(शेखर, 2013:156)

 ननष्ट्कषष:-

क्रकस ब सभाज के तनमभ मा भान्मताएॊ अऩने सभम की ऩयम्ऩयाओॊ को प्रततबफॊबफत कयत है. रेक्रकन सभम के

साथ-साथ अगय वही भान्मताएॊ फदरत नही, फज쥍क जथथय हो जात हℂ तो वे धभिभत भᴂ ऩरयवततित हो जात हℂ, जो

आगे चरकय साभाजजक 셂हढ़वाहदता को फढ़ावा देत हℂ. इससे सभाज के ववकास भᴂ 셁कावट ऩैदा होत है.बायत जैसे

ववववधताऩूण ि सभाज भᴂ साभाजजक तनमभ धार्भकि भू쥍मⴂ ऩय आधारयत होत े है. अत् सभाज भᴂ कोई ब आऩेक्षऺत

ऩरयवतनि राने के र्रए धार्भकि सुधाय आवश्मक है. क्रकस ब देश के साभाजजक-धार्भिक ऺेत्र भᴂ सभम की गतत से

ऩरयवतिन अऩरयहामि होता है. अत् बायत भᴂ शु셂 क्रकमे गमे साभाजजक-धार्भिक आन्दोरनⴂ ने बायत म सभाज को एक

नम हदशा देने का कामि क्रकमा, जजससे आगे आनेवारे सभम भᴂ बायत म सभाज भᴂ उदायवादी रोकताजन्त्रक भू쥍मⴂ

की थथाऩना भᴂ फहुत सहामता र्भरी. इन सुधाय आन्दोरनⴂ ने जहाॉ एक तयप बायत म सभाज भᴂ आत्भ-ववश्वास

औय गौयव के बाव को जागतृ क्रकमा वही दसू यी तयप हहन्द ू औय अन्म धभⴂ को सभावेश फनामा. इसने याजन ततक

셂ऩ से बायत म जनता को बब्रहटश उऩतनवेशवाद के खखराप एकबत्रत क्रकमा औय आगे के साभाजजक-धार्भकि सुधायⴂ

के र्रए एक आधाय का कामि क्रकमा.

24

 सन्दब ि सूच :-

1, देसाई, ए.ऑय.(2005). बायत म याष्रवाद की साभाजजक ऩष्ृ ठबूर्भ(6वा सॊथकयण). ऩॉऩुरय प्रकाशन.

२, फॊदोऩाध्माम, शेखय.(2005). ऩरास से ववबाजन तक. ओरयएॊट ब्रैकथवान प्रकाशन.

३, अवथथ एवॊ अवथथ ,(1976). आधुतनक बायत म साभाजजक एवॊ याजतनततक थचतॊ न.

४, बफयभान , आय.स .(2009). बायत भᴂ उऩतनवेशवाद औय याष्रवाद. ग ताॊजर्र प्रकाशन.

५, सयकाय, सुर्भत.(1984). आधुतनक बायत.भैकर्भरन इॊडडमा र्रर्भटेड.

६, चन्द्र, बफवऩन.(2002). आधुतनक बायत. ऩेगुन प्रकाशन.

७, भजभुदाय, फ . फ .(1998). बायत भᴂ आतॊकवादी याष्रवाद औय उसके साभाजजक-धार्भकि ऩष्ृ ठबूर्भ.

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DC-1

SEM-2

Paper: Nationalism in India

Lesson: Subaltern Perspective

Lesson Developer: Abhay Kumar

ARSD, College, University of Delhi.

Table of Contents

Subaltern Perspective  1.1: Subaltern Perspective: Introduction  1.2: Subaltern Interpretations of Indian Nationalism  1.3: Concluding Remarks  Summary  Exercises  Glossary  References

Subaltern Perspective on Nationalism Subaltern Studies group was formed in the beginning of 1980s. The principle aim was to correct the elitist bias, 1.1 : Introduction which used to be found in most of the academic works in Subaltern perspective brought new genre to the South Asian Studies. Ranajit analysis of Indian nationalism. This school of thought Guha, Gayatri Spivak, Partha adopted the “history from below” approach (like Chatterjee, Shahid Amin, European Marxist scholars) for the analysis of Indian Sumit Sarkar, Gyanedra Pandey, David Arnold, David nationalism. It was the Antonio Gramsci who used the Hardiman was some of the word ‘subaltern’ for the “subordinate class in terms of scholars of this group. class, gender, race, language and culture.” In the context of India, Ranjit Guha, in his book Elementary Aspect of Peasants insurgency in Colonial India highlighted the “autonomous domain” of peasant’s struggle, which is independent from the elite. According to Guha, elitist historiographies were “unable to put the peasants’ conditions and their insurgency in correct perspective as they could not go beyond limitations that were existed in “Can the Subaltern colonial India.” Elitist historiography had the view that Speak”, Gayatri Spivak Indian nationalism is the product of elite. agued…. Guha questioned the interpretation of elitist historiography of Indian nationalism on two counts: first, elitist role in the “The Subaltern cannot construction of Indian consciousness and second, the speak. There is no virtue making of India as a nation. Subaltern historiographies also in global laundry lists question the Marxist school of thought for being tendency with woman as a pious. of merging into the “nationalist ideology of modernity and Representation has not progress”. Subaltern believed that Marxist school of withered away.” thought ignored the “ideology of caste and religion” as a factor in Indian history. According to this subaltern school, by ignoring the ideology of caste and religion, somewhere Marxist also fallow the same path as elitist believes so. Therefore, subaltern historiography tried to establish the voice and contribution of marginalized sections of Indian society by adopting the method of looking ‘history from below’.

To explain further, elitist historiography either ‘colonial’ or “native bourgeois”, both believed that are predominantly elite achievements. Colonialist scholars believed that their British rulers, administrators, policies, institutions and cultures created the India as a modern nation whereas, nationalist scholars had the view that the personalities of Indian elites, institutions, activities and their ideas, which developed to counter the colonial narratives, ultimately shaped the Indian nationalism. According to Ranjit Guha, these two elitist historiographies can be understood primarily as a function of “stimulus and response”.

Guha argues that rather than guided by idealism or altruism, Indian nationalist tried to get the reward in “form of share of wealth, power and prestige created by and associated with the colonial rulers.” For this, there were an interplay of “competition and collaboration” between colonial masters and native elites. Guha had the view that the whole natives’ venture of Indian nationalism was guided by idealism in which “Indian elite led to the people from subjugation to freedom.” In other words, if one sees the whole arguments of elitist interpretation of Indian nationalism then see that it highlighted the contribution made by the elites only either ‘colonial’ or ‘native bourgeois’. This elitist historiography ignored the Who are Subalterns? contribution made by the people on their own, which is independent Subaltern refer to--- from elite. ‘of inferior rank’. The term 1.1. Subaltern Interpretations of Indian Nationalism adopted by Antonio Gramsci to refer to those groups in Subaltern school of thought highlighted the contribution made by the people on their own in making and development of the Indian society who are subject to the nationalism. This school of thought believed that elitist hegemony of the ruling historiography always saw mass upsurge either as a law and order classes. In general Subaltern problem or in response to the charisma of certain leader. It means classes include peasants, elitist historiography ignored the contribution made by people on workers, and other groups their own though in many movements like anti-Rowlett upsurge of who “have been denied access 1919 or Quit India movement of 1942, people were actively to ‘hegemonic’ power. participated without being guided by leaders. In other words, elitist historiography failed to explain the phenomenon that why mass mobilization took place during Quit India movement without leaders.

Here subaltern scholars argued that elitist historiography ignored the “politics of the people”. According to Guha, throughout the colonial period along with the “domain of elite politics”, another autonomous domain of subaltern classes and groups were also existed. In this autonomous domain, the principal actors were not the “dominant groups of the indigenous society or the colonial authorities but the subaltern classes and groups” who constitutes the masses of the “labouring population and the intermediate strata in town and country—that’s the people.” Guha also tried to differentiate between the politics of elite and the politics of people. According to him, mobilization in the domain of elite politics was achieved vertically whereas in domain of subaltern politics this achieved horizontally.

Another differentiation was that elite politics is much more inclined towards legalistic or constitutionalist in orientation, subaltern mobilization relatively more violent. The reliance of former was on British parliamentary institution and semi-feudal political institutions of the pre-colonial period whereas the reliance of subaltern politics was on the “organization of kingship and territoriality or on class associations depending upon the level of consciousness of the people involved.” The former was, on the whole, more cautious and controlled, the latter more spontaneous. Popular mobilization in the colonial period was realized in its most comprehensive form in peasant uprisings, which is also source of large number of mobilization of working people and petty bourgeoisie in the urban areas. On the ideological basis, the subaltern politics represent socially diverse composition and their politics of

clearly distinguished it from the elite politics. The people resistance to “elite domination” represents the core of the politics of “subalternity.”

The politics of the people derived from the conditions of exploitation to which the subaltern classes were subjected in varying degrees and their experience of “exploitation and labour endowed this politics with many idioms, norms and values which put it in category apart from elite politics.” However, there used to be certain changes occurred in the domain of subaltern politics once it came in to touch with the politics of elite though despite this, the domain of subalternity remained distinguishable from the politics of elite. In fact, there was the co-existence of both domains of politics. Even the politics of people’s resistance was there due to the failure of the Indian bourgeoisie to speak for the nation. There were vast areas in the life and consciousness of the people which were never integrated into their hegemony.

This dichotomy needed to be taken care of for the better understanding of Indian history. However, time to time, effort were made by indigenous elite to integrated the subaltern classes in to their politics, so there was no clear cut divide between the politics of elite and the politics of people. Hence, one can say that though the independent domain of the politics of subalternity existed, however, time to time it came in to the influence of elite politics provided keeping their self identity intact. Subaltern knew that why they are part of any movement. In other words, they knew what they are doing and why they are doing. It means their decision to participate in any movement was ‘conscious decision’ even though nature of their movement was sometime spontaneous and violent.

Difference between Politics of elite and the politics of people

• Whereas in domain of subaltern politics this achieved horizontally. • mobilization in the domain of elite • subaltern mobilization relatively politics was achieved vertically. more violent. • elite politics is much more inclined • Whereas the reliance of subaltern towards legalistic or constitutionalist politics was on the “organization of in orientation. kingship and territoriality or on class • The reliance of elite politics was on associations depending upon the British parliamentary institution and level of consciousness of the people semi-feudal political institutions of involved. the pre-colonial period. • Subaltern politics are more • spontaneous. Popular mobilization in Elite Politics on the whole, more the colonial period was realized in its cautious and controlled,. most comprehensive form in peasant uprisings, which is also source of large number of mobilization of working people and petty bourgeoisiein the urban areas.

Guha in his book titled ‘Elementary Aspects of Peasants Insurgency in Colonial India’ discussed the various aspects of peasant’s insurrection in colonial India. He pointed out that in colonial India peasants uprising had a “separate and autonomous grammar of mobilization” against the landlords, the money lenders and the colonial government officials. Guha insisted that unlike the European Peasant’s revolt, which used to be characterized by Hobsbawm as “pre-political” due to affiliation of these revolts with kinship, religion and caste, in India peasant’s revolt had the political character. In this context, Ranajit Guha had examined for instance, over hundred known cases of peasant rebellions in British India between 1783 and 1900. According Guha, “these revolts always involved the deployment by the peasants of codes of dress, speech, and behaviour which tended to invert the codes through which their social superiors dominated them in everyday life. Inversion of the symbols of authority was almost inevitably the first act of rebellion by insurgent peasants.” In a way, Guha tried to highlight that peasants too had progressive consciousness. In other words, subaltern groups had the awareness of what they are doing and for what. They have their independent domain which was independent from others. For example, if subaltern are taking part in any movement or revolt then they are aware about their act-what they are doing. That is why Ranajit Guha opposed many prevailing academic historiography writing by citing their weakness that they have not acknowledged the contribution made by subaltern groups. To quote him, “We are indeed opposed to much of the prevailing

academic practice in historiography . . . for its failure to acknowledge the subaltern as the maker of his own destiny. This critique lies at the very heart of our project.”

Hence, the debate regarding the nature of peasants’ revolt as pre-political or political was very much part of the subaltern studies. Many elitist history writing missed the significant gestures of various peasants uprising by criticising them for not having specific political content. Instead, Cambridge historian like Anil Seal argued that peasants’ uprising was traditional of its kind as they used sticks and stones which was the only way of protesting against distress. However, Guha argued that at the beginning of every peasant uprising which one can see that, how rebels tried to destroy all symbols of the social prestige and power of the ruling classes. Such acts are nothing but political and modern through which subaltern groups were intended to abolish their “subalternity”. Guha also raised this In this autonomous domain, the issue that though ‘native elite’ claimed that they principal actors were not the are ushering India to out of some kind of pre- “dominant groups of the indigenous political stage into a world-historical phase of society or the colonial authorities but “modernity” which fitted with the modern concept the subaltern classes and groups” who like democracy, citizen’s right, market economy constitutes the masses of the and rule of law etc however, at the same time “labouring population and the “undemocratic relations of domination and intermediate strata in town and subordination” also existed. So, according to Guha, there was co-existence of two domains of country—that’s the people.” politics where there was “failure of the bourgeoisie  to speak for the nation”. In fact, peasants or subaltern are makers of their destiny.

The whole emphasis of Subaltern historiography was on the ‘autonomous domain’ of subaltern class. Guha categorically affirmed that the people who were participated in different movements tried to improve their condition. At the same time, they wanted to draw the attention of elite class. Guha argued that rebellions participated in any revolt only when their pleadings of various kinds had failed. Either workers of factory or of the hills or the peasants of the plains revolted only when their condition becomes intolerable. Hence, the point which Guha tried to affirm here is that, subaltern’s decision to participate in any revolt is their conscious decision, which is independent from elite. In other words, rebellions are not merely spectator in any kinds of movement; in fact, they have their own independent decision to participate actively.

1.2. Concluding Remarks

In a way, subaltern historiography tried to develop new kind of history writing based on the European Marxist style. By emphasizing the role of subaltern group ‘independent from elite’, they tried to highlight the contribution made by subaltern group in various kinds of revolt. It also brought the importance of subaltern group that there were not mere spectator in any revolt. In fact, they were conscious actor. Subaltern knew what they were doing and why they were doing. However, subaltern historiography could not provide systematic study and

considered to be part of sub-history/local history though it filling up gap within history writing by unfolded many pages of Indian history by ferreting out many local records.

Summary

Subaltern school of thought tried to develop alternate interpretation of Indian nationalism.

They have used the “history from below” approach in line with European Marxist.

Subaltern historiography emphasis the “autonomous domain” of subaltern groups by highlighting the contribution made by them.

They brought in to the notice that the “politics of the people” is independent from the ‘politics of the elite’. In a way, they tried to highlight the “conscious decision” of the subaltern group.

The people who were participated in different movements tried to improve their condition. They wanted to draw the attention of elite class.

Rebellions participated in any revolt only when their pleadings of various kinds had failed.

They attacked on the symbol of repression only.

Exercises

Discuss the Subaltern view of Indian nationalism?

How subaltern historiography is different from elitist historiography?

What are the main arguments of Subaltern school of thought? Glossary

Subaltern: Initially the word Subaltern was used by the British army to denote a subordinate officer. Later group of Indian scholars led by Ranajit Guha established subaltern group in order to understand the situation of South Asia, in particular in the colonial and postcolonial era. Politics of people: It means apart from politics of elite, there is autonomous domain of subaltern people and the autonomous domain of subaltern group is independent from the elite politics.

References

Works Cited Sreedharan, E. (2004): A text of Historiagraphy: 500 BC to 2000 AD, Delhi: Orient Blackswan. Prakash, Gyan (1994), "Subaltern Studies as Postcolonial Criticism", The American Historical Review, 99(5): 1475–1490. Guha, Ranajit (1997) The elementary aspects of Peasants Insurgency in colonial India, Oxford University Press.

DC-1

SEM-2

Paper: Nationalism in India

Lesson: Swadeshi and Radicals

Lesson Developer: Dr. Rajneesh Kumar Gupta

Motilal Nehru College/Political Science,

University of Delhi

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Table of Contents

Chapter: Swadeshi and Radicals 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Partition of Bengal 1.1.1 Lord Curzon and Nationalists 1.1.2 Plan of Partition 1.1.2.1 British Arguments 1.1.2.2 Real Agenda 1.1.3 Nationalist Response 1.2 Swadeshi 1.2.1 Anti-Partition Swadeshi Movement 1.2.1.1 The Moderate Tradition 1.2.1.2 Constructive Swadeshi 1.2.1.3 Political Extremism 1.2.1.4 Revolutionary Terrorism 1.2.2 Pan-Indian Character of Swadeshi Movement 1.2.3 Techniques of Swadeshi 1.2.3.1 Economic- Swadeshi Enterprise and Boycott 1.2.3.2 National Education 1.2.3.3 Labour Unrest and Trade Unions 1.2.3.4 Mass Contacts 1.2.3.5 Swadeshi Organizations 1.3 Radicals 1.3.1 Growth of Radicals-Causes 1.3.1.1 Recognition of the true nature of British rule 1.3.1.2 Social and Religious Awakening 1.3.1.3 Failure of the Congress to attract Masses 1.3.1.4 Revolutionary Cultural Nationalism 1.3.1.5 Factionalism 1.3.1.6 International Developments 1.3.2 The Surat Split 1.3.3 Prominent Radicals- Lal, Pal and Bal 1.3.3.1 Lala Lajpat Rai 1.3.3.2 Bal Gangadhar Tilak 1.3.3.3 Bipin Chandra Pal 1.3.3.4 Other Radicals

1.3.4 Critiques of Radicals 1.3.5 Contributions of Radicals  Summary  Exercises  Glossary  References

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1.0 Introduction

“The historical development of Indian nationalism is marked by three great waves of struggle, each at successively higher level, and each leaving its permanent marks on the movement and opening the way to a new phase.”

-R. Palme Dutt, India Today

Image-1

First session of Indian National Congress (Bombay, 28–31 December, 1885)

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1st_INC1885.jpg accessed on 23 December 2013.

The Indian national Congress was founded in 1885 and during the first twenty years it was dominated by liberal constitutionalists. In all these years no basic claim for self government was made instead all their resolutions were confined for the representative institutions. They relied on the tactics of prayer, petition and peaceful procession but by these means they were not able to challenge British rule or create any mass movement in India. By the

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end of the nineteenth century, failure of moderate politics became quite apparent and a new set of leadership- radical or extremist emerged. Lord Curzon’s notorious proposal of the Partition of Bengal in 1905 generated a powerful Swadeshi movement. This movement not only revolutionized the political life of Bengal, but also led to the emergence of radical politics and violet it revolutionary movements in India. “It also helped in forging new and powerful instruments of national struggle- boycott, Swadeshi, passive resistance, national education and even armed resistance. Moreover, it sowed the seeds of mass movements and militant protests, which flourished and fructified under the dynamic leadership of Mahatma Gandhi in subsequent years” (Pradhan: 2008, 93).

1.1 Partition of Bengal

“The tremendous upheaval of popular feelings, which has taken place in Bengal in consequence of the partition, will constitute a landmark in the history of national progress.” -GOPAL KRISHNA GOKHALE (Source: Pradhan: 2008, 93)

Image-2 Proclamation against Partition of Bengal

Source: HTTP://INDIANSAGA.COM/HISTORY/BENGAL_PARTITION.HTML accessed on 29 December 2013.

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1.1.1 Lord Curzon and Nationalists

“Conceive the howls! They will almost slay me in Bengal" Lord Curzon wrote to Ampthill on 8 June 1905, conveying the news that the partition plan had been sanctioned. (Source: Sarkar, 1973, 20)

Image-3 Lord Curzon

Source: HTTP://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/FILE:GEORGE_CURZON2.JPG accessed on 9 January 2014

Lord Curzon was appointed viceroy of India in 1899. Entire tenure of Curzon remained famous for his notorious acts in the name of efficiency of administration, leading to continuous confrontation between Curzon and the nationalist intelligentsia. To secure interests of European business community he reduced number of elected Indian members in Calcutta Corporation in 1899. To curb and control the freedom of the people and their institutions he brought the Official Secret Act. With the profound claim of ‘raising the standard of education all round’ he introduced the Universities Act of 1904. The act reduced the number of elected Senate members, transferred the power of ultimate decision in matter of college affiliation and school recognition to government officials. Therefore, this

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act restricted autonomy of universities and brought them under strict government control. Educated Indian opposed this act on the ground of its undemocratic and restrictive nature (Sarkar: 1983, 105-6). However, his final blow to nationalists was his notorious idea of ‘partition of Bengal’.

1.1.2 Plan of Partition

“Bengal united is a power. Bengal divided will pull in several different ways. That is what the Congress leaders feel: their apprehensions are perfectly correct and they form one of the great merits of the scheme. …One of our main objects is to split up and thereby to weaken a solid body of opponents to our rule.”

-Official note of Risley (6 December 1904), Home Secretary to Government of India (Source: Chandra: 2009, 249) Map-1 Religious Distribution of Indian Population at the time of Partition of Bengal

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Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Brit_IndianEmpireReligions3.jpg accessed on 5 February 2014

During the Raj, Bengal was a big province in terms of population and territory. In early twentieth century its population was about 78 million- constituting one-fourth of the total population of British India. ‘Thus it was rightly considered to be administratively unwieldy and even unmanageable. It was on account of its unwieldy size that the division of was being considered, since the days of the Orissa famine of 1866. It is also relevant to note that since 1874, when Assam was separated from Bengal, many proposals were mooted to include some areas from Bengal to Assam’ (Pradhan: 2008, 95). However, partition plan of Bengal was actually materialized during the Viceroyalty of Lord Curzon- with a deliberate objective of ‘divide and rule’.

When Lord Curzon arrived in India and went on a tour of Assam in March 1900, the European tea garden planters demanded a maritime outlet nearer than Calcutta to reduce their dependence on the Assam-Bengal railways (Bandyopadhyay: 2004, 252). Similarly,

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in 1901, Sir Andrew Fraser (the then chief commissioner of the Central Province) suggested for some readjustments along the Bengal-CP border so as to solve the problem of Sambalpur, an Oriya enclave in a Hindi-speaking province (Sarkar: 1973, 10). Curzon responded to these demands through his Minute on Territorial Redistribution in India (19 May/1 June 1903), which was later published as the Risley Papers on 3 December, 1903. It proposed the transfer of Chittagong Division, Dacca and districts to Assam and Chota Nagpur to the Central Provinces; Bengal would receive in return Sambalpur and the feudatory states from Central Provinces and Ganjam district and the Vizagapatnam agency tracts from Madras (Bandyopadhyay: 2004, 252). However, in course of East Bengal tour in 1904, Curzon hinted rather vaguely that “a more ambitious” scheme “for a larger readjustment in the east of Bengal” was being considered (Sarkar: 1973, 11). The final scheme of partition was embodied in Curzon's dispatch of 2 February, 1905 to the Secretary of State Broderick, who reluctantly accepted it without even a proper parliamentary debate. The partition of Bengal was formally announced on 19 July and implemented three months later on 16 October, 1905 (Bandyopadhyay: 2004, 252).

1.1.2.1 British Arguments The colonial government defended the scheme of partition on administrative grounds: a) it would reduce the excessive administrative burden of the Bengal government; b) this would also solve the problem of Assam which would become a lieutenant governor's province with a separate civil service cadre; c) there would be substantial commercial benefits, as the interests of the tea gardens, oil and coal industries would be safeguarded; d) the Assam planters would be having a cheaper maritime outlet through the port of Chittagong; and, e) the Assam-Bengal railways, which was so vital to the economic development of north-eastern India, would be brought under a single administration (Bandyopadhyay: 2004, 252-53). 1.1.2.2 Real Agenda Even a cursory look of the partition scheme reveals that all arguments of the Curzonian administration were fallacious. It created a new province of Eastern Bengal and Assam, consisting of all the districts in Chittagong, Dacca and Rajshahi divisions, as well as Hill Tippera, Malda and Assam. The new province would contain a population of 31 million, of which 18 million would be Muslims and 12 million Hindus, while the remaining province of Bengal would be having a population of 54 million, 42 million Hindus and 9 million Muslims. The Bengali Hindus would be outnumbered by the Muslims in the new province, and they would be a linguistic minority in the old, which would contain large numbers of Hindi and Oriya speaking population (Bandyopadhyay: 2004, 252). In fact, partition was planned with pure political motives to divide people on religious ground and weaken politically articulate Bengali community.

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1.1.2 Nationalist Response

Did you Know Raksha Bandhan: A Symbol of Hindu-Muslim Unity During the nationalist opposition to Bengal partition, in 1909, Raksha Bandhan came to symbolize Hindu-Muslim unity against the communal divide and rule policy of the British.

Source: http://centreright.in/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/rb1.jpg accessed on 23 January 2014

The partition instead of dividing and weakening the Bengali’s, further united them through an anti-partition agitation. Curzon administration clearly underestimated the sense of unity among them- rooted to some extent in a history marked by long periods of regional independence and greatly fostered, at least among the literate, by the cultural development of nineteenth century. Calcutta had become a real metropolis for the educated Bengali bhadralok. Due to the advantage of earlier English education- Bengali were leading in professions, government services and politics over much of India. Preaching’s of Vivekananda and literary works had got worldwide recognition. Further, international developments- British reverses in the Boer War, the unexpected Japanese victory over Russia in 1904-05 and news of the Chinese boycott of American goods in protest against immigration laws were giving boost to nationalists. In this atmosphere of strong regional unity and growing self-confidence and pride, Curzon’s act of partition was regarded as a national insult. With startling rapidity, after July 1905, the movement against partition broke away from traditional moorings, developed a variety of new and militant techniques, attracted larger numbers than before, and broadened into a struggle for Swaraj (Sarkar: 1973, 107-09).

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1.2 Swadeshi

Swadeshi movement was one of the major events in the history of Indian nationalism. It was started in 1905 as an agitation against the partition of Bengal and it spread to other parts of the country. In literary terms the word Swadesh refers to “one’s own country”, and thus Swadeshi means “pertaining to one’s own country” (Ker: 1973, 6). An Important aspect of the Swadeshi movement was the emphasis placed on self-reliance or Atmasakti. Self-reliance meant assertion of national dignity, honour and self-confidence. Equally important aspect of the movement was technique of boycott. The boycott was mainly the boycott of all kinds of foreign goods, particularly those of English manufacture. With the new techniques the movement developed into a full-fledged political mass struggle for the attainment of Swaraj.

Image-4 A Poster appealing for Use of Swadeshi Goods

Source: http://www.wondersandmarvels.com/2013/11/the-swadeshi-movement-the-first- step-toward-indian-independence.html accessed on 12 January 2014

1.2.1 Anti-Partition Swadeshi Movements

British attempt to divide Bengali society by the act of partition, rather united them through anti-partition agitation. A "swadeshi coalition" came into existence through consolidation of the political alliance between the Calcutta leaders and their east Bengali followers, which according to Rajat Ray, was "nothing less than a revolution in the political structure of Bengal society" (Bandyopadhyay: 2004, 255). The agitation against the partition had started in 1903, but became stronger and more organised after the scheme was finally announced and implemented in 1905. The anti-partition movement was initiated on 7

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August, 1905. On that day a massive demonstration against the partition was organized in the Town Hall in Calcutta. From the meeting delegates dispersed to spread the movement to the rest of the province (Chandra: 2009, 250). The initial aim was to secure the annulment of partition, but it soon enlarged into a more broad-based movement, known as the Swadeshi movement, touching upon wider political and social issues.

At theoretical level, Sumit Sarkar has identified four major trends in Swadeshi movement of Bengal- the moderate trend, constructive swadeshi, Political Extremism and revolutionary terrorism. Periodisation of these trends, he argues, is not possible as all the trends were present more or less simultaneously throughout the period (Sarkar: 1983, 112-13).

1.2.1.1 The Moderate Tradition

The Congress leadership which was in the hands of moderates began to oppose the partition scheme ever since it was announced in 1903. They believed that it could be negotiated in its formative stage itself through means of prayers, petitions and public meetings. But this did not work and the partition was announced in 1905. Thus, moving away from their conventional political methods they took the first initiative to transform the narrow agitation into a wider swadeshi movement. Surendranath Banerjee at a meeting in Calcutta on 17 July, 1905 gave a call for the boycott of British goods and institutions. Further, a mass meeting was organized on 7 August, 1905 at Calcutta Town Hall and a formal boycott resolution was passed. This was also the first time that the moderates tried to mobilise other than the literate section of the population; some of them participated in the national education movement; some of them even got involved in labour strikes. But their political philosophy remained the same, as they only sought to pressurise British parliament to secure an annulment of partition and could not conceptualise boycott as a step towards the regeneration of national economy or start a full-scale passive resistance (Bandyopadhyay: 2004, 255). 1.2.1.2 Constructive Swadeshi This trend in the Swadeshi movement evolved through ‘ rejection of futile and self- demanding mendicant politics in favour of self-help through Swadeshi industries, national schools and attempt at village improvement organization. This found expression through the business ventures of Prafullachandra Roy or Niratan Sircar, Satischandra Mukherji’s journal Dawn and his Dawn Society, the Saraswat Ayatan of Brahmabandhab Upadhyay and the Santiniketan Ashram of Rabindranath Tagore. In his "Swadeshi Samaj" address, delivered in 1904, Rabindranath Tagore outlined the constructive programme of self-help or atmasakti through a revival of the traditional Hindu Samaj or community. The Swadesh Bandhab Samiti in the district of Bakarganj claimed to have settled 523 disputes through its eighty- nine arbitration committees in its first annual report (September 1906). According to Sumit Sarkar ‘these were clear anticipations of much of the later Gandhian programme of Swadeshi, national school and constructive village work (Sarkar: 1983, 113).

1.2.1.3 Political Extremism In the wave of Swadeshi some leaders realized that without freedom no real regeneration of national life was possible. Thus they began to work on the new political ideal of political independence- complete and unadulterated swaraj, instead of demand of piecemeal constitutional reform. Leaders of this line proposed extension of the boycott into a full scale

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movement of noncooperation or-‘passive resistance’ (Sarkar: 1973, 63). This programme needed the mass to be mobilized for the movement. For the same purpose the religion and culture were used as a tool. Religious revivalism therefore was a main feature of this new politics. ‘Bhagavadgita became a source of spiritual inspiration for the swadeshi volunteers and Hindu religious symbols, usually sakta imageries, were frequently used to mobilise the masses. But, as Barbara Southard (1980) has shown, this also alienated the Muslims and failed to attract the lower caste peasants, many of whom were Vaishnavites’(Bandyopadhyay: 2004, 257). The organization of samitis was another way which was used for the mass mobilization. Through samitis the programmes like physical training, propagation of the Swadeshi message were carried out.

1.2.1.4 Revolutionary Terrorism Another notable aspect of the Swadeshi movement was emergence of revolutionary terrorism. Though, existence of ‘secret societies’ in Bengal was since 1902 but their activities grown tremendously with the beginning of the Swadeshi movement. The Dacca Anushilan Samiti was born in October 1906 through the initiative of . This was followed by an all-Bengal conference of the revolutionaries in December and a revolutionary weekly called Yugantar started in the same year. A distinct group within the Calcutta Anushilan Samiti headed by , Hemchandra Qanungo and Prafullo Chaki soon started action. The first swadeshi dacoity or robbery to raise funds was organised in Rangpur in August 1906 and a bomb manufacturing unit was set up at Maniktala in Calcutta. Attempts to assassinate oppressive officials and spies, robbery in the houses of wealthy Saha merchants who had earlier refused to stop dealing in foreign goods became the main features of the revolutionary activities since 1907-8. But the abortive attempt at Muzaffarpur on the life of the Presidency Magistrate Kingsford on 30 April, 1908 by Khudiram Bose and Prafullo Chaki and the following arrest of the entire Maniktala group, including Aurobindo and Barindra Kumar Ghosh, dealt a great blow to such terrorist activities (Bandyopadhyay: 2004, 260).

1.2.2 Pan-Indian Character of Swadeshi Movement

The swadeshi movement which was erupted in Bengal soon captured the imagination of the people and leaders of the other parts of India. Movements in support of Bengal’s unity and boycott of foreign goods were organized in Bombay, Madras and northern India. Bal Gangadhar Tilak in Maharashtra, Lala Lajpat Rai in Punjab, Sayed Haider Raza in Delhi, and Chidambaram Pillai from Madras Presidency, soon joined the movement giving it a pan- Indian character. The swadeshi movement witnessed massive participation of students, women, Muslims and other sections of the society. Large number of students practised and propagated ideology of swadeshi and took the lead in organizing picketing of shops selling foreign goods. Many of them were fined, expelled from their educational institutions, arrested and sometimes beaten by the police. The students, however, refused to be cowed down. The traditionally home-centered women of the urban middle classes joined processions and picketing. Many prominent Muslims joined the swadeshi movement

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including Abdul rasul, the famous barrister; Liaquat Hussain, the popular agitator; and Guznavi, the businessman (Chandra: 2009, 250-52).

Image-5 V.O. Chidambaram Pillai

Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/05/V.O.Chidambaram_Pillai_photo.jpg accessed on 5 February 2014

1.2.3 Techniques of Swadeshi

Immediate cause of the swadeshi movement was partition of Bengal but it was not a matter of interest to the alone, it had became an issue of all-India importance and the Slogans of Swaraj became new mantra for the nationalists in subsequent years. The movement made several distinct contributions to the cause of the Indian nationalism. Several new techniques like passive resistance, boycott and other effective methods of mass protests were evolved and experimented in this movement. The movement underlined need and significance of national education. The movement also led to the emergence of the trade union movement. Further, new forms of people's organisations like samities and associations were formed which proved to be quite an effective medium for popular protests in successive years of national movement.

1.2.3.1 Economic- Swadeshi Enterprise and Boycott In the economic sphere Swadeshi movement advocated for fostering indigenous industrial and other enterprises and boycott to foreign goods. According to Sumit Sarkar, swadeshi

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may be defined as the sentiment-“that indigenous goods should be preferred by consumers even if they were more expensive and inferior in quality to their imported substitutes, and that it was the patriotic duty of men with capital to pioneer such industries even though profits initially might be minimal or nonexistent” (Sarkar: 1973, 92). This technique was frequently used in the swadeshi movement. Many textile mills, soap and match factories, handloom weaving concerns, national banks and insurance companies were opened. Acharya P.C. Ray organized his famous Bengal Chemical Swadeshi store. The great poet Rabindranath Tagore helped to open a Swadeshi store (Chandra: 2009, 251). The Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company (SSNCo) was established by V.O. Chidambarampillai in Madras Presidency (Kasthuri: 2013, 2-3).

Image-6 A share certificate of Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/01149/17july_masamnsb_Pr_1149676g.jpg accessed on 5 February 2014

The complete boycott of foreign goods was obviously not a practical option. In fact the development of swadeshi industries stimulated import of the machinery and even certain varieties of raw materials. Even the Bande Mataram favoured no more than a ‘graduated boycott’, with Manchester piecegoods, Liverpool salt and foreign sugar as the principal targets to which might be added footwear, cigarettes and foreign liquors (Saarkar: 1973, 137). However, the boycott slogan united virtually all the sections of nationalist opinion and achieved some initial successes. It would be interesting to quote note of the Calcutta

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Collector of Custom in September 1906 that records “a 22% fall in the quantity of imported cotton piece-goods, 44% in cotton twist and yarn, 11% in salt, 55% in cigarettes and 68% in boots and shoes in the previous month as compared to August 1905” (Sarkar: 1983, 116).

1.2.3.2 National Education Development of national education was another notable tactics of the swadeshi movement. National education institutions where literary, technical or physical education was imparted were opened by nationalists who regarded the existing system of education as de- nationalising and, in any case, inadequate. On 15 August, 1906, a National Council of Education was set up. A National College with Aurobindo Ghose as Principal was started in Calcutta (Chandra: 2009, 251). A Bengal Technical Institute was established and about a dozen of schools were opened in Bengal and Bihar. Some schools of East Bengal survived for a longer period and later became virtually recruiting centers for revolutionaries. Sonarang National School (New Dacca) was most famous among them (Sarkar: 1983, 117- 18).

1.2.3.3 Labour Unrest and Trade Unions Another notable feature of Swadeshi movement was mobilizing labours, primarily in the foreign owned companies. Initially some strikes were organized on the issues of rising prices and racial insult. In September 1905, 257 Bengali clerks of Burn Company in Howrah walk- out in protest against a derogatory work regulation. In July 1906, a strike of clerks on the East Indian Railway led to the formation of a Railwaymen’s Union. Jute strikes were also frequent between 1906 and 1908, affecting at various times 18 out of 18 mills. Some extremists journals occasionally speculated about the great potentialities of the ‘Russian Method’ of political general strike. However, there were no major labour unrests after summer of 1908 (Sarkar: 1983, 118-19).

1.2.3.4 Mass Contacts To establish contact with masses leaders of the swadeshi movement relied in several new techniques. Newspapers, periodicals, pamphlets, public meetings-all these forms of mass communication were useful and indispensable, but felt increasingly to be not quite sufficient in Indian circumstances. Rabindranath in his famous Swadeshi Samaj address (July 1904) made concrete suggestions regarding ways of bringing the gulf between the English educated elite and the masses. Bepinchandra Pal stated that “patriotism must be converted into a religion, with its own symbols, images vows and ceremonial” (Sarkar: 1973, 282-83). Thus religious and cultural symbols were frequently used in the movement to convey messages of patriotism. On the suggestion of Rabindranath, the partition day was observed as Rakhi-bandhan day, transforming a traditional popular rite into a symbol of the brotherhood and unity of the people of Bengal. Another rite observed every year on Partition Day was arandhan, suggested by Ramendrasundar Trivedi- the call to women not to light the home fires for the day. A large number of patriotic songs, plays and stories were written and efforts were made to bring out them in local dialects, suitable for village audience. 1.2.3.5 Swadeshi Organizations

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Emergence of large number of swadeshi organizations in the form of associations, samiti and voluntary organizations was another notable dimension of the swadeshi movement. These were engaged in various forms of mobilising efforts, such as moral and physical training, philanthropic work, propagation of the swadeshi message, organisation of the swadeshi craft, education, arbitration courts etc. “Apart from Calcutta, with 19 samitis reported by the police in 1907, the main strength of the movement was in East Bengal. This included a central bloc consisting of Bakargunj, Faridpur, Dacca and Mymensingh districts (where originated the five principal samitis were to be banned in January 1909- Swadesh bandhav, Brati, Dacca Anushilan, Suhrid, Sadhana), strong organizations in Rangpur, Tippera, Sylhet and the parts of the old province lying to the east of the Hooghly river, and some societies in all districts except Sibsagar, Goalpara and Garo hills. A police report of June 1907 gave an estimate of 8485 volunteers for East Bengal; Bakargunj and Dacca topped the list with more than 2600 each” (Sarkar: 1983, 119-20).

1.3 Radicals

“The Extremists of today will be the Moderates of tomorrow, just as the Moderates of today were the Extremists of yesterday”. BAL GANGADHAR TILAK (Source: Pradhan: 2008, 102) The ‘partition of Bengal’ and Swadeshi movement marked to the beginning of new era in the history of Indian nationalism. Now, the social base of Indian national movement was widened and new leadership with more radical approach emerged. At the same time, sharp differences emerged in the Indian National Congress which resulted in the split of two groups-moderates and radicals (or extremists). This division existed until the reunion of Congress in 1916. In this phase of national movement, leadership was in the hands of radicals and they set Swaraj and Swadeshi as their goal, and boycott and passive resistance as their means of struggle.

1.3.1 Growth of Radicals-Causes

By the end of the nineteenth century, it became quite apparent that moderate leadership of the Congress was unable to bring any significant change in the policies and administration of the British in India. It created reaction and thinking grew among young leadership that no good would be served without struggle. They gradually lost faith in the moderate tactics- prayer, petition and peaceful procession and therefore, proceeded ahead towards the path of confrontation. It resulted in the rise of radicals within the Congress and that of revolutionary outside it. The primary causes for the growth of radicals were as follow-

1.3.1.1 Recognition of the true nature of British rule The political strategy of the moderates was founded on the belief that British rule could reformed within. But the spread of knowledge regarding political and economic questions gradually undermined this belief. The British continued to look towards Indians with apathy and behaved with racial arrogance and superiority. Indians badly suffered from the disastrous famines in the last decade of nineteenth century which took over 90 lakhs of lives but government paid no attention. The political events of the year 1892-1905 also disappointed the nationalists. The Indian Council Act, 1892 failed to satisfy Indian public opinion. On the other hand, even the existing political rights of the people were attacked. In 1898, a law was passed making it an offence to excite “feeling of disaffection” towards the foreign government. The Curzonian administration magnified this nationalist angst further.

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Even socially and culturally, the British rule was no longer progressive. Thus an increasing number of Indians were getting convinced that self-government was essential for the sake of economic, political and cultural progress of the country and that political enslavement meant stunting the growth of the Indian people (Chandra: 2009, 243-45).

1.3.1.2 Social and Religious Awakening The various social and religious movements which had revived the faith of Indians in their country and culture were increasing national awakening. They brought awareness that a vast country like India had been colonized by a handful of foreigners because of internal weaknesses of Indian social structure and culture. They also highlighted adverse impacts of foreign dominance and brought nationalist sentiments in the masses. For instance, Swami Vivekananda wrote- “Moving about here and there emaciated figures of young and old in tattered rags, whose faces bear deep-cut lines of the despair and poverty of hundreds of years; cows, bullocks, buffaloes common everywhere- aye, the same melancholy look in their eyes, the same feeble physique, on the wayside, refuse and dirt;- this is our present day India! Worn out huts by the very side of palaces, piles of refuse in the near proximity of temples, the Sannyasin clad with only a little loin cloth, walking by the gorgeously dressed, the pitiful gaze of lusterless eyes of the hunger stricken at the well-fed and the amply-provided;- this is our native land! Devastation by violent plague and cholera; malaria eating into the very vitals of the nation; starvation and semi-starvation as second nature; death like famine often dancing its tragic dance;…A conglomeration of three hundred million souls, resembling men only in appearance;- crushed out of life by being down-trodden by their own people and foreign nations…without any hope, without any past, without any future-…of a malicious nature befitting a slave, to whom the property of their fellowmen is unbearable;- …licking the dust of the feet of the strong, withal dealing a death-blow to those who are weak;- full of ugly, diabolical superstitions which come naturally to those who are weak, and hopeless of the future;- without any standard of morality as their backbone;- three hundred millions of souls such as these are swarming on the body of India, like so many worms on a rotten, stinking carcass;- this is the picture concerning us, which naturally presents itself to the English official” (Chandra: 2009, 219-20).

1.3.1.3 Failure of the Congress to attract Masses

“The only hope of India is from the masses. The upper classes are physically and morally dead”. Swami Vivekananda (Source: Chandra: 2009, 245)

In the first twenty years of its existence the Congress remained an ‘elite club’ representing voices of educated middle class of India. The party was being governed by an undemocratic constitution. Although after repeated attempts by Tilak a new constitution was drafted and ratified in 1899, it was never given a proper trial. The Congress was also financially broke, as the capitalists did not contribute and the patronage of a few rajas and landed magnates was never sufficient. The social reformism of the moderates, inspired by Western liberalism, also went against popular orthodoxy (Bandyopadhyay: 2004, 260). Further, aside from annual conferences of the Congress, which many termed as a 'three-day tamasha', there was hardly any other political activity for the rest of the year (Pradhan:2008, 105). Thus, the Congress under the leadership of moderates could not reach to the masses.

1.3.1.4 Revolutionary Cultural Nationalism

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Rise of radicals in the national movement was not just a reaction to moderate failures; it drew its inspiration and ideology from a cultural and intellectual movement that developed simultaneously with and parallel to moderate politics of the Indian National Congress. These revolutionaries highlighted glory of ancient India and used religious and cultural symbols to imaging nationalism. Radicals “derived their inspiration from the literary works of writers like Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya and religious leaders like Vivekananda and Dayanand. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya not only eulogised Lord Krishna as an ideal man and a nation builder but also for his basic message of Karmyoga in Bhagvad Gita, which subsequently became a major source of inspiration and motivation for nationalist leaders. Besides, his novel Anandmath gave a new dimension and momentum to the emergence of cultural nationalism. Not only that, his homage to the motherland in die form of his hymn Vande Mataram proved to be so emotive that it virtually touched the soul of the people of India” (Pradhan:2008, 105).

1.3.1.5 Factionalism Towards the end of the nineteenth century there was a good deal of faction fighting at almost every level of organised public life in India. According to some historians, this was also a leading cause of growth of radicals in the Indian national movement. Analyzing this factionalism Bandyopadhyay writes “In Bengal there was division within the Brahmo Samaj and bitter journalistic rivalry between the two newspaper groups, the Bengalee, edited by moderate leader Surendranath Banerjea and the , edited by the more radical Motilal Ghosh. There was also faction fighting between Aurobindo Ghosh on the one hand and Bepin Chandra Pal and Brahmabandhab Upadhyay on the other, over the editorship of Bande Mataram. In Maharashtra there was competition between Gokhale and Tilak for controlling the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha. The contest came to the surface when in 1895 Tilak captured the organisation and the following year Gokhale started his rival organisation, the Deccan Sabha. In Madras three factions, the Mylapur clique, the Egmore clique and the suburban elites fought among each other. In Punjab, the Arya Samaj was divided after the death of Dayanand Saraswati, between the more moderate College group and the radical revivalist group. One could argue therefore, that the division in Congress between the moderates and the extremists was just faction fighting that plagued organised public life everywhere in India around this time.” (Bandyopadhyay: 2004, 260).

1.3.1.6 International Developments

What one Asiatic has done others can do…if Japan can drub Russia, India can drub England with equal ease…Let us drive the British into the sea and take our place side by side with Japan among the great powers of the world. -Karachi Chronicle 18 June 1905) (Source: Chandra: 2009, 246) Several events abroad during this period were another important factor that encouraged upsurge of radical politics in India. The rise of modern Japan after 1868 showed that a backward Asian country could develop itself without western control. In a short span of time, the Japanese leaders made their country a significant industrial and military power, introduced universal primary education and evolved an efficient, modern administration (Chandra: 2009, 246). Further, People's struggles in Ireland, Turkey and China inspired the people of India to take their national struggle to a higher plane. On the other hand, the defeat of Italy at the hands of Ethiopia (1896) and Russia at those of Japan (1904) exploded the myth of 'white-man's' supremacy, which emboldened our people to go in for a more decisive struggle (Pradhan:2008, 105).

1.3.2 The Surat Split

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With the beginning of twentieth century sharp differences emerged in the Congress. After the partition of Bengal, extremists came to occupy the centre-stage in the Congress politics pushing the Moderates in the background and even forcing them to toe their more militant line. Intense pressure of the moderates forced the Congress to define its political goal of India as 'self-government' like other colonies in its Banaras session (1905). Further, in his presidential speech of Calcutta session (1906) Dadabhai Naoroji emphasized that the political goal of the Congress is 'self-government or Swaraj like that of and other colonies'. A resolution passed in the Calcutta session demanded that 'the system of government obtaining in the self-governing British colonies should be extended to India'. The four resolutions on self-government, boycott, swadeshi and national education passed by the Calcutta Congress (1906) were also a major lead of radicals in the party. However, there has been difference of opinion between the moderates and the radicals- the moderates talked of 'self-government' under the compulsion of circumstances, whereas for the radicals it was an article of faith. There was also disagreement on the use of tactics of boycott- The Moderates wanted the boycott movement to be confined only to Bengal whereas the Extremists really wanted to make it an all-India movement. Besides, the Moderates were satisfied with the boycott of British goods alone, whereas the Extremists included the organised resistance to the government too in its fold (Pradhan:2008, 106-7).

The moderates were determined to revise resolutions passed in Calcutta session. The 1907 session of the Congress was scheduled to take place at Poona, which was an extremists' stronghold. The moderates, therefore, shifted the venue to Surat. The radicals proposed name of Lala Lajpat Rai for the next Congress President while the moderate candidate was Rash Behari Ghosh. But Rai, who did not want a split, refused to accept the nomination and so the ultimate fight between the two contending groups boiled down to the question of either retention or rejection of the four Calcutta resolutions. Pherozshah Mehta conspired to keep the resolutions out of the Congress agenda, while the extremists decided to oppose the nomination of Rash Behari Ghosh if the resolutions were not retained. The open session of the Congress at Surat ended in a pandemonium over the election of Rash Behari Ghosh, with shoes flying, chairs toppled and men running for cover (Bandyopadhyay: 2004, 258- 59). Things moved very fast soon after. At the annual session at Allahabad, the Congress came under the total domination of the Moderates. They framed a new constitution for the Congress and pledged their loyalty to the British and hoped that India would move towards self-government on the pattern of other self-governing colonies of the empire through constitutional means. However, there is no denial of the fact that the Surat-split weakened the strength of the national movement at a critical juncture of its history (Pradhan:2008, 110).

Image-7 Radical Leaders after Surat Split

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Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Sri_Aurobindo_presiding_over_a_me eting_of_the_Nationalists_after_the_Surat_Congress%2C_with_Tilak_speaking%2C_1907.j pg accessed on 18 January 2014

1.3.3 Prominent Radicals- Lal, Pal and Bal

The prominent leaders of the radicals were Lala Lajpat Rai from Punjab, Bal Gangadhar Tilak from Maharashtra and Bipin Chandra Pal from Bengal - a triumvirate of Lai, Bal and Pal. Later on, they were joined by Aurobindo Ghosh and a host of others leaders.

1.3.3.1 Lala Lajpat Rai

Image-8 Lala Lajpat Rai

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Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Lala_lajpat_Rai.jpg accessed on 6 February 2014

Lala Lajpat Rai was a prominent radical leader from Punjab. From his childhood Lala Lajpat Rai was influenced with the activities of the Arya Samaj. His childhood experiences made him ‘wedded to the idea of Hindu nationality’ (Sarkar: 1983, 127). Lala Lajpat Rai and Hans Raj started the Punjabee (with the motto of- ‘self help at any cost’) in October 1904 (Sarkar: 1983, 127). Subsequently, he actively led the agitation against the partition of Bengal and was deported to a foreign country by the British Government He went to the US and here too, he pursued his ideals and organised the 'Indian League of America' and edited Young India, to further the cause of Indian National Movement. After coming back to India he once again plunged into the national struggle. He was also active in the trade union movement and became the founding President of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC). However, the greatest moment of his glory came when he was brutally assaulted by the British police while opposing the Simon Commission in 1928, which caused his untimely death (Pradhan:2008, 103-4).

1.3.3.2 Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Image-9 Bal Gangadhar Tilak

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Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Bal_G._Tilak.jpg accessed on 29 January 2014

Bal Gangadhar Tilak-better known as Lokmanya Tilak was among the most popular figure in the national movement in the pre-Gandhian era. He was the first Congress leader to suffer several terms of imprisonment and became an icon for radicals in the history of Indian nationalism. He was well versed in traditional Indian learning as well as modern western education. He authored famous books- Gita Rahasya and The Arctic Home in the Vedas. He edited two newspapers – Kesari in Marathi and Mahratta in English. He believed in mass mobilisation and to that end he popularised ‘Ganpati Puja’ and ‘Shivaji Festival’ in Maharashtra. He proudly declared that 'Swaraj is my birthright and I will have it'

1.3.3.3 Bipin Chandra Pal

Image-10 Bipin Chandra Pal

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Source:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Bipin-Chandra-Pal.jpg accessed on 8 February 2014

Bipin Chandra Pal was born in in a wealthy Hindu Vaishnava family of Bengal. He was a teacher, journalist, orator, writer and librarian. In 1886 he joined the Indian National Congress. In the Madras session of congress (1887) he made a strong plea for repeal of the discriminatory Indian Arms Act (1878). He was an important pillar of the triumvirate of three famous radicals-the 'Lal-Pal-Bal'. He was recognised as the chief exponents of a new national movement revolving around the ideals of Purna Swaraj, Swadeshi, boycott and national education. He preached the use of Swadeshi and the Boycott of foreign goods to eradicate poverty and unemployment. He wanted to remove social evils from the form and arouse the feelings of nationalism through national criticism. He was extorted from Madras Presidency in 1907, on account of what the British thought, 'inflammatory' and 'seditious' speeches. He was once deported and even imprisoned in the cause of agitation against the partition of Bengal. After 1908, he virtually retired from active politics.

1.3.3.4 Other Radicals

Image-11 Other Radicals

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Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Sri_aurobindo.jpg accessed on 8 February 2014

Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal were the prominent radical leaders. However, beginning of twentieth century brought a generation of radical leadership all across India. Some of the noteworthy figures include- Aurobindo Ghosh, Brahmabandhab Upadhyay, M. Krishna Rao, V.O. Chidambaram Pillai etc. Aurobindo Ghosh was the first in India to declare publicly that the aim of political action was the total independence of the country. He served as the chief editor of Bande Mataram - a journal started by Bipin Chandra Pal and inspired national leaders through his powerful writings. He also started two journals - Karmayogi in English and Dharma in Bengali. However, he soon realised that the nation was not yet prepared for such a movement. He went to Pondicherry in 1910 to pursue his spiritual goal and remained there until his death in 1950 (Pradhan:2008, 104).

1.3.4 Critiques of Radicals

The radicals have been subjected to a number of critical comments both by the Moderate leadership as well as by the scholars. In the first place, it is argued that the radicals new concept of nationalism was derived from glory of the past and religious and cultural symbols was motivated from the idea of ‘Hindu revivalism’ which led to the growth of anti- reformism-sidelining Muslim and lower castes. It is noteworthy to mention that the All India Muslim League was founded in 1906, at the time when the upsurge of the radicals was at peak (Bandyopadhyay: 2004, 234-47). Secondly, despite all their fury and bravado, and personal sacrifices, the radicals could not really build up a mass movement, except for a short span of time- during the anti-partition agitation. This is further proved by the fact that after the Surat-split and in face of repressive measures against the big leaders like Tilak and Aurobindo, the new Nationalist Party almost petered out. Thirdly, they took an ambivalent attitude on the issue of violence. Aurobindo, of course, did not rule out the violent method.

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Even Tilak had consistently taken an ambivalent attitude on the issue of violence though he never openly supported violent methods. Thus it is argued that the Radicals became the ideological progenitor of the violent revolutionary movement which subsequently emerged and occupied some of the space vacated by the Radicals in our national life. Thus they were, in a way, responsible for inviting stringent repressive measures from the British against our people (Pradhan: 2008, 111-12).

1.3.5 Contributions of Radicals

Despite certain shortcomings, there is no denial of the fact that the Radicals made several significant contributions to nationalism in India and strengthened struggle against colonialism. Their concept of nationalism developed around the notion of motherhood which underlined the inalienable relationship between a nation and her children. Thus, in their new concept of cultural nationalism they presented the country in the form of a mother. Aurobindo wrote-'Nationalism is not a mere political programme; nationalism is a religion that has come from God; nationalism is a creed which you shall have to live' (Pradhan: 2008, 113). It was radicals who brought demand for swaraj instead begging for mere piecemeal constitutional reform. Further, by personal sacrifice and suffering they inspired a large number of people to work for the cause of the nation through national movement. Above all the Radicals took our national movement to a higher stage both in terms of its political goal and methods of struggle.

Summary

 In first twenty years, the Indian national Congress was dominated by liberal constitutionalists. They relied on the tactics of prayer, petition and peaceful procession but by these means they were not able to challenge British rule or create any mass movement in India.  Lord Curzon’s notorious proposal of the Partition of Bengal in 1905 generated a powerful Swadeshi movement. This movement not only revolutionized the political life of Bengal, but also led to the emergence of radical politics and violent revolutionary movements in India.  The colonial government defended the scheme of partition on administrative grounds. However, partition was planned with pure political motives to divide people on religious ground and weaken politically articulate Bengali community.  The partition instead of dividing and weakening the Bengali’s, further united them through an anti-partition agitation.  The agitation against the partition had started in 1903, but became stronger and more organised after the scheme was finally announced and implemented in 1905.  The swadeshi movement which was erupted in Bengal soon captured the imagination of the people and leaders of the other parts of India.  The Swadeshi movement made several distinct contributions to the cause of the Indian nationalism. Several new techniques like passive resistance, boycott and other effective methods of mass protests were evolved and experimented in this movement.  In the first decade of the twentieth century, sharp differences emerged in the Indian National Congress which resulted in the split of two groups-moderates and radicals.

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 The primary causes for the growth of radicals were- Recognition of the true nature of British rule, social and religious awakening, failure of the Congress to attract masses, revolutionary cultural nationalism, factionalism in the leadership and influences of international developments.  The prominent leaders of the radicals were Lala Lajpat Rai from Punjab, Bal Gangadhar Tilak from Maharashtra and Bipin Chandra Pal from Bengal.  The radicals have been subjected to a number of critical comments both by the Moderate leadership as well as by the scholars. However, the Radicals made several significant contributions to nationalism in India and strengthened struggle against colonialism.

Exercises

1. What were the causes of growth of the Radicals in the Indian national movement? 2. Partition of Bengal was planned with pure political motives of 'divide and rule'. Explain. 3. Write an essay on Swadeshi movement. 4. Critically examine reasons of Surat split of the Congress and its consequences on national movement. 5. Write short notes on: a) Aurobindo Ghosh b) Lala Lajpat Rai

c) Bipin Chandra Pal

d) Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Glossary

Bhadralok: A Bengali term used to describe the new class of 'gentlefolk' who arose during colonial times in Bengal. Colonialism: Colonialism is a practice of domination, which involves the subjugation of one people to another. Raj: A commonly used term to refer the British rule in the Indian subcontinent. Raksha Bandhan: A Hindu festival that celebrates the love and duty between brothers and sisters. On the day of partition of Bengal this festival was celebrated to Hindu-Muslim unity.

References

Works Cited

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Bandyopadhyay S., From Plassey to Partition- A History of Modern India (New Delhi: Orient Longman Private Limited, 2004). Chandra B., India’s Struggle for Independence 1857-1947 (New Delhi: Penguin Books, 1989). Dutt R.P., India Today (Calcutta: Manisha Granthalaya, 1986). Pradhan R.C., Raj to Sawaraj (New Delhi: Macmillan India Ltd., 2008). Sarkar S., Modern India (1885-1947), (New Delhi: Macmillan, 1983). Sarkar S., Swadeshi Movement in Bengal (New Delhi: People’s Publishing House, 1973).

Suggested Readings

Bhatia H.S., British Colonial Government in India (New Delhi: Deep and Deep Publications, 2001). Chatterjee P., ‘The Nation and its Pasts’, in P. Chatterjee, The Nation and its Fragments: Colonial and Postcolonial Histories (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1993) pp. 76-115. Ker J.C., Political Trouble in India 1907 – 1917 (Calcutta: 1973) Metcalf T., Ideologies of the Raj (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995). Sharma J.S., India Since the Advent of the British (New Delhi: S. Chand and Company, 1970).

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DC-1

Sem -2

वषय: राजनीत वान

न प: भारत म रावाद

अयाय: वदेशी और उपंथी आंदोलन

लेखक: डॉ. बी. एस. गौतम और डॉ. रजनीश कुमार गुता

वभाग: राजनीत वान वभाग

कॉलेज: मोतीलाल नेह कॉलेज

1

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अयाय: वदेशी और उपंथी आंदोलन

1.0 परचय 1.1 बंगाल का वभाजन 1.1.1 लॉड कजन और रावाद 1.1.2 वभाजन क योजना 1.1.2.1 टश तक 1.1.2.2 असलयत 1.1.3 रावाद तया 1.2 वदेशी 1.2.1 वभाजन-वरोधी वदेशी आंदोलन 1.2.1.1 उदारवाद परंपरा 1.2.1.2 रचनामक वदेशी 1.2.1.3 राजनीतक अतवाद 1.2.1.4 ांतकार आतंकवाद 1.2.2 वदेशी आंदोलन का अखल भारतीय चर 1.2.3 वदेशी आदोलन क तकनीक 1.2.3.1 आथक: वदेशी-उयम और बहकार 1.2.3.2 राय शा 1.2.3.3 मक अशांत और ेड यूनयन 1.2.3.4 जनसंपक 1.2.3.5 वदेशी संगठन 1.3 उपंथी 1.3.1 उपंथ के उदय के कारण 1.3.1.1 टश शासन के वातवक चर का उजागर होना 1.3.1.2 सामािजक और धामक जागृत 1.3.1.3 जनता को लामबंद करने म कांेस क वफलता 1.3.1.4 ांतकार सांकृ तक रावाद 1.3.1.5 गुटबाजी 1.3.1.6 अंतराय भाव 1.3.2 सूरत वभाजन 1.3.3 मुख उपंथी -लाल, बाल और पाल 1.3.3.1 लाला लाजपत राय 1.3.3.2 बाल गंगाधर तलक 1.3.3.3 बपन चं पाल

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Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi 1.3.3.4 अय उपंथी 1.3.4 उपंथ क आलोचना 1.3.5 उपंथ का योगदान  सारांश  अयास के लये न  पारभाषक शद  सदभ

1.0 परचय

"भारतीय रावाद का ऐतहासक वकास संघष क तीन महान तरंग वारा चिनत है, इनम से येक राय आंदोलन पर अपनी थायी छाप छोड़ती हु ई मक ढंग से उच तर पर बढ़ते हु ए संघष के एक नए चरण का सूपा करती है”।

-आर. पी. दत, इंडया टुडे (1986)

च-1 भारतीय राय कांेस का पहला अधवेशन (मुंबई, 28–31 दसबर, 1885)

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भारतीय राय कांेस क थापना सन ् 1885 ई. म हु ई और पहले बीस वष के दौरान इसम उदार संवधानवादय का वचव रहा। इन वष म कांेस के यास तनध संथाओं के वतार और उनम भारतीय को अधक थान दये जाने तक ह सीमत रहे और व-शासन के सबध म कोई बुनयाद दावा नहं कया गया। उदारवादय ने ाथना, याचका और शांतपूण जुलूस क रणनीत पर भरोसा कया। लेकन इन तरक से वे टश शासन को चुनौती देने या भारत म कसी जन आंदोलन का उभार लाने म सफल न हो सके । उनीसवीं सद के अंत तक, उदारवाद राजनीत क वफलताय पटतः कट होने लगीं और राय पटल पर नेतृव के कुछ नये चेहरे उभरे िजह ायः उपंथी या करपंथी कहा जाता है। सन ् 1905 ई. म लॉड कजन के कुयात ताव- ‘बंगाल का वभाजन’ ने एक शितशाल वदेशी आंदोलन को जम दया। इस आंदोलन ने न केवल बंगाल के राजनीतक जीवन म लहर पैदा क, बिक भारत म उपंथी राजनीत का उव हु आ और हंसक ांतकार आंदोलन के लये उवर भूम तैयार हु ई. "इसने राय संघष के नए और शितशाल उपकरण- बहकार, वदेशी, निय तरोध, राय शा और यहां तक क सश तरोध को गढ़ने म मदद क। इन सबसे भी महवपूण, इस दौर ने जन आंदोलन और उवाद वरोध दशन के बीज बोए जो बाद के वष म महामा गांधी के गतशील नेतृव म पुिपत एवम् पलवत हु ए" (धान: 2008, 93)।

1.1 बंगाल का वभाजन

"वभाजन के परणामवप बंगाल म आई जबरदत उथल-पुथल और लोकय भावनाओं का उभार राय गत के इतहास म एक मील का पथर साबत होगा"।

-गोपाल कृण गोखले (ोत: धान: 2008, 93) च-2

बंग-भंग के खलाफ उघोषणा

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Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi

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1.1.1 लॉड कजन और रावाद "घोर वरोध आकार ले रहा है! वे बंगाल म मेरा जीना दुकर कर दगे" - वभाजन योजना क वीकृत क सूचना देते हु ए लॉड कजन वारा 8 जून 1905 को अपथल (Ampthill) को मजाकया अंदाज म भेजा गया सदेश।

(ोत: सरकार, 1973, 20)

च-3 लॉड कजन

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लॉड कजन सन ् 1899 ई. म भारत का वायसराय नयुत हु आ। कजन का पूरा कायकाल अणी शासन क दता के नाम पर उसके कुयात कृ य और इस वजह से कजन और रावाद बुजीवय के मय नरंतर टकराव के लए स रहा। यूरोपीय यापारक समुदाय के हत को सुरत करने के लए उसने सन ् 1899 ई. म कलकता नगम म चुने गए भारतीय सदय क संया घटा द। लोग और उनके संथान को नयंत करने और उनक वतंता पर अंकुश लगाने के लए वह ‘सरकार गोपनीयता अधनयम’ लेकर लाया। 'सवागीण शा के तर को ऊपर उठाने' के कथत दावे के साथ उसने सन ् 1904 ई. म वववयालय अधनयम लागू कया। इस अधनयम ने नवाचत सीनेट के सदय क संया, कॉलेज क संबता और कूल क मायता के मामल म अंतम नणय क शित को सरकार अधकार को हतांतरत कर दया। इस कार, अधनयम ने वववयालय क वायतता सीमत कर द और उह सत सरकार नयंण के तहत लाया गया। शत भारतीय ने इस अधनयम के अलोकतांक चर और तबंधामक कृत के कारण इसक जमकर आलोचना

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Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi क (सरकार: 1983, 105-6)। तथाप, रावादय को सबसे बड़ा झटका कज़न के 'बंगाल वभाजन' के कुयात वचार से लगा।

1.1.2 वभाजन क योजना "संयुत बंगाल एक शित है। वभािजत बंगाल हमारे लए अनेक तरक से लाभकार होगा। कांेस नेताओं क जो आशंकाएं ह और वे पूर तरह से सह ह, इस योजना के सबसे महान गुण के प म... हमारा एक मुय उेय हमारे शासन के वरोधय के शरर को वभािजत करके उह ीण कर देना है"।

-भारत सरकार के गृह सचव रले का आधकारक नोट (6 दसंबर 1904)

(ोत: चंा: 2009, 249)

मानच-1

बंगाल के वभाजन के समय धामक आधार पर भारत क जनसंया

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अंेजी राज के दौरान बंगाल आबाद और ेफल क िट से एक बड़ा ांत था। बीसवीं सद क शुआत म इसक जनसंया लगभग 7 करोड़ 80 लाख थी जो सपूण टश भारत क कुल आबाद का लगभग एक चौथाई हसा थी। 'यह वतार शासकय िट से ायः बोझल और दुकर हो जाता था। इसके वृहद आकार के कारण ह सन ् 1866 ई. के उड़ीसा अकाल के बाद से ह बंगाल ेसडसी का वभाजन वचारणीय था। यहां यह उलेख करना ासंगक होगा क जब सन ् 1874 ई. म असम बंगाल से अलग हु आ, तभी से बंगाल के कुछ े को असम म शामल करने के अनेक ताव आये थे' (धान: 2008, 95)। हालांक, बंगाल के वभाजन क योजना

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Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi वातवक प म लॉड कजन के कायकाल के दौरान-'बांटो और राज करो’ क नीत के तहत ह कायप म परणत हो सक।

भारत आगमन के पचात लॉड कजन माच 1900 ई. म असम के दौरे पर गया। वहां यूरोपीय चाय बागान मालक ने असम-बंगाल रेलवे पर अपनी नभरता को कम करने के लए कलकता के नजदक एक समु आउटलेट क मांग क (बंयोपायाय: 2004, 252)। इसी कार, सन ् 1901 ई. म, सर एंयू ेजर (केय ात के तकालन गवनर) ने संबलपुर- एक हंद भाषी ांत म एक उड़या एलेव क समया को हल करने के लए बंगाल-केय ात क सीमा पर कुछ बदलाव करने के सुझाव दये (सरकार: 1973, 10)। कजन ने इन मांग का जवाब ‘भारत म ादेशक पुनवतरण पर नोट’ (19 मई /1 जून, 1903) के मायम से दया। जो बाद म 3 दसबर, 1903 को रले प के प म काशत हु आ। इसम चटगांव डवीजन, ढाका और मेमनसंह िजल को असम म और छोटा नागपुर को कय ांत को हतांतरत करने का ताव था, इसके बदले म बंगाल को संबलपुर और कुछ जागीरदार वाले े कय ात से तथा गंजाम िजले और वज़गापनम एजसी के इलाके मास से मलने थे (बंयोपायाय: 2004, 252)। हालांक, सन ् 1904 ई. म पूव बंगाल के दौरे के समय कजन ने "पूव बंगाल के यापक पुनः-समायोजन के लए", एक “अधक महवाकांी योजना" (सरकार: 1973, 11) का अपट संकेत दया। वभाजन क अंतम योजना कजन वारा 2 फ़रवर, 1905 को राय-सचव ॉडरक को भेजी गयी, िजसे बना समुचत संसदय बहस के वीकार कर लया गया। बंगाल के वभाजन क औपचारक प से 19 जुलाई 1905 को घोषणा क गयी और तीन महने बाद 16 अटूबर को इसे लागू कर दया गया ( बंयोपायाय: 2004, 252)।

1.1.2.1 टश तक

औपनवेशक सरकार ने शासनक आधार पर वभाजन क योजना को उचत बतलाया। उनके मुय तक ननलखत थे:

क ) यह बंगाल सरकार के अयधक शासनक बोझ को कम करेगा;

ख) इससे असम क समया का भी समाधान हो जायेगा और वह एक अलग सवल सेवा संवग के साथ एक लेिटनट गवनर वाला ांत बन जाएगा;

ग) इससे यापक वाणियक लाभ होगा- चाय बागान, तेल और कोयला उयोग के हत को संरत कया जा सकेगा;

घ) असम के लोग को चटगांव के बंदरगाह के मायम से एक सता समु आउटलेट ात होगा; और,

ङ) असम-बंगाल रेलवे को, जो पूवतर भारत के आथक वकास के लए महवपूण था को एक एककृत शासन के तहत लाया जा सकेगा (बंयोपायाय: 2004, 252-53)।

1.1.2.2 असलयत 9

Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi वभाजन क योजना क थम या पड़ताल करने से ह पट हो जाता है क कजन शासन के सभी तक बेमानी थे। इस योजना के तहत चटगांव, ढाका और राजशाह डवीजन के सभी िजल तथा हल टपेरा, मालदा और असम को मलाकर एक नए ांत ‘पूव बंगाल और असम’ का गठन कया गया। इस वभाजन के तहत नवीन ांत क कुल जनसंया 3 करोड़ 10 लाख होनी थी िजसम 1 करोड़ 80 लाख मुसलमान और 1 करोड़ 20 लाख हंदुओं क आबाद थी। वहं शेष बंगाल क कु ल जनसंया 5 करोड़ 40 लाख थी िजसमे 4 करोड़ 20 लाख हंदुओं और 90 लाख मुसलमान क आबाद थी। नवीन ांत म, बंगाल हदुओं क जनसंया मुिलम से कम थी और शेष बंगाल म वे भाषायी िट से अपसंयक थे यक यहाँ बड़ी संया म हद और उड़या भाषी लोग का नवास था (बंयोपायाय: 2004, 252)। वातव म, वभाजन क योजना वशु राजनीतक उेय के साथ बनाई गई थी िजसका मकसद था धामक आधार पर लोग को वभािजत कर राजनीतक प से मुखर बंगाल समुदाय को कमजोर कर देना।

1.1.3 रावाद तया

या आप जानते ह?-1 कौन सा भारतीय पव बंग-भंग के दौरान हदू-मुिलम एकता का तीक बना? बंगाल के वभाजन का वरोध कर रहे रावादय ने रा बंधन को ‘हदू-मुिलम एकता’ के तीक के तौर पर और ‘बांटो और राज करो’ क अंेज क नीत के वरोध के तीक के तौर पर मनाया।

ोत: http://centreright.in/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/rb1.jpg accessed on 23 January 2014

बंगाल के वभाजन ने बंगाल समुदाय म दरार उपन करने के बजाय उह वभाजन वरोधी आंदोलन के मायम से और अधक गहराई से एकसू म परोने का काम कया। निचत प से कजन शासन बंगाल समुदाय म 10

Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi एकामकता क उस भावना को समझ सकने म असफल रहा िजसक जड़ ेीय वायतता के लबे इतहास म समाई हु ई थीं और िजह उनीसवीं सद के सांकृतक वकास ने कम से कम शत वग के मय यापक तौर पर पुिपत एवं पलवत कया था। बीसवीं सद के आते-आते कलकता वतुतः एक महानगर का वप ले चुका था िजसके के म था- शत बंगाल भलोक। अंेजी शा के सार म अणी होने के कारण बंगाल समुदाय यवसाय, सरकार सेवाओं और राजनीत के े म भारत के अय भाग के लोग क अपेा बढ़त बना चुके थे। रवीनाथ टैगोर क साहियक कृतय और ववेकानंद के उपदेश को वैिवक तर पर यात मल चुक थी। इसके अलावा, अंतराय घटनाम- बोअर यु म अंज क दयनीय िथत, सन ् 1904-05 ई. म स पर जापान क अयाशत वजय और आजन कानून के वरोध म अमेरक माल के चीन म बहकार क खबर ने बंगाल म आमववास और गव के यापक माहौल का नमाण कया। ऐसी परिथत म कजन का यह कदम राय अपमान समझा गया। जुलाई 1905 से ारंभ हु आ वभाजन-वरोधी आंदोलन शी ह यापक प से फ़ैल गया। इस आदोलन ने वरोध क परंपरागत सीमाओं को तोड़ते हु ए नवीन कम के उ तरके ईजाद कये और पहले क तुलना म अधक संया म लोग को आकषत कया। इसके साथ ह संघष का दायरा भी बढ़ा और अब आदोलनकारय का लय वराज क ाित हो गया (सरकार: 1973, 107-09)।

या आप जानते ह?-2 बंगाल का वभाजन कब र कया गया? अंेज सरकार ने अंततः सन ् 1911 ई. म बंगाल का वभाजन र करने क घोषणा क। कतु अब बहार और उड़ीसा को बंगाल से अलग कर दया गया और असम को एक अलग ांत बना दया गया। इसके अलावा भारत क राजधानी कलकता से दल थानांतरत कर द गयी।

1.2 वदेशी

वदेशी आंदोलन भारतीय रावाद के इतहास क मुख घटनाओं म से एक था। इसक शुआत बंगाल के वभाजन के खलाफ एक आंदोलन के प म सन ् 1905 ई. म हु ई और शी ह यह देश के अय भाग म फैल गया। साहियक संदभ म शद वदेश का आशय है “अपना देश” और इस तरह वदेशी का मतलब है "अपने देश से संबंधत" (केर: 1973, 6)। वदेशी आंदोलन का एक महवपूण पहलू ‘आमनभरता’ या ‘आमशित’ पर जोर था। आमनभरता का अथ है- राय गरमा, समान और आमववास। वदेशी आंदोलन का दूसरा महवपूण पहलू था- बहकार। बहकार का आवान समत वदेशी वतुओं- वशेषतः अंेज वारा नमत वतुओं के लए कया गया था। इन नई तकनीक के साथ आंदोलन वराज क ाित के लए एक पूण राजनीतक जन संघष के प म वकसत हु आ।

च-4

वदेशी वतुओं के योग का आह करता एक पोटर

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Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi

ोत: http://www.wondersandmarvels.com/2013/11/the-swadeshi-movement-the-first-step-toward- indian-independence.html accessed on 12 January 2014

1.2.1 वभाजन-वरोधी वदेशी आदोलन

बंगाल का वभाजन अंेज वारा बंगाल समाज क एकता को तोड़ने के लए कया गया था कतु इसक तया म उभरे आदोलन ने वतुतः उनम एकता क भावना का नए ढंग से सार कया। कलकता और पूव बंगाल के नेताओं के सहयोग से एक "वदेशी गठबंधन" अितव म आया जो रजत रे के अनुसार, " बंगाल समाज क राजनीतक संरचना म एक ांत से कम नहं था" (बंयोपायाय: 2004, 255)। वभाजन के खलाफ आंदोलन क शुआत सन् 1903 ई. म ह हो चुक थी, लेकन सन ् 1905 ई. म अंतम प से वभाजन क घोषणा होने और वभाजन के भावी होने के साथ ह यह आदोलन अधक संगठत और मजबूत हो गया।

औपचारक प से वभाजन वरोधी आंदोलन 7 अगत 1905 को शु कया गया। उस दन कलकता के टाउन हॉल म वभाजन के खलाफ एक वशाल दशन आयोिजत कया गया। ांत के वभन भाग म आंदोलन का सार करने के संकप के साथ तनधगण टाउन हॉल से बाहर नकले (चंा: 2009, 250)। आदोलनकारय का ारंभक उेय बंगाल के वभाजन को र करवाना था, लेकन शी ह इस आदोलन का ख यापक हो गया और वदेशी आंदोलन के अंतगत राजनीतक और सामािजक महव के अनेक मु को शामल कर लया गया। 12

Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi सैांतक तर पर, सुमत सरकार ने बंगाल के वदेशी आंदोलन म चार मुख वृितय क पहचान क है- उदारवाद वृित, रचनामक वदेशी, राजनीतक अतवाद और ांतकार आतंकवाद। सुमत सरकार के अनुसार इन वृितय को कालम के अनुसार वभािजत नहं कया जा सकता यक उस पूरे दौर म सभी वृितयां कम या यादा माा म एक साथ मौजूद थीं (सरकार: 1983, 112-13)।

1.2.1.1 उदारवाद परंपरा

वभाजन क योजना का सन ् 1903 ई. म खुलासा होते ह कांेस नेतृव जो उस नरमपंथय के हाथ म था, ने वरोध ारंभ कर दया। उदारवादय को ववास था क ाथनाप, याचकाओं और जनसभाओं जैसे वरोध के परंपरागत साधन के मायम से ह मसले को हल कया जा सकता है और वभाजन क योजना को अपने ारंभक चरण म ह टाला जा सकता है। लेकन यह तरका असफल रहा और सन ् 1905 ई. म वभाजन क घोषणा कर द गई। इस कार, परंपरागत राजनीतक तरक से आगे बढ़ते हु ए कांेस नेतृव ने एक यापक वदेशी आंदोलन क शुआत हेतु पहल क। सुरेनाथ बैनज ने कलकता म 17 जुलाई 1905 को आयोिजत एक बैठक म टश माल और संथाओं के बहकार का आवान कया। इसके अलावा, कलकता के टाउन हॉल म 7 अगत 1905 को एक सामूहक बैठक आयोिजत क गई और एक औपचारक बहकार का ताव पारत कया गया। पहल बार उदारवादय ने शत वग के अलावा आबाद के अय हस का समथन जुटाने क कोशश क, उनम से कुछ ने राय शा आंदोलन म भाग लया और कुछ तो मक हड़ताल म भी शामल हु ए। लेकन उनके राजनीतक दशन म कोई परवतन नहं आया। वे इन तरक का इतेमाल केवल बंगाल के वभाजन का वलोपन सुनिचत करने के लए टश संसद पर दबाव डालने के लए ह कर रहे थे। राय अथयवथा के उथान अथवा यापक पैमाने पर निय तरोध को ारंभ करने के एक साधन के प म बहकार जैसे साधन को वह वीकार न कर सके (बंयोपायाय: 2004, 255)।

1.2.1.2 रचनामक वदेशी

वदेशी आंदोलन म इस वृित का उदय उदारवादय क परंपरागत तकनीक के वरोधवप हु आ। रावादय के एक वग ने यह महसूस कया क वदेशी शासन से ‘राजनीतक भावृित’ क बजाय रचनामक कायम के मायम से ‘व-शासन’ के लय को ात कया जा सकता है। इस म म वदेशी उयोग को बढ़ावा, राय शा संथान क थापना और ाम-सुधार संगठन क संरचना जैसे कदम उठाये गये। इस वृित को फुलच रॉय या नरातन सरकर के यावसायक उयम, सतीशच मुखज क ‘डॉन सोसायट’ और उनक पका ‘डॉन’, रवीनाथ टैगोर के ‘शांत नकेतन आम’, मबांधव उपायाय के ‘सारवत अयातन’ इयाद के मायम से अभयित मल। सन ् 1904 ई. म "वदेशी समाज" नामक अपने सदेश म रवीनाथ टैगोर ने पारंपरक हंदू समाज के पुनार के मायम से ‘व-सहायता’ या ‘आमशित’ के रचनामक कायम का खाका खींचा। बकारगंज िजले के वदेश बांधव ने सतबर 1906 म जार अपनी पहल वाषक रपोट म मयथता समतय के मायम से 523 ववाद का नपटारा करने का दावा कया। सुमत सरकार के अनुसार “वदेशी

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Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi आदोलन क इस वृित म रचनामक कृत के अनेक ऐसे तव मौजूद थे िजह बाद के वष म गांधीवाद कायम के अंतगत अपनाया गया” (सरकार: 1983, 113)।

1.2.1.3 राजनीतक अतवाद

वदेशी आदोलन क लहर म कुछ नेताओं ने यह महसूस कया क वतंता के बना राय जीवन का वातवक उथान नहं हो सकता। इस कार उहने एक ऐसे नये राजनीतक आदश क ओर कदम बढाया िजसम राजनीतक चापलूसी और टुकड़ म संवैधानक सुधार क मांग क बजाय वराज अथात पूण वतंता पर जोर दया गया। इस वचार से सहमत रखने वाले नेताओं ने बहकार क नीत का वतार यापक पैमाने पर असहयोग अथवा 'निय तरोध' के प म करने का ताव रखा (सरकार: 1973, 63)। इस कायम क सफलता के लये यापक जन-सहयोग जुटाए जाने क आवयकता थी। इस उेय क पूत के लए धम और संकृत को एक उपकरण के प म इतेमाल कया गया। इस कार, धामक पुनथानवाद इस नई राजनीत क एक मुय वशेषता थी। ‘भगवत ् गीता’ इन वदेशी वयंसेवक के लए आयािमक ेरणा ोत बनी और हदू धामक तीक, आमतौर पर ‘शित’ क छवय का जनता को लामबंद करने के लए इतेमाल कया गया। तथाप, बारबरा साउथअड (1980) के अनुसार इन तरक ने मुसलमान को आदोलन से वमुख कया और वे कसान तथा नचल जातय को आकृट करने म वफल रहे (बंयोपायाय: 2004, 257)। जन लामबंद के लए इतेमाल कया गया एक अय उलेखनीय तरका था- ‘समतय का गठन’। इन समतय के मायम से शाररक शण और वदेशी संदेश का चार जैसे कायम संचालत होते थे।

1.2.1.4 ांतकार आतंकवाद

वदेशी आंदोलन का एक अय उलेखनीय पहलू ांतकार आतंकवाद का उभार था। हालांक, बंगाल म 'गुत’ समतय का अितव सन् 1902 ई. से ह पाया जाता है लेकन वदेशी आंदोलन क शुआत के साथ ह उनक गतवधय म काफ इजाफ़ा हु आ। पुलन बहार दास क पहल पर अटूबर 1906 म ‘ढाका अनुशीलन समत’ का जम हु आ। इसके उपरांत दसंबर 1906 म ांतकारय का एक अखल बंगाल समेलन आयोिजत कया गया और उसी वष ‘युगांतर’ नामक एक ांतकार साताहक पका का काशन शु कया गया। शी ह ‘कलकता अनुशीलन समत’ के अदर बारं कुमार घोष, हेमच कानूनगो और फुल चाक के नेतृव म एक समूह उभरा िजसने वरत कायवाहयां ारंभ कर दं। धन जुटाने के उेय से अगत 1906 म पहल वदेशी डकैती रंगपुर म डाल गयी और कलकता के मनताला म एक बम नमाण इकाई कारखाना थापत कया गया। सन ् 1907-8 ई. के बाद से- दमनकार अधकारय और जासूस क हया का यास तथा वदेशी माल का यापार कर रहे धनी यापारय के घर म डकैती, ांतकार गतवधय क मुय वशेषता बन गयी। कतु 30 अैल, 1908 को खुदराम बोस और फुल चाक वारा मुजफरपुर म ेसीडसी मिजेट कंसफोड क हया का नफल यास और परणामवप अरवंदो और बारं कुमार घोष सहत पूरे मानताला समूह क गरतार से आतंकवाद गतवधय को बड़ा झटका लगा (बंयोपायाय: 2004, 260)।

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Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi महवपूण तय -1 वदेश म ांतकार गतवधयां बीसवीं सद के ारंभ म ांतकार रावादय ने वव के वभन भाग से अपनी गतवधयां संचालत कं। यामजी कृण वमा ने इंलड म ‘इंडया हाउस’ क थापना क जहां से ‘द सोसओलोिजक’ नामक समाचारप का काशन ारंभ कया गया। यहां सन ् 1909 ई. म मदनलाल ढंगरा ने कनल वलयम वाईल क हया कर द। एस. आर. राणा और भीकाजी तम कामा ने ांस को अपनी गतवधय का क बनाया। वीरेनाथ चोपायाय जमनी म सय रहे। इसी कार लाला हरदयाल ने अमेरका से अपनी गतवधय को अंजाम दया।

1.2.2 वदेशी आंदोलन का अखल भारतीय चर

बंगाल वभाजन क तया म उभरा वदेशी आंदोलन शी ह भारत के अय भाग म फैल गया। बंगाल क एकता के समथन म और वदेशी माल के बहकार हेतु बबई, मास और उतर भारत के वभन हस म आंदोलन का एक लबा दौर शु हो गया। महारा म बाल गंगाधर तलक, पंजाब म लाला लाजपत राय, दल म सैयद हैदर रजा और मास ेसीडसी म चदबरम पलै ने वदेशी आदोलन का आगाज़ कया और इस कार आदोलन का चर अखल भारतीय हो गया। वदेशी आंदोलन म छा, महलाओं, मुसलमान और समाज के अय तबक क यापक भागीदार देखी गई। छा ने बड़ी संया म वदेशी क वचारधारा को अपनाया तथा इसके चार म उसाहपूवक भागीदार क। जगह-जगह वदेशी माल क ब करने वाल दुकान के सम धरने आयोिजत कये गये। छा पर आथक जुमाने लगाये गये, शण संथान से नकासत कया गया, कइय क गरतारयां हु ई और कई जगह पर उनक पुलस वारा पटाई हु ई। कतु छा ने हमत नहं हार और तमाम दमन के बावजूद आदोलन म सय तौर पर भागीदार करते रहे। पारंपरक प से घरेलू कामकाज म जुट रहने वाल शहर मयवग क महलाएं जुलूस और धरन म शामल हु । अनेक वयात मुसलमान- स बैरटर अदुल रसूल, लोकय आंदोलनकार लयाकत हु सैन, मुख यवसायी गुजनवी इयाद वदेशी आंदोलन म शामल हो गए (चंा: 2009, 250-52)।

च-5 वी. ओ. चदबरम पलै

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Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi

ोत: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/05/V.O.Chidambaram_Pillai_photo.jpg accessed on 5 February 2014

1.2.3 वदेशी आदोलन क तकनीक

वदेशी आंदोलन का ताकालक कारण बंगाल का वभाजन था। लेकन इस आदोलन ने देश भर के लोग का यान अपनी ओर आकृट कया। शी ह यह समत भारत के लये एक महवपूण मुा बन गया था और आने वाले वष म वराज का नारा रावादय के लए नया मं बन गया। इस आंदोलन ने भारतीय रावाद और वतंता आदोलन के वकास क िट से अनेक वशट योगदान दये। इस आंदोलन म बड़े पैमाने पर वरोध दशन करने हेतु- निय तरोध, बहकार और अय अनेक नई तकनीक ईजाद क ग और उनका भावी तरके से इतेमाल कया गया। आंदोलन म राय शा क जरत और महव को रेखांकत कया गया। इस आंदोलन के अंतगत ेड यूनयन आंदोलन का भी उव हु आ। इसके अलावा, समतय और संघ का गठन कया गया जो बाद के वष म लोकय वरोध दशन के लए एक काफ भावी मायम साबत हु ए। इस कार वदेशी आदोलन के दौरान अपनायी गयी तकनीक उतरवत समय म राय आंदोलन के सार हेतु मील का पथर साबत हु ।

1.2.3.1 आथक: वदेशी-उयम और बहकार

16

Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi आथक े म वदेशी आंदोलन ने वदेशी माल के बहकार तथा उसके थान पर घरेलू वदेशी औयोगक और अय उयम को बढ़ावा देने क वकालत क। सुमत सरकार के अनुसार, वदेशी को एक भावना के प म परभाषत कया जा सकता है- 'उपभोताओं वारा वदेशी सामान को वरयता दान क जानी चहये भले ह वे अपने आयातत वकप क तुलना म अधक महंगी और गुणवता म ननतरय ह। पूंजीपत लोग का देशभित क िट से यह कतय था क वे उन उयोग को ारंभ कर भले ह इसम उह शुआती मुनाफे क गुंजाइश यूनतम या नगय हो’ (सरकार: 1973, 92)। इस तकनीक का वदेशी आंदोलन म यापक इतेमाल कया गया। वदेशी उयमय ने कई कपड़ा मल, साबुन और माचस के कारखान, हथकरघा बुनाई इकाइय, राय बक और बीमा कंपनय क शुआत क। आचाय पी.सी. रे ने स ‘बंगाल केमकल वदेशी टोर’ क थापना क। महान कव रवींनाथ टैगोर ने एक वदेशी दुकान खोलने के लए मदद दान क (चंा: 2009, 251)। मास ेसीडसी म वी. ओ. चदबरम पलै वारा ‘वदेशी टम नेवीगेशन कंपनी’ (SSNCo) क थापना क गयी (कथुर: 2013, 2-3)।

च-6

वदेशी टम नेवीगेशन कंपनी के शेयर का माणप

ोत: http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/01149/17july_masamnsb_Pr_1149676g.jpg accessed on 5 February 2014

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Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi

पट प से वदेशी माल का पूणतः बहकार एक यावहारक वकप नहं था। वातव म वदेशी उयोग के वकास ने मशीनर और कचे माल क कुछ कम के आयात को भी ेरत कया। यहां तक क बंदे मातरम ् जैसी पका ने भी कुछ महवपूण वतुओं के बहकार क ह वकालत क इनम वदेशी चीनी, मैनचेटर के व, जूते, सगरेट और वदेशी मदरा को शामल कया जा सकता है (सरकार: 1973, 137)। तथाप, बहकार के नारे ने रावाद वचार के लगभग सभी वग को एकजुट कया और कुछ ारंभक सफलताएं भी हासल कं। यहां कलकता के कटम कलेटर के सतंबर 1906 के नोट का उलेख करना ासंगक होगा िजससे पता चलता है क अगत 1905 म उससे पछले महने क तुलना म आयात म भार कमी दज क गयी। यह कमी ‘कपास (टुकड़ा) म 22%, कपास (मोड़) और यान म 44%, नमक म 11%, सगरेट 55% और जूत म 68% थी’ (सरकार: 1983, 116)।

1.2.3.2 राय शा

राय शा का वकास वदेशी आंदोलन क एक अय उलेखनीय रणनीत थी। रावादय वारा यह महसूस कया गया क उस दौर म मौजूद शण संथान न केवल अपयात थे बिक शा णाल वरायकरण को बढ़ावा दे रह थी। अतः रावादय वारा राय शा संथान क थापना क गयी िजनम साहियक तकनीक या शाररक शा यवथा होती थी। राय शा यथा क थापना हेतु 15 अगत, 1906 को ‘राय शा परषद’ का गठन कया गया। कलकता म एक राय कॉलेज शु कया गया िजसका धानाचाय अरवंद घोष को नयुत कया गया (चंा: 2009, 251)। इसी कार, बंगाल तकनीक संथान थापत कया गया और बंगाल और बहार म दजन भर कूल खोले गए। पूव बंगाल के कुछ कूल लंबी अवध तक चलते रहे और वे वतुतः ांतकारय के लए भत क बन गए। सोनारंग (यू ढाका) के राय कूल ने इस िट से सबसे अधक यात अिजत क (सरकार: 1983, 117-18)।

1.2.3.3 मक अशांत और ेड यूनयन

वदेशी आंदोलन क एक अय महवपूण रणनीत थी मजदूर क लामबंद। इसके अंतगत ायः वदेशी वामव वाल कंपनय म मक को संगठत कया गया। ारंभ म बढ़ती हु ई कमत और नलय भेदभाव के मुे पर कु छ हड़ताल आयोिजत क ग। सतबर 1905 म, हावड़ा क ‘बन कंपनी’ के 257 बंगाल लक ने अपमानजनक सेवा-शत के वरोध म बहगमन कया। जुलाई 1906 म, ‘ईट इंडयन रेलवे’ पर लक क हड़ताल आयोिजत क गई और शी ह एक ‘रेलवे यूनयन’ का गठन हु आ। सन ् 1906 और 1908 ई. के बीच जूट क मल म भी यापक तौर पर हड़ताल आयोिजत क ग। यहां तक क उपंथय क कुछ पकाओं ने भारत म भी ‘सी

पत’ पर आम हड़ताल क संभावनाओं को तलाशना ारंभ कया। तथाप, सन ्1908 ई. क गमय के पचात से मक अशांत क कोई मुख घटना दज नहं क गई (सरकार: 1983 , 118-19)।

1.2.3.4 जनसंपक 18

Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi वदेशी आंदोलन के नेताओं ने जनता के साथ संपक थापत करने के लए कई नई तकनीक पर भरोसा कया। उहने समाचार प, पकाओं, पच, जनसभाओं के आयोजन जैसी जनसंपक क परंपरागत तकनीक क उपयोगता और अपरहायता को वीकार कया कतु साथ ह साथ यह भी महसूस कया क तेजी से बदल रह भारतीय परिथतय म महज इन पर ह नभर नहं रहा जा सकता। जुलाई 1904 के अपने स ‘वदेशी समाज’ संबोधन म रवींनाथ टैगोर ने अंेजी शत अभजात वग और आम जनता के बीच खाई को पाटने के तरक के सबध म कुछ ठोस सुझाव दये। बपनचं पाल ने पटतः कहा क “देशभित को अपने तीक, छवय और औपचारकत के साथ एक धम म परवतत कया जाना चाहए” (सरकार: 1973, 282-83)। इस कार, वदेशी आंदोलन म देशभित का संदेश देने के लए ायः धामक और सांकृतक तीक का योग कया गया। रवीनाथ टैगोर के सुझाव पर, ‘बंगाल-वभाजन’ क तथ को पूरे ांत म जनता के मय ‘राखी-बंधन’ दवस के प म मनाया गया। इस कार, भारत का एक परंपरागत यौहार बंगाल म ‘हदू-मुिलम एकता और भाईचारे’ का तीक बन गया। ‘वभाजन-दवस’ के अवसर पर त वष मनाया जाने वाला एक अय अनुठान था ‘अराधन’ िजसके अंतगत इस दन महलाऐं घर म रोशनी करने के लए आग नहं जलाती थीं। इस अनुठान का सुझाव रामेसुदर वेद वारा दया गया था। इसके अतरत बड़ी संया म देशभित के गीत, नाटक और कहानय क रचना क गई तथा उह जन-जन तक पहु चाने के लये थानीय बोलय और तीक का भरसक योग कया गया।

1.2.3.5 वदेशी संगठन

वदेशी आंदोलन का एक अय उलेखनीय आयाम था संघ, समत और वैिछक संगठन के प म बड़ी संया म वदेशी संगठन का उव। ये संगठन नैतक और शाररक शण, वदेशी संदेश के सार, परोपकार काम, वदेशी शा और हतकौशल को बढ़ावा देने तथा मयथता अदालत के आयोजन इयाद से सबंधत थे और जन लामबंद क िट से अयंत महवपूण थे। कलकता म पुलस वारा सन ् 1907 ई. म 19 समतय के गठन क सूचना दज क गयी। पूव बंगाल म भी बड़ी संया म ऐसे संगठन बने। इनम से सबसे मुख था- बकारगंज, फरदपुर, ढाका और मेमनसंह िजल को मलाकर बनाया गया ‘कय गुट’। जनवर 1909 म पाँच मुख समतय- वदेश बांधव, ती, ढाका अनुशीलन, सु और साधना पर अंेजी शासन वारा तबंध लगा दया गया। रंगपुर, टपेरा, सलहट म और हु गल नद के पूव म िथत पुराने ात के ायः सभी हस म मजबूत संगठन बने। सबसागर, गोलपाड़ा और गारो पहाड़य को छोड़कर ायः सभी िजल म संघ/समतय का कसी न कसी प म अितव रहा। पुलस के एक दतावेज म जून 1907 म पूव बंगाल म 8485 वयंसेवक के होने का अनुमान लगाया गया। इसके अनुसार बकारगंज और ढाका म वयंसेवक क संया सवाधक थी" (सरकार: 1983, 119-20)।

1.3 उपंथी

19

Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi "आज के उपंथी भवय म नरमपंथी माने जाने लगगे जैसे क अतीत के उपंथी आज नरमपंथय म गने जाते ह"।

-बाल गंगाधर तलक

(ोत: धान: 2008, 102)

'बंगाल के वभाजन' और ‘वदेशी आंदोलन’ से भारतीय रावाद के इतहास म नए युग क शुआत मानी जाती है। अब, भारतीय राय आंदोलन का सामािजक आधार वतृत हु आ तथा इसका नेतृव अपेाकृत अधक उ लोग के हाथ म आ गया। इसी समय, भारतीय राय कांेस म तेज मतभेद भी उभरे िजसक चरम परणत इसके दो समूह- उदारपंथय और उपंथय (या चरमपंथय) म वभाजन के प म देखी गयी। यह वभाजन सन ् 1916 ई. तक अितव म रहा। राय आंदोलन के इस चरण म, नेतृव उपंथय के हाथ म था िजनका येय वराज और वदेशी क ाित था और इसके लए उहने बहकार और निय तरोध जैसी रणनीतय को संघष के साधन के प म इतेमाल कया।

1.3.1 उपंथ के उदय के कारण

उनीसवीं सद के अंत तक यह पट हो गया क कांेस का उदारवाद नेतृव भारत म अंेज क नीतय और शासन म कोई महवपूण बदलाव लाने म पूणतः असमथ रहा था। इससे देश म ती तया उपन हु ई और एक ऐसा युवा नेतृव उभरा िजसका मानना था क संघष के बना कुछ भी हासल नहं कया जा सकता। उनका उदारवादय क रणनीत- ाथना, याचका और शांतपूण जुलूस म से ववास उठ चुका था और इसलए उहने अंेजी हु कूमत से टकराव क राह पकड़ी। इसके परणामवप कांेस के भीतर उपंथय और इसके बाहर ांतकारय का उदय हु आ। उपंथय के उदय के मुख कारण ननलखत थे:

1.3.1.1 टश शासन के वातवक चर का उजागर होना

नरमपंथय क राजनीतक रणनीत इस ववास पर आधारत थी क महज अनुह से टश शासन म सुधार लाये जा सकते ह। लेकन राजनीतक और आथक मसल पर ान के सार से यह मायता शनैः-शनैः धूमल होती गयी। अंेज भारतीय क समयाओं के त न केवल उदासीन बने रहे बिक दन ब दन उनका यवहार ‘नलय अहंकार’ और ‘ेठता के सांत’ से ओतोत होता गया। इसक बानगी इस बात से मलती है क उनीसवीं सद के अंतम दशक म आए वनाशकार अकाल ने भारतीय जनमानस को पूर तरह झकजोर कर रख दया और 90 लाख से अधक लोग को अपने ाण गवाने पड़े, कतु सरकार ने इस िथत से नपटने का कोई साथक यन नहं कया। वष 1892-1905 ई. के मय क राजनीतक घटनाओं ने भी रावादय को नराश कया। भारतीय परषद अधनयम, 1892 भारतीय जनता क आकांाओं को संतुट करने म वफल रहा। दूसर ओर, लोग के मौजूदा राजनीतक अधकार पर भी हमला कया गया। सन ् 1898 ई. म वदेशी सरकार ने एक कानून पारत कया िजसके अनुसार सरकार के व "असंतोष क भावना" उतेिजत करना अपराध क ेणी म 20

Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi रखा गया। कजन शासन के शरारती क़दम ने रावादय के गुसे को असमान पर पहु ंचा दया। सामािजक और सांकृतक प से भी अब टश शासन कसी भी तरह से गतशील नहं रहा। इस कार इस मायता का तेजी से सार हु आ क भारत क आथक, राजनीतक और सांकृतक गत क खातर वशासन अनवाय है और देश के वकास म सबसे बड़ा अवरोध है- राजनीतक दासता (चंा: 2009, 243-45)।

1.3.1.2 सामािजक और धामक जागृत

उनीसवीं सद म ारंभ हु ये वभन सामािजक और धामक पुनजागरण आंदोलन ने अपने देश और संकृत के त भारतीय जनमानस म न केवल आमगौरव बढाया बिक ‘राय जागृत’ म भी योगदान कया। लोग ने महसूस कया क भारत जैसा वशाल देश मुी भर वदेशय वारा गुलाम बनाया जा सका यक भारतीय सामािजक संरचना और संकृत म अनेक कमजोरयां मौजूद थीं और वभन समूह म बंटे हु ए भारतीय म ‘फूट डालना और शासन करना’ अंेज के लये दुकर नहं था। समाज सुधारक ने न केवल धामक एवम सामािजक कुरतय पर हार कया बिक वदेशी भुव के तकूल भाव पर काश भी डाला और इस कार जनता म रावाद भावनाओं का सार कया। इस िट से वामी दयानंद सरवती के वारा थापत ‘आय समाज’ और वामी ववेकानंद के ‘रामकृण मशन’ ने अतम भूमका नभाई।

1.3.1.3 जनता को लामबंद करने म कांेस क वफलता

"भारत क एकमा उमीद जनता से है... उच वग के लोग तो शाररक और नैतक प से मर चुके ह”।

-वामी ववेकानंद

(ोत: चंा: 2009, 245)

अपने अितव के पहले बीस वष म कांेस क छव एक 'वशट लब' क बनी जो भारत के शत मयम वग क आवाज का तनधव करती थी। पाट एक ऐसे संवधान वारा संचालत हो रह थी िजसक कृत अलोकतांक थी। तलक वारा सन ् 1899 ई. म कांेस के लये एक नये संवधान क वीकृत हेतु अनेक मसौदे तैयार कये गये तथा उनको वीकृत हेतु रखा गया कतु उनके ये सारे यास असफल ह रहे। बीसवीं सद क दहलज पर कांेस क आथक हालत भी चरमरा गयी थी। कांेस को कुछ राजाओं का संरण ात था और इसम कुछ पूंजीपत भी योगदान करते थे कतु ये साधन कभी भी पाट क गतवधय के लये पयात नहं रहे। पिचमी उदारवाद से ेरत नरमपंथय के सामािजक संशोधनवाद भी तकालन लोकय करपंथ के वपरत थे (बंयोपायाय: 2004, 260)। इसके अलावा, कांेस वाषक समेलन के आयोजन के अलावा िजसे ायः 'तीन दन का तमाशा' करार दया जाता था, के अतरत वष भर म शायद ह कसी अय राजनीतक गतवध को संचालत करती थी (धान: 2008, 105)। इस कार, नरमपंथय के नेतृव म कांेस आम जनता तक नहं पहु ँच सक।

21

Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi 1.3.1.4 ांतकार सांकृ तक रावाद

राय आंदोलन म उपंथय का उदय महज उदारवादय क वफलताओं के व एक तया नहं थी। उपंथय ने उस सांकृतक और बौक आंदोलन से ेरणा ात क जो वष से भारतीय राय कांेस क उदार राजनीतक वचारधारा के समानांतर पनप रहा था। इस वचारधारा ने ाचीन भारतीय गौरव का महमामंडन कया और रावाद क अनुभूत के लए धामक और सांकृतक तीक का इतेमाल कया तथा वदेशी शासन को उखाड़ फकने के लये ांतकार मायम को अपनाने क वकालत क। उपंथय ने बंकमचं चोपायाय जैसे लेखक क साहियक कृतय और दयानंद सरवती तथा वामी ववेकानंद जैसे धामक नेताओं से ेरणा ल। बंकमचं चोपायाय ने भगवान कृण को एक आदश पुष और रा-नमाता के प म चत कया और ीमगवत गीता के कमयोग के संदेश को जीवन क सफलता का मूल म बतलाया। बाद के वष म ये तीक रावाद नेताओं के लए ेरणा के मुख ोत बन गये। इसके अलावा, उनके उपयास आनंदमठ ने भारत म ‘सांकृतक रावाद’ के उव को एक नया आयाम दान कया। इतना ह नहं, उनके गीत ‘वंदे मातरम’् ने जो अपनी मातृभूम के लए वंदनावप लखा गया था, भावामक प से हर भारतीय क आमा म समा गया (धान: 2008, 105)।

या आप जानते ह?-3 1857 क ांत को कसने भारत का थम वतंता संाम कहा? वनायक दामोदर सावरकर िजह ायः वीर सावरकर के नाम से जाना जाता है ने इंलड म रहकर ‘इंडया हाउस’ से अपनी गतवधयां संचालत कं। यहं उहने अपनी स पुतक ‘1857 का वतंता संाम’ लखी। इस पुतक म उहने 1857 क ांत को भारत का थम वतंता संाम बतलाया।

1.3.1.5 गुटबाजी

उनीसवीं सद के अंत म भारत म सावजनक जीवन के लगभग हर तर पर बड़ी माा म गुटबाजी यात थी। कुछ इतहासकार के अनुसार, भारतीय राय आंदोलन म उपंथ के वकास म इसक भी महवपूण भूमका रह। इस गुटबाजी का वलेषण करते हु ए बंयोपायाय लखते ह, "बंगाल म म समाज के भीतर वभाजन था, दो अखबार समूह- उदारवाद नेता सुरनाथ बैनज वारा संपादत बंगाल और अपेाकृत उपंथी नेता मोतीलाल घोष वारा संपादत अमृता बाजार पका के मय पकारता क िट से कड़ी तवंवता थी। वहं बंदे मातरम के संपादकव को लेकर एक तरफ अरवंद घोष और दूसर तरफ बपनच पाल तथा मबांधब उपायाय के गुट म संघष चल रहा था। महारा म ‘पूना सावजनक सभा’ को नयंत करने के लए गोखले और तलक के बीच तयोगता थी। सन ् 1895 ई. म यह संघष उस समय अपने चरम पर पहु ँच गया जबक तलक ने संगठन पर नयंण थापत कर लया और अगले वष गोखले ने एक तवंवी संगठन ‘डेकन सभा’ क शुआत क। मास म- मयलापुर गुट, एमोर गुट और उपनगरय अभजाय समूह के बीच आपसी संघष चल रहा था। पंजाब 22

Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi म दयानंद सरवती क मृयु के पचात आय समाज ‘उदार कॉलेज समूह’ और ‘पुनथानवाद उपंथी समूह’ म वभािजत हो चुका था। इस कार यह तक दया जा सकता है क कांेस का उदारपंथ और उपंथ म वभाजन वतुतः उस दौर म भारत के सावजनक जीवन म मौजूद गुटबंद क सहज अभयित ह था" (बंयोपायाय: 2004, 260)।

1.3.1.6 अंतराय भाव

“एक एशयाई देश ने जो कया वह दूसरा भी कर सकता है...यद जापान स को हरा सकता है तो भारत भी उतनी ह आसानी से इंलड को परािजत कर सकता है...आइये हम अंेज को समु म धकेल द और जापान क भांत भारत को भी दुनया क महान शित के प म थापत कर”।

-कराची ॉनकल (18 जून, 1905)

(ोत: चंा: 2009, 246)

उनीसवीं सद के अंत और बीसवीं सद के ारंभ म वैिवक तर क अनेक घटनाओं ने भी भारत म उपंथी राजनीत के वकास को ोसाहत कया। सन ् 1868 ई. के बाद आधुनक जापान के उदय ने यह पट कर दया क एक पछडा हु आ एशयाई देश भी पिचमी नयंण के बना वकास क नई इबारत लख सकता है। अयंत कम समय म ह जापानी नेताओं ने अपने देश म सावभौमक ाथमक शा क शुआत क, देश को एक महवपूण औयोगक और सैय शित बनाया तथा एक कुशल आधुनक शासन वकसत करने म सफलता ात क (च: 2009, 246)। इसके अलावा, आयरलड, तुक और चीन के जनवाद संघष ने भारत के लोग को अपने राय संघष को नई ऊचाइय तक ले जाने के लए ेरत कया। दूसर ओर, 1896 म इथयोपया क इटल पर वजय तथा 1904 म जापान के हाथ स क हार ने ‘यूरोप क अपराजेयता’ और ‘वेत जात क ेठता’ का मथक तोड़ते हु ए भारत के रावादय के मय के एक अधक नणायक संघष शु करने हेतु हौसला बढ़ाया (धान: 2008, 105)।

महवपूण तय -2 उपंथ से नपटने के टश यास भारत म उपंथ के बढ़ते भाव ने अंेज सरकार को भयभीत कर दया। सरकार वरोधी आंदोलन को कुचलने के लये अनेक नए कानून का नमाण कया गया। इन कानून म मुख थे- राजोह सभा अधनयम-1907, भारतीय समाचारप अधनयम-1908, फौजदार कानून (संशोधत) अधनयम-1908 तथा भारतीय ेस अधनयम-1910।

1.3.2 सूरत वभाजन

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Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi बीसवीं सद क शुआत के साथ कांेस म ती मतभेद उभरे। बंगाल के वभाजन के बाद उपंथी भारतीय राजनीत के के म आ गये जबक नरमपंथय क छव को गहरा धका लगा और वे वतुतः पृठभूम म चले गये। यहां तक क उपंथ के बढ़ते हु ए भाव को देखते हु ए अनेक नरमपंथी नेता भी अनेक ऐसे क़दम का समथन करने पर मजबूर हु ए जो ायः उपंथ से सब कये जाते थे। उपंथय के ती दबाव ने कांेस को सन ् 1905 ई. म आयोिजत बनारस स म अपना राजनीतक लय भारत के लये 'वशासन' क ाित घोषत करने के लए मजबूर होना पड़ा। सन ् 1906 ई. म कांेस के कलकता अधवेशन म अपने अयीय भाषण म दादाभाई नौरोजी ने इस बात बल दया क कांेस का राजनीतक लय भारत के लये कनाडा और अय उपनवेश क तरह ‘वशासन’ या ‘वराज’ क ाित है। कलकता अधवेशन म पारत एक ताव म मांग क गई क टश उपनवेश म सरकार क ‘व-शासन’ क यवथा भारत म भी लागू क जानी चहये। कलकता कांेस (1906) म पारत चार ताव वशासन, बहकार, वदेशी और राय शा, भी कांेस के भीतर उपंथय के बढ़ते भाव क पट अभयित थे। कतु इन ताव क याया के सबध म उपंथय और नरमपंथय के बीच मतभेद बरकरार रहे। जहां ‘वशासन’ उदारवादय के लये परिथत जय बायता थी, वहं उपंथय के लये यह एक जीवन-मरण का वषय था। बहकार क रणनीत के योग को लेकर भी दोन म मतभेद थे- उदारवाद बहकार आंदोलन को सफ बंगाल तक ह सीमत रखना चाहते थे जबक उपंथी इसे एक अखल भारतीय आंदोलन बनाना चाहते थे। इसके अलावा, जहां उदारवाद महज अंेजी वतुओं के बहकार से संतुट थे वहं उपंथी इसके अंतगत सरकार के संगठत तरोध को भी शामल करना चाहते थे (धान: 2008, 106-7)।

उदारवाद कलकता अधवेशन म पारत ताव को कांेस के अगले अधवेशन म संशोधत करवाना चाहते थे। सन ् 1907 ई. म कांेस का अधवेशन पूना म नधारत कया गया था जो उस समय उपंथय का गढ़ था। इसलए उदारवादय ने अधवेशन थल पूना क जगह सूरत रखे जाने का यास कया िजसमे वे सफल भी रहे। सवथम, दोन धड के मय अय पद क उमीदवार को लेकर मतभेद कट हु ए, उदारवादय क ओर से इस पद के उमीदवार रास बहार घोष थे जबक उपंथय क ओर से लाला लाजपत राय का नाम तावत कया गया। कतु लाला लाजपत राय वभाजन नहं चाहते थे और इसलये उहने अपनी उमीदवार वापस ले ल। कतु दोन गुट के बीच सन ् 1906 ई. म कांेस के कलकता अधवेशन म पारत चार ताव को लेकर मतभेद बल बने रहे। जहां एक ओर उपंथी उन ताव को जार रखने पर अडग थे, वह उदारवाद इह वापस लेना चाहते थे। उपंथय ने नचय कया क यद कलकता कांेस के ताव को वापस लया जाता है तो वे रास बहार घोष के अय पद पर नामांकन का वरोध करगे। फरोजशाह मेहता ने उन ताव को कांेस के एजडे से बाहर ह रखने का यास कया। अंततः सूरत म कांेस का खुला स रास बहार घोष के नवाचन के न पर अराजक परिथतय म समात हु आ जूते लहराये गये, कुसयां पलट द गयीं और तनधगण वयम को बचाने के लये आय खोजते रहे (बंयोपायाय: 2004, 258-59)। इसके बाद हालात तेजी से बदले। अगले वष इलाहाबाद म आयोिजत अधवेशन म कांेस पुनः नरमपंथी नेतृव के नयंण म आ गयी। उहने कांेस का नवीन संवधान तैयार कया िजसम अंेज के त वफादार का वचन दया गया और आशा यत क गयी क संवैधानक साधन के मायम से भारत भी सााय के अय उपनवेश क तज पर वशासन क दशा म कदम बढायेगा। तथाप, 24

Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi इस तय से इनकार नहं कया जा सकता क सूरत-वभाजन से राय आंदोलन क शित को इतहास के एक महवपूण मोड़ म आघात पहु ंचा (धान: 2008, 110)।

च-7 सूरत वभाजन के बाद उपंथी नेता

ोत: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Sri_Aurobindo_presiding_over_a_me eting_of_the_Nationalists_after_the_Surat_Congress%2C_with_Tilak_speaking%2C_1907.j pg accessed on 18 January 2014

1.3.3 मुख उपंथी - लाल, बाल और पाल

उपंथ के मुख नेताओं को ायः- लाल, बाल और पाल क तकड़ी के प म जाना जाता है। इनम से लाला लाजपत राय पंजाब से, वपन च पाल बंगाल से और बाल गंगाधर तलक महारा से थे। इसके अतरत अरवंद घोष और कुछ अय नेता भी उपंथ से जुड़े हु ए थे।

1।3.3.1 लाला लाजपत राय

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लाला लाजपत राय

ोत: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Lala_lajpat_Rai.jpg accessed on 6 February 2014

लाला लाजपत राय पंजाब के एक मुख उपंथी नेता थे। अपने बचपन से ह लाला लाजपत राय आय समाज क गतवधय से भावत रहे। बचपन के अनुभव ने उह 'हंदू रायता के वचार’ क ओर ेरत कया (सरकार: 1983, 127)। लाला लाजपत राय और हंसराज ने अटूबर 1904 म पंजाबी क शुआत क िजसका आदश वाय था- ‘कसी भी कमत पर वयं क मदद’ (सरकार: 1983, 127)। इसके बाद उहने सय प से बंगाल के वभाजन के खलाफ आंदोलन का नेतृव कया और उह टश सरकार वारा भारत से नकासत कर दया गया। वह अमेरका गये और यहां भी उहने अपने उेय क पूत के लये काय जार रखा। अमेरका म लाजपत राय ने ‘इंडयन लग ऑफ़ अमेरका’ क थापना क और भारतीय राय आंदोलन को सय वप दान करने हेतु ‘यंग इंडया’ का संपादन कया। भारत वापस आने के बाद वह एक बार फर से राय संघष म कूद पड़े। वह

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Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi ेड यूनयन आंदोलन म भी सय रहे और ऑल इंडया ेड यूनयन कांेस (AITUC) के संथापक अय बने। 1928 म साइमन कमीशन का वरोध करते समय टश पुलस वारा बेरहमी से कये गये हार क वजह से उनक असामयक मृयु हो गयी (धान: 2008, 103-4)। लाला लाजपत राय क गणना भारत के अमर शहद म होती है और उनके शद –“मेरे शरर पर लाठय का एक एक हार टश हु कूमत क ताबूत पर पड़ी एक एक कल साबत होगा” बाद के वष म अनेक ांतकारय के लये ेरणाोत बने।

1.3.3.2 बाल गंगाधर तलक

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बाल गंगाधर तलक

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Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi ोत: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Bal_G._Tilak.jpg accessed on 29 January 2014

बाल गंगाधर तलक, िजह ायः लोकमाय तलक के प म जाना जाता है गांधीवाद युग के पहले के दौर म राय आंदोलन के सबसे लोकय नेताओं म से एक थे। वह कांेस के सबसे पहले नेता थे िजहने कारावास क यातनाएं सहं और भारतीय रावाद के इतहास म उपंथय के बीच एक तीक के प म थापत हु ये। आधुनक पिचमी शा म नपुण होने के साथ ह साथ तलक भारतीय परपरा म द और भारत क समृ सांकृतक वरासत से अयंत भावत थे। उहने ‘गीता रहय’ और ‘द आकटक होम ऑफ़ वेद’स’ जैसी स पुतक लखीं और अंेजी भाषा के समाचारप मराठ तथा मराठ भाषा के समाचारप केसर का संपादन कया। वह जन लामबंद म ववास रखते थे और इस िटकोण से ‘गणपत पूजा’ और ‘शवाजी महोसव’ को महारा म लोकय बनाया। उहने गव से घोषणा क, 'वराज मेरा जमस अधकार है और म इसे लेकर रहू ँगा'।

या आप जानते ह?-4 कसने तलक को भारतीय अशांत का जनक कहा? वैलटाइन शरोल ने अपनी पुतक ‘इंडया’स अनरेट’ म बाल गंगाधर तलक को भारतीय अशांत का जनक कहा।

1.3.3.3 बपन चं पाल

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बपन चं पाल

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ोत: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Bipin-Chandra-Pal.jpg accessed on 8 February 2014

वपन च पाल का जम बंगाल के एक समृ हंदू वैणव परवार म हु आ था। वह एक खर वता और लेखक थे तथा उहने एक शक, पकार और लाइेरयन के प म काय कया। वह सन ् 1886 ई. म भारतीय राय कांेस म शामल हु ए। सन ् 1887 ई. म आयोिजत कांेस के मास अधवेशन म उहने भेदभावपूण भारतीय श अधनयम (1878) के नरसन के लए एक मजबूत दलल तुत कं। उह उपंथय क स 'लाल-पाल- बाल’ क तकड़ी का एक महवपूण तंभ माना जाता है। भारतीय राय आंदोलन के नवीन वप जो - पूण वराज, वदेशी, बहकार और राय शा के आदश पर केित था, के वह मुय वातुकार माने जाते थे। उहने कहा क गरबी और बेरोजगार का उमूलन करने के लए वदेशी के इतेमाल और वदेशी माल के बहकार का चार कया जाना चहये। वह सामािजक बुराइय का जड़ से उमूलन करना चाहते थे तथा वदेशी हु कू मत क राय आलोचना के मायम से रावाद क भावनाओं को उवेलत करना चाहते थे। उन पर 'भड़काऊ' और ‘राजोह' भाषण के आरोप के चलते टश सरकार ने सन ् 1907 ई. म मास ेसडसी से बहकृत कर दया गया था। बंगाल के वभाजन के खलाफ आंदोलन के दौरान उह कारावास भी भोगना पड़ा। सन ् 1908 ई. के पचात उहने सय राजनीत से संयास ले लया।

1.3.3.4 अय उपंथी

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अरवंद घोष 29

Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi

ोत: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Sri_aurobindo.jpg accessed on 8 February 2014

लाला लाजपत राय, बाल गंगाधर तलक और बपन चं पाल उपंथ के मुख नेता थे। कतु बीसवीं सद क शुआत म वतुतः भारत के ायः हर हसे म उपंथी नेताओं क एक नयी पीढ़ का उदय हु आ। इनम से कुछ उलेखनीय नेताओं म शामल ह- अरवंद घोष, मबाधब उपायाय, एम. कृ णा राव , वी. ओ. चदंबरम पलई आद। अरवंद घोष भारत के ऐसे पहले नेता थे िजहने सवथम सावजनक प से यह घोषत करने का साहस कया क उनक राजनीतक कारवाई का उेय देश क ‘पूण वतंता’ है। उहने बपन चं पाल वारा शु क गयी पका बंदे मातरम के धान संपादक के तौर पर काम कया और अपने शितशाल लेखन मायम से रावाद नेताओं को ेरत कया। उहोन अंेजी भाषा म कमयोगी और बंगाल भाषा म धम नामक पकाएं ारंभ कं। हालांक, जद ह उह यह एहसास हु आ क उस समय तक रा इस तरह के कसी आंदोलन के लए तैयार नहं था। अतः वह अपने आयािमक लय क ाित हेतु 1910 म पांडचेर चले गये जहां वह 1950 म अपनी मृयु के समय तक रहे (धान: 2008, 104)।

1.3.4 उपंथ क आलोचना

उपंथ क अनेक िटय से आलोचना क जाती है। उपंथ के आलोचक म तकालन उदारवाद नेताओं के अतरत अनेक इतहासकार और अय ववान शामल ह। सवथम, यह तक दया जाता है क उपंथ क 30

Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi रावाद संबंधी अवधारणा अतीत के महमामंडन पर आधारत थी िजसम यापक प से धामक तथा सांकृतक तीक का योग कया जाता था। कतु, इसक वजह से देश म 'हदू पुनथानवाद' का ादुभाव हु आ िजसने ढ़वाद सोच को बढ़ावा दया तथा मुिलम और नचल जातय को मुयधारा से दरकनार भी कया। यहां यह उलेख करना महवपूण है क ‘ऑल इंडया मुिलम लग’ क थापना सन् 1906 ई. म हु ई जबक उपंथ क लहर अपने चरम पर थी (बंयोपायाय: 2004, 234-47)। दूसरे, तमाम जोश, याग, ोध और यितगत बलदान के बावजूद, उपंथी ‘बंग-भंग आंदोलन’ क एक छोट सी अवध के अतरत ायः कसी बड़े जन आंदोलन को जम न दे सके । इस आलोचना को इस तय से भी बल मलता है क कांेस के सूरत वभाजन और तलक तथा महष अरवंद जैसे बड़े नेताओं के खलाफ अंेज सरकार वारा दमनकार उपाय अपनाये जाने के पचात उपंथी ायः पृठभूम म चले गये। इसके अतरत, संघष के एक साधन के प म ‘हंसा’ के योग के सबध म उपंथय का रवैया नतांत अपट था। निचत प से महष अरवंद ने हंसक वध अपनाने से से इंकार नहं कया। बाल गंगाधर तलक ने खुले तौर पर हंसक तरक का समथन नहं कया कतु कभी भी पट तौर पर इससे इंकार भी नहं कया। आलोचक का तक है क उपंथी नेता उन लोग के वैचारक आदश के तौर पर उभरे जो अंेज को भारत से हंसक ांत के वारा उखाड़ फकना चाहते थे। इस कार, एक तरह से उपंथय ने अंेज सरकार को भारत म कड़े दमनकार उपाय को अपनाने के लये जमीन उपलध करा द (धान: 2008, 111-12)।

1.3.5 उपंथ का योगदान

तमाम आलोचनाओं के बावजूद इस तय से इनकार नहं कया जा सकता क उपंथय ने भारत म उपनवेशवाद के खलाफ संघष को मजबूत कर भारतीय रावाद को अनेक िटय से समृ कया। उनक रावाद क अवधारणा मातृभूम के वचार के इदगद पोषत हु ई िजसने एक रा और उसक संतान के मय अुण संबंध को रेखांकत कया। इस कार, सांकृतक रावाद क अपनी नई अवधारणा म उहने देश को एक माँ के प म तुत कया। महष अरवंद के अनुसार, 'रावाद महज एक राजनीतक कायम नहं है, रावाद एक धम है िजसका अवतरण ईवर के वारा कया गया है, रावाद एक ववास है िजसम हम सबको जीना होगा' (धान: 2008, 113)। यह उपंथी ह थे िजहने मा टुकड़ म संवैधानक सुधार के लए भीख माँगने क अपेा भारत म वराज क आवाज बुलंद क। इसके अलावा, अपने यितगत याग और संघषपूण जीवन के मायम से उहने एक आदश तुत कर राय आंदोलन से जुड़ने और रा के लए काम करने के लए बड़ी संया म लोग को ेरत कया। इन सबसे भी अधक महवपूण, उपंथ ने अपने राजनीतक लय, जन लामबंद और संघष के तरक के संदभ म भारत के राय आंदोलन को नई बुलंदयां दान कं।

बॉस उदारवाद और उपंथी: एक तुलनामक अययन

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Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi . पहलू उदारवाद उपंथी सं. 1. मुख गोपालकृण गोखले, फरोजशाह लाला लाजपत राय, बाल गंगाधर नेता मेहता, सुरेनाथ बनज, दादाभाई तलक, बपनचं पाल नैरोजी 2. ेरणाोत पाचाय उदार वचार एवं यूरोपीय भारत का गौरवशाल इतहास एवं इतहास सांकृतक वरासत 3. लय संवैधानक सुधार, सरकार सेवाओं वराज म भारतय क सहभागता बढ़ाना 4. नठा टश ाउन एवं उसक टश ाउन एवं उसक याययता म पूण नठा याययता ववास योय नहं 5. रणनीत संवैधानक-ाथनाप, याचका एवं वदेशी, बहकार, राय शा शांतपूण दशन एवं निय तरोध 6. साधन केवल अहंसक साधन म ववास आवयकता पड़ने पर हंसक साधन से भी परहेज नहं 7. रावाद धानतः आथक सांकृतक एवं धामक का आधार 8. सामािजक जमींदार एवं उच-मयम वग का शत एवं नन-मयवगय आधार शत तबका तबका

सारांश

भारतीय राय कांेस क थापना सन ् 1885 ई. म हु ई और पहले बीस वष के दौरान इसम उदार संवधानवादय का वचव रहा। उदारवादय ने ाथना, याचका और शांतपूण जुलूस क रणनीत पर भरोसा कया। लेकन इन तरक से वे टश शासन को चुनौती देने या भारत म कसी जन आंदोलन का उभार लाने म सफल न हो सके । उनीसवीं सद के अंत तक, उदारवाद राजनीत क वफलताय पटतः कट होने लगीं और राय पटल पर नेतृव का एक नया समूह उभरा िजह ायः उपंथी या करपंथी कहा जाता है। सन ् 1905 ई. म लॉड कजन के कुयात ताव- ‘बंगाल का वभाजन’ ने एक शितशाल वदेशी आंदोलन को जम दया। इस आंदोलन ने न केवल बंगाल के राजनीतक जीवन म ांत लाई, बिक भारत म उपंथी राजनीत का उव हु आ और हंसक ांतकार आंदोलन के लये उवर भूम तैयार हु ई। 32

Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi औपनवेशक सरकार ने शासनक आधार पर वभाजन क योजना को उचत बतलाया। वातव म, वभाजन क योजना वशु राजनीतक उेय के साथ बनाई गई थी िजसका मकसद था धामक आधार पर लोग को वभािजत कर राजनीतक प से मुखर बंगाल समुदाय को कमजोर कर देना। बंगाल के वभाजन ने बंगाल समुदाय म दरार उपन करने के बजाय उह वभाजन वरोधी आंदोलन के मायम से और अधक गहराई से एकसू म परोने का काम कया। वदेशी आंदोलन भारतीय रावाद के इतहास क मुख घटनाओं म से एक था। इसक शुआत बंगाल के वभाजन के खलाफ एक आंदोलन के प म सन ् 1905 ई. म हु ई और शी ह यह देश के अय भाग म फैल गया। वदेशी आंदोलन म चार मुख वृितयां थीं- उदारवाद वृित, रचनामक वदेशी, राजनीतक अतवाद और ांतकार आतंकवाद। इस आंदोलन ने भारतीय रावाद और वतंता आदोलन के वकास क िट से अनेक वशट योगदान दये। वदेशी आंदोलन म बड़े पैमाने पर वरोध दशन करने हेतु- निय तरोध, बहकार और अय अनेक नई तकनीक ईजाद क गई और उनका भावी तरके से इतेमाल कया गया। आंदोलन म राय शा क जरत और महव को रेखांकत कया गया। इस आंदोलन के अंतगत ेड यूनयन आंदोलन का भी उव हु आ। इसके अलावा, समतय और संघ का गठन कया गया जो बाद के वष म लोकय वरोध दशन के लए काफ भावी मायम साबत हु ए। बीसवीं सद के पहले दशक म भारतीय राय कांेस म तेज मतभेद उभरे िजसक चरम परणत इसके दो समूह- उदारपंथय और उपंथय (या चरमपंथय) म वभाजन के प म देखी गयी। उपंथ के उदय के मुख कारण थे- टश शासन के वातवक चर का उजागर होना, सामािजक और धामक जागृत, जनता को लामबंद करने म कांेस क वफलता, ांतकार सांकृतक रावाद, शीष नेतृव म यात गुटबाजी और अंतराय घटनाओं का भाव। उपंथ के मुख नेताओं को ायः- लाल, बाल और पाल क तकड़ी के प म जाना जाता है। उपंथ क अनेक िटय से आलोचना क जाती है। यह तक दया जाता है क उनक रावाद संबंधी अवधारणा अतीत के महमामंडन पर आधारत थी िजसने ढ़वाद सोच को बढ़ावा दया तथा मुिलम और नचल जातय को मुयधारा से दरकनार कया; संघष के एक साधन के प म ‘हंसा’ के योग के सबध म उनका रवैया नतांत अपट था; ‘बंग-भंग आंदोलन’ क एक छोट सी अवध के अतरत वे ायः कसी बड़े जन आंदोलन को जम न दे सके । तमाम आलोचनाओं के बावजूद इस तय से इनकार नहं कया जा सकता क उपंथ ने अपने राजनीतक लय, जन लामबंद और संघष के तरक के संदभ म भारत के राय आंदोलन को नई बुलंदयां दान कं। अयास के लये न

1) उदारवादय एवं उपंथय के मय मतभेद के मुख बदुओं क चचा कर। 2) भारतीय राय आंदोलन म उपंथ के वकास के कारण या थे? 3) बंगाल वभाजन क योजना वशु राजनीतक उेय के साथ बनाई गई थी िजसके क म 'बांटो और राज करो' क नीत थी। समझाइये। 4) वदेशी आंदोलन क मुख वृितय का आलोचनामक परण कर। 33

Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi 5) कांेस के ‘सूरत वभाजन’ के कारण का आलोचनामक परण कर। राय आंदोलन पर इसके या परणाम हु ए? 6) संत नोट लख: क ) महष अरवंद ख) लाला लाजपत राय ग) बपन चं पाल घ) बाल गंगाधर तलक

पारभाषक शद

उपनवेशवाद: उपनवेशवाद वचव क एक था है िजसका अभाय है ‘एक शित वारा कसी भू-भाग के बहु संय लोग को अपने अधीन कया जाना’। बंग-भंग: 1905 ई. म अंेज वारा ‘बंगाल के वभाजन’ को बंग-भंग भी कहा जाता है। भलोक: एक बंगाल शद जो क औपनवेशक काल के दौरान जमे एक नवीन शत कुलन वग का वणन करने के लये युत कया जाता है। रा बंधन: भाइय और बहन के बीच परपर सौहाद का तीक एक भारतीय पव। बंगाल के वभाजन के दन यह पव हंदू मुिलम एकता को दशत करने के लए मनाया गया। राज: भारतीय उपमहावीप म टश शासन का उलेख करने के लए सामाय तौर पर इतेमाल कया जाने वाला शद।

सदभ

1. ोत

चंा बी (2009), ह ऑफ़ मॉडन इंडया नई दल: ओरएंट लावान। दत आर पी (1986), इंडया टुडे कोलकाता: मनीषा ंथालय। धान आर सी (2008), राज टू वराज नई दल: मैकमलन इंडया लमटेड। बंयोपायाय एस (2004), ॉम लासी टू पाटशन- ए ह ऑफ़ मॉडन इंडया नई दल: ओरएंट लांगमैन। सरकार एस (1973), वदेशी मूवमट इन बंगाल नई दल: पीपुस पिलशंग हाउस। सरकार एस (1983), मॉडन इंडया (1885-1947) नई दल: मैकमलन।

2. पठनीय सामी

चंा, बी (1989), इंडया’स गल फॉर इंडपडस 1857-1947 नई दल: पगुइन बुस। नेह जे (1946), द डकवर ऑफ़ इंडया दल: ऑसफोड यूनवसट ेस (6 एडशन, 1994)।

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Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi भाटया एच.एस. (2001), टश कोलोनयल गवनमट इन इंडया नई दल: दप और डीप काशन। चटज पी. (1993), 'द नेशन एंड इस पाटस', पी. चटज, द नेशन एंड इस ैगमेस: कोलोनयल एंड पोट- कोलोनअल हटरस नई दल: ऑसफोड यूनवसट ेस (पृठ 76-115)। कथुर एम. (2013), ‘आइडयोलॉजी एंड एशन ोाम ऑफ़ द वदेशी मूवमट इन तमलनाडु’ आईओएसआर जनल ऑफ़ यूमनटज ् एंड सोशल साइंसेज वॉयूम 9 इशू 5 पृठ 1-7। केर जे.सी. (1973), पोलटकल बल इन इंडया 1907-1917 कोलकाता। मेटकाफ ट. (1995), आिइडयोलॅाजीज ऑफ़ द राज कैिज: कैिज यूनवसट ेस। शमा जे.एस. (1970), इंडया संस द एवट ऑफ़ द टश नई दल: एस चांद एंड कंपनी।

3. वेबसाइट http://centreright.in/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/rb1.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1st_INC1885.jpg HTTP://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/FILE:GEORGE_CURZON2.JPG HTTP://INDIANSAGA.COM/HISTORY/BENGAL_PARTITION.HTML http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Brit_IndianEmpireReligions3.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Bal_G._Tilak.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Lala_lajpat_Rai.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Sri_Aurobindo_presiding_over_a_meeting_of_th e_Nationalists_after_the_Surat_Congress%2C_with_Tilak_speaking%2C_1907.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Sri_aurobindo.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Bipin-Chandra-Pal.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/05/V.O.Chidambaram_Pillai_photo.jpg http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/01149/17july_masamnsb_Pr_1149676g.jpg http://www.wondersandmarvels.com/2013/11/the-swadeshi-movement-the-first-step-toward-indian- independence.html

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Institute of lifelong learning, University of Delhi The Imperialist Approach The Imperialist approach is also known as the Cambridge school and this perspective is seen in the writings of viceroys such as Lord Duferin, Curzon and Minto.Its views on Colonialism and Nationalism in India can be summed up in the following points : 1. India under British rule grew into a stage at which she could advance claim to the sight of self- government. 2. The British rule was essentially Benevolent,understood the aspirations of Indians and gradually moved towards it fulfillment. 3. The imperialistic historiographers deny the existence of colonial exploitation,underdevelopment and other anti-imperialistic and nationalistic forces. 4. They also deny the existence of colonialism as an economic,political and social structure. 5. They say it was simply a foreign rule and neither was it exploitative.Hence,they do not agree with the view that the socio-economic and political development of India required the overthrow of colonialism. 6. They do not see any basic contradiction between the British and Indian interests which led to the national movement. 7. India as a nation was a myth.India was neither a nation nor a nation-in-making but a group of different castes and religious groups which are the real basis of political organisation. 8. Nationalism in India was not anti-imperialistic;rather the politicization of Indian society developed along the lines of traditional social formations such as linguistic,regional,castes or religious communities rather modern categories of class and nation. 9. The struggle against colonialism was a motiveless and simulated combat.It was merely a product of the need and interests of the elite groups who used to serve either their own narrow interests or the interests of their perspective groups. 10. The basic pattern was of an educated middle class reared by British rule engaged in various renaissance activities and virtually turning against their masters and so giving birth to modern nationalism out of frustrated, selfish ambitions, ideals of patriotism and democracy derived from western culture or natural revulsion against foreign rule. 11. The imperialist approach questioned the ontology of a unified nationalist movement and has traced instead only a series of localized movements in colonial India. 12. India was not a nation but an aggregate of desperate interest groups and they were united as they had to operate within a centralized national administrative framework created by the British. Criticism and analysis of the imperialistic approach 1. This approach denies the existence and legitimacy of exploitative nature of British rule and of Nationalism as a movement of the Indian people to overthrow imperialism. 2. Categories such as nation,class,mobilization,ideology etc which are generally used by historians to analyse colonialism and nationalism are missing from this approach. 3. It deliberately misses the economic exploitation,under development,racialism and the role of the masses in the anti-imperialistic struggle.

DC-1 SEM-2

Paper: बायत भᴂ याष्ट्रवाद

Lesson: बायतीम राष्ट्रवाद की भार्कससवादी व्माख्मा

Lesson Author: प्रमोद कु मार College/Dept: Department of Political Science Univeristy of Delhi

Institute of Lifelong Learning,University of Delhi

बायतीम याष्ट्रवाद की भार्कससवादी व्माख्मा कयने से ऩहरे हभᴂ स्वतंत्रता आंदोरन के साभाजजक

चरयत्र ,उसकी उ配ऩत्तत औय ववकास की अवस्थाओॊ, साभाजजक सभथनथ औय रोकविम बागीदायी की

िकृ तत औय तैमाय ककए गए अथवा िमोग ककए गए दाव ऩᴂचⴂ औय यणनीततमⴂ को सभझना ऩड़गे ा।

बायत के स्वतॊत्रता आॊदोरन की गगनती आधनु नक सभाज के फड़े आॊदोरनⴂ भᴂ की जाती है।

ववभबन्न ववचायधायाओॊ औय वगⴂ के कयोड़ⴂ रोगⴂ को इस आॊदोरन ने याजनीनतक 셂ऩ से

सक्रिम होने के भरए प्रेरयत क्रकमा औय शत्र्कतशारी औऩननवेभशक साम्रा煍म को घुटने टेकने के

भरए वववश क्रकमा। बायतीम याष्ट्रवाद कई चयणⴂ भᴂ ववकससत हुआ । जैसे - जैसे मह एक चयण से

दसू ये चयण की तयप फढ़ा , इसका साभाजजक आधाय बी व्माऩक होता गमा । इसके रक्ष्म अधधकाधधक

साहससक हुए औय अधधक स्षष्ट्ट 셂ऩ से ऩरयबावषत हुए, औय मह ववसबन्न 셂ऩⴂ भᴂ असबव्मक्त हुआ।

बायत औय साये ववश्व भᴂ ववसबन्न शत्र्कतमⴂ के ववकास के परस्व셂ऩ बायतीमⴂ भᴂ याष्ट्रीम चते ना

ववकससत हुई औय वे याष्ट्रीम आंदोरन की ऩरयधध भᴂ आए। याष्ट्रीम जीवन के साभाजजक, याजनीततक,

सास्कृ ततक हय ऺेत्र भᴂ मह याष्ट्रीम जागयण ऩरयरक्षऺत हुआ। नए वगⴂ न े जो नए अथतथ ंत्र के

परस्व셂ऩ ऩैदा हुए थे औय एक ही याजस配ता के अधीन यहे थे , अऩने मुग की साभाजजक औय

याजनीततक त्स्थनत भᴂ अऩना भुक्त औय ऩूण थ ववकास अव셁द्ध ऩामा। इससरए अऩने ववकास के यास्ते

के अवयोधⴂ को हटाने के सरए उन्हⴂन े अऩने अखिर बायतीम संगठन फनामे औय आंदोरन ककए। इन

कायणⴂ से बी बायतीम आंदोरन ववकससत होता यहा औय उसभᴂ अधधकाधधक शजक्त आती गई।

1880 के दशक भᴂ अऩनी शु셁आत के सभम से ही बायतीम याष्ट्रीम आॊदोरन की भुख्म

ववशेषता मह यही क्रक मह उऩननवेशवाद के शोषणकायी औय अ쥍ऩ ववकासकायी स्व셂ऩ की

सॊऩूण स सभझ ऩय आधारयत था। बायतीम अवाभ औय उऩननवेशवाद (मा औऩननवेभशक शासन)

के फीच कᴂद्रीम मा प्राथभभक अॊतववसयोध को सफसे ऩहरे सापतौय ऩय आगथसक ऺेत्र भᴂ औय

उसके फाद धीये-धीये याजनीनतक, साॊस्कृ नतक औय साभात्जक ऺेत्रⴂ भᴂ सभझा गमा। दादाबाई

Institute of Lifelong Learning,University of Delhi

नौयोजी से नतरक औय गाॊधी से नेह셂 तक याष्ट्रीम आॊदोरन उऩननवेशवाद के स्व셂ऩ औय इस

कᴂद्रीम अॊतववसयोध की फढ़ती हुई सभझ ऩय आधारयत था। इन दो आधायⴂ के कायण आॊदोरन

को फुविजीवी औय जनसभूह दोनⴂ के भरए आकषसक फनामा जा सका।

कᴂद्रीम अॊतववसयोध को याष्ट्रीम आॊदोरन के फुननमादी कायण के 셂ऩ भᴂ सभझने के भाभरे भᴂ

ववशेष 셂ऩ से 1947 से ऩहरे का याष्ट्रवादी इनतहासरेखन उतना आगे नहीॊ था त्जतना क्रक

स्वमॊ आॊदोरन। ऐसा आॊभशक 셂ऩ से इसभरए था क्रक नेताओॊ औय अनुमानममⴂ 饍वाया इस

अॊतववसयोध की ऩहचान रॊफी ऐनतहाभसक प्रक्रिमा थी। उऩननवेशवाद के स्व셂ऩ औय उसके

आगथसक प्रबाव के प्रनत जाग셁कता ददखाते हुए बी उदायवादी रेखक कु र भभराकय इनतहास के

बफना ववचाय को आधाय फनाते यहे औय याष्ट्रीम आॊदोरन को याष्ट्रवाद मा स्वतॊत्रता के ववचाय

मा बावना के प्रसाय औय ऩहचान का ऩरयणाभ फताते यहे। उदाहयण के भरए, राजऩत याम न े

‘आॊदोरन की जड़ᴂ’, तथा ‘स्वतॊत्रता के भरए इ楍छा’1 औय ‘ शभस औय अऩभान’ की बावना,

2 ‘अवननत औय ऩतन’ की बावना भᴂ देखी’, । स्वतॊत्रता की इस इ楍छा’, के कायण 1857 तक

कई ववद्रोह हुए। 1856 के फाद ववदेशी शासन के खखराप आिोश की बावना अभबव्मत्र्कत के

नए भागस खोजने रगी। अन्म कई याष्ट्रवादी इनतहासकायⴂ ने काॉग्रेस की स्थाऩना से ऩहरे

बिदटश शासन के सशस्त्र ववयोध के फाये भᴂ ववस्ताय से चचास की है; रेक्रकन उन्हⴂने इसे ववदेशी

प्रबुतव के खखराप सॊघषस के 셂ऩ भᴂ देखा है न क्रक याष्ट्रवादी मा साम्रा煍मवाद ववयोधी सॊघषस की

3 शु셁आत के 셂ऩ भᴂ।

इसभरए बायत भᴂ ननभासणाधीन याष्ट्र की प्रक्रिमा की ताकत औय कभजोरयमाॊ याष्ट्रीम आॊदोरन

की ताकत औय कभजोरयमाॊ हℂ। साम्रा煍मवाद-ववयोधी सॊघषस इस प्रक्रिमा की उऩज औय उसके

बीतय सक्रिम तततव दोनⴂ था। याष्ट्रीम चेतना ने याष्ट्रवादी सॊघषस को अभबप्रेरयत क्रकमा औय

इस सॊघषस ने चेतना को प्रेरयत क्रकमा। ववभबन्न साॊप्रदानमक वगⴂ, स्तयⴂ औय सभूहⴂ ऩय

उऩननवेशवाद का प्रबाव औय उऩननवेशवाद से उनका भोहबॊग ववबेदी औय असभान तयीके से

हुआ। इसका मह भतरफ नहीॊ है क्रक बायत भᴂ ि配मेक वगस का अरग याष्ट्रीम आॊदोरन मा

Institute of Lifelong Learning,University of Delhi

याष्ट्रवाद था - उदाहयण के भरए फूजुआस याष्ट्रवाद, क्रकसान याष्ट्रवाद, श्रभभक वगस का याष्ट्रवाद,

भध्मवगीम याष्ट्रवाद, ऩैटी फूजुआस याष्ट्रवाद मा साभॊती याष्ट्रवाद। न ही, इसका मह भतरफ है

क्रक याष्ट्रीम आॊदोरन औय याष्ट्रवाद केवर एक वगस भध्म वगस मा फूजुआस मा दहदॊ ओु ॊ- का

ववशेषागधकाय था। क्रकसी ववशेष चयण भᴂ आॊदोरन भᴂ ववभबन्न साभात्जक वगⴂ मा स्तयⴂ मा

सभूहⴂ के वास्तववक भोहबॊग मा बागीदायी की चाहे जो सीभा यही हो, आॊदोरन ने

उऩननवेशवाद के खखराप बायतीम रोगⴂ के दहतⴂ का प्रनतननगधतव क्रकमा। इसभरए याष्ट्रीम

आॊदोरन का अध्ममन वस्तुऩयक वास्तववकता की भान्म मा वैध चेतना का प्रनतननगधतव कयने

वारे आॊदोरन के 셂ऩ भᴂ क्रकमा जाना चादहए। वस्तुऩयक वास्तववकता का अथ थ है आधनु नक

साभात्जक, आगथसक, याजनीनतक औय साॊस्कृ नतक ववकास के भरए बायत के रोगⴂ के साभान्म

दहतⴂ वारे वास्तववक जीवन की उबयती हुई ऩहचान औय ववशेष 셂ऩ से साभान्म शत्र ु ववदेशी

4 5 साम्रा煍मवाद के खखराप साभान्म सॊघषस भᴂ एकजुट होने की आवश्मकता की ऩहचान।

भार्कससवाद औय याष्ट्रवाद:

गत सौ से अगधक वषⴂ भᴂ इनतहास रेखन की चाय ववचायधायाओॊ का प्रादबु ासव हुआ है। प्रतमेक

ने अऩने 饃त्ष्ट्टकोण से याष्ट्रीम आॊदोरन का अरग-अरग ऩहचाना जा सकने वारा ववश्रेषण

क्रकमा है। इन चाय ववचायधायाओॊ को िभश: साम्रा煍मवादी, याष्ट्रवादी, भार्कससवादी औय सफरटनस

नाभ ददमाजा सकता है।

ऩहरा, 셂दढ़वादी औऩननवेभशक प्रशासक औय कℂबिज सम्प्प्रदाम के नाभ से ववख्मात

इनतहासकायⴂ का साम्रा煍मवादी खेभा बायत भᴂ आगथसक, याजनीनतक, साभात्जक औय साॊस्कृ नतक

सॊयचना के 셂ऩ भᴂ उऩननवेशवाद के अत्स्ततव को नकायता है। उनके भरए उऩननवेशवाद

6 भुख्मत: ववदेशी शासन से अगधक कु छ नहीॊ है। इस प्रकाय उनके 饍वाया क्रकमा गमा याष्ट्रीम

आॊदोरन का ववश्रेषण बायतीम जनता औय उऩननवेशवाद के आऩसी दहतⴂ के आधायबूत

अॊतववसयोधⴂ के अस्वीकयण ऩय दटका हुआ है। साम्रा煍मवादी इनतहासकाय नहीॊ भानते हℂ क्रक

Institute of Lifelong Learning,University of Delhi

बायत याष्ट्र फनने की प्रक्रिमा भᴂ था । उनका भानना है क्रक त्जसे बायत कहा जाता है, वास्तव

भᴂ वह धभⴂ, जानतमⴂ, सभुदामⴂ औय अरग-अरग दहतⴂ का सभु楍चम था। साम्रा煍मवादी

7 इनतहासकायⴂ भᴂ प्रभुख नाभ : डपरयन, कजसन औय भभटो के हℂ।

दसू या, याष्ट्रवादी इनतहासकायⴂ की 饃त्ष्ट्ट भᴂ याष्ट्रीम आॊदोरन भᴂ जनता की बागीदायी फहुत

प्रबावऩूण स एवॊ स्वाबाववक थी र्कमⴂक्रक भूरत: सबी बायतीमⴂ के दहत सदैव ववदेशी सतता के

िततकू र ही थे, केवर एक चभतकायी नेता की कभी थी। रेक्रकन मह कहना आवश्मक है क्रक

इनतहास-रेखन की एक प्रवत्ृ तत के 셂ऩ भᴂ स्वतॊत्रता आॊदोरन ऩय याष्ट्रवादी रेखन कु र

भभराकय अऩमासप्त ही यहा था।8 याष्ट्रवादी आॊदोरन के फाये भᴂ भरखने का काभ रारा राजऩत

याम, सुयᴂद्रनाथ फनजी, आय. जी प्रधान, सुबाषचद्रॊ फोस, ऩट्टाभबसीतायभैमा, सी. एप. एॊड्रूज औय

गगरयजा भुखजी ने ककमा ।

तीसया, सफरटनस इनतहास अथासत ‘इनतहास को नीचे से देिने की’ अवधायणा है जो याजनीनतक

औय अन्म नेताओॊ ऩय नहीॊ फत्쥍क साधायण रोगⴂ के ऩरयप्रेक्ष्म ऩय पोकस कयती। कापी

रम्प्फे सभम तक इनतहास वही भाना जाता था त्जससे शत्र्कतशारी, प्रभसि औय धनवान रोगो

की फात होती थी । मह ‘ऊऩय से इनतहास’ जैसी फात थी9 त्जसभᴂ साधायण रोग जो सोचते थे

औय कयने की कोभशश कयते थे, उन्हᴂ भहतवहीन सभझा जाता था औय इनतहास का दहस्सा

नहीॊ भाना जाता था। 1980 के दशक भᴂ बायत के इनतहास रेखन ऩय स녍राटनथ अध्ममन का

प्रबाव शु셂 हुआ। याष्ट्रीम आॊदोरन भᴂ सवसहाया, क्रकसान, स्त्री, जनजानत के रोगⴂ के

भहतवऩूण स मोगदान का अध्ममन क्रकमा जाता है जो 1980 के ऩहरे तक हाभशमे ऩय यहे थे ।

इस ववचायधाया के प्रभुख इनतहासकाय याभचॊद्र गुहा, सुभभत सयकाय, यणजीत गुहा, ऻानᴂद्र ऩाॊडे

औय शादहद अभीन हℂ।

चौथा, भार्कससवादी सम्प्प्रदाम है जो िस्तुत अध्माम का भुख्म ववषम है भाक्सवथ ादी इनतहासकायⴂ ने

भारतीय राष्ट्रवाद के वगीम चरयत्र का ववश्रेषण कयने औय उसकी व्माख्मा उऩननवेश कार के

आगथसक ववकासिभⴂ के आधाय ऩय कयने की कोभशश की, भुख्मत: बायत भᴂ औ饍मोगगक

Institute of Lifelong Learning,University of Delhi

ऩॉूजीवाद के उदम औय एक फाजायभुखी सभाज के ववकास के आधाय ऩय। इन इनतहासकायⴂ ने

याष्ट्रीम आॊदोरन के ऩॉूजीवादी नेततृ व की ऩहचान की, त्जसने अऩने वगीम दहतⴂ के अनुसाय

इस आॊदोरन को सॊचाभरत क्रकमा औय जनता के दहतⴂ को अनदेखा क्रकमा, फत्쥍क एक सीभा

तक उसे धोखा बी ददमा। यजनी ऩाभ दतत औय सोववमत इनतहासकाय वी. आइ. ऩायरोव जैसे

आयॊभबक भार्कससवाददमⴂ के इस वगीम 饃त्ष्ट्टकोण को एस. एन. भुखजी, सुभभत सयकाय औय

वववऩनचॊद्र की ऩयवती भार्कससवादी यचनाओॊ भᴂ सॊशोगधत क्रकमा गमा।10

यजनी ऩार दतत अऩनी ऩुस्तक (आज का बायत 1940) भᴂ बायतीम याष्ट्रवाद की व्माख्मा

कयते हℂ औय साम्रा煍मवादी इनतहासकायⴂ की दरीर को खारयज कयते हℂ क्रक ‘ बायतीम

याष्ट्रवाद बिदटश शासन की सॊतान है औय इसका ऩरयणाभ है’। दतत का तकस है क्रक मदद

जाऩानी हभरावय चाहᴂ तो मह दावा कय सकते हℂ क्रक अऩने आिभण के जरयए उन्हⴂने चीन

की जनता भᴂ याष्ट्रीम एकता कामभ कयने भᴂ भदद की औय वस्तुऩयक 饃त्ष्ट्ट से देखᴂ तो

उनका मह दावा सही है। इसी तयह चक्रूॊ क आधनु नक बायतीम याष्ट्रवाद का जन्भ औय ववकास

साम्रा煍मवाद ववयोधी सॊघषस के दौयान हुआ है, इसभरए बिदटश साम्रा煍मवाद बी मह दावा कय

सकता है क्रक उसने ही इसके भरए त्स्थनतमाॊ तैमाय कीॊ। इसी तयह जाय बी 셂स भᴂ भजदयू

वगस की ववजम की ऩरयत्स्थनतमाॊ तैमाय कयने का दावा कय सकता हℂ। भार्कससवादी

इनतहासकायⴂ की दसू यी दरीर है क्रक बिदटश शासन की सकायातभक उऩरत्धधमⴂ ने बायत के

याजनीनतक एकीकयण औय आधनु नक कᴂ द्रीकृ त प्रशासन के जरयए ही नहीॊ फत्쥍क बिदटश

वैधाननक औय साॊस्कृ नतक सॊस्थाओॊ को आयोवऩत कयके औय भशऺा प्राप्त कयने वारे एक

भाभूरी अ쥍ऩभत के भरए ‘ अॊग्रेजी ढ़ॊग की’ भशऺा रागू कयके अननवामस 셂ऩ से बायतीम

याष्ट्रवाद का फीज फोमा औय ऩढ़े-भरखे रोगⴂ के फीच सॊसदीम सयकाय तथा जनताॊबत्रक

स्वतॊत्रता के अॊग्रेजी आदशⴂ को आयोवऩत क्रकमा। अभयीका की स्वतॊत्रता की घोषणा से औय

उससे बी 煍मादा स्वतॊत्रता, सभानता औय सद्भाव के आदशⴂ से ओतप्रोत 祍ाॊस की भहान िाॊनत

से 19वीॊ सदी के जनताॊबत्रक आॊदोरन ने त्जतनी प्रेयणा प्राप्त की, उतनी उसने इॊग्रℂड से नहीॊ

Institute of Lifelong Learning,University of Delhi

की जहाॉ सम्राट औय सॊसद के फीच सभझौता हो गमा था। 20वीॊ सदी भᴂ 1905 औय 1917 की

셂सी िाॊनत ने जनता के फीच औय खासतौय से एभशमा तथा याष्ट्रीम स्वतॊत्रता की भाॊग कयने

वारे सबी उऩननवेशⴂ की गुराभ जनता के फीच जागनृ त की रहय ऩैदा कयने भᴂ ववभशष्ट्ट

बूभभका अदा की। बायत भᴂ जनता की जागनृ त का ववकास सॊसाय की इन्हीॊ धायाओॊ के साथ-

साथ हुआ है। औय ववकास के ववभबन्न चयणⴂ 饍वाया इसे ददखामा जा सकता है।

बायतीम याष्ट्रवाद का ऐनतहाभसक ववकास, सॊघषस की तीन फड़ी रहयⴂ से गुजया है। इनभᴂ से

प्रतमेक रहय ऩहरे की अऩेऺा अगधक ऊॊची थी औय प्रतमेक रहय ने आॊदोरन ऩय स्थाई गचह्न

छोड़े तथा एक नए दौय का सूत्रऩात क्रकमा। जैसा हभने देखा है, बायतीम याष्ट्रवाद के

प्रायत्म्प्बक दौय ने केवर फड़े ऩॉूजीऩनत वगस का प्रनतननगधतव क्रकमा त्जसभᴂ जभीॊदायⴂ के

प्रगनतशीर ततव; नए औ饍मोगगक ऩूॊजीऩनत औय खशु हार फुविजीवी शाभभर थे। 1914 के ऩहरे

के वषⴂ भᴂ ऩहरी फाय इस शाॊत जर भᴂ उस सभम हरचर ऩैदा हुई जफ देश भᴂ फड़े ऩैभाने

ऩय असॊतोष की अभबव्मत्र्कत साभने आई। इसभᴂ शहयⴂ भᴂ यहने वारे ननम्प्न ऩॉूजीऩनत वगस का

असॊतोष व्मर्कत हुआ रेक्रकन वह आभ जनता तक नहीॊ ऩहुॉच सका। 1914-18 के मुि के फाद

ही मह स्ऩष्ट्ट हुआ क्रक याष्ट्रीम आॊदोरन भᴂ क्रकसानⴂ औय देश की नई शत्र्कत औ饍मोगगक

भजदयू ⴂ अथासत आभ जनता की र्कमा बूभभका है। इसके फाद जनसॊघषⴂ की दो फड़ी रहयᴂ आℂ

ऩहरी रहय मुि के ततकार फाद के वषⴂ भᴂ औय दसू यी रहय ववश्वव्माऩी आगथसक सॊकट के

फाद सॊघषस के इस इनतहास के आधाय ऩय बायतीम याष्ट्रवाद आज अऩनी शु셁आत के फाद से

शत्र्कत के सवो楍च बफदॊ ु ऩय ऩहुॊच चकु ा है।

इस प्रकाय बायत का याष्ट्रीम आॊदोरन महाॉ की साभात्जक ऩरयत्स्थनतमⴂ से, साम्रा煍मवाद की

ऩरयत्स्थनतमⴂ औय उसकी शोषण प्रणारी से ऩैदा हुआ है। वह उन साभात्जक तथा आगथसक

शत्र्कतमⴂ से ऩैदा हुआ है जो इस शोषण के कायण बायतीम सभाज भᴂ उतऩन्न हो गई हℂ।

उसके ऩैदा होने का कायण मह है क्रक बायत भᴂ ऩॉूजीऩनत वगस का उदम हो चकु ा है। चाहे भशऺा

की कैसी बी व्मवस्था र्कमⴂ न होती, बिदटश ऩॉूजीऩनत वगस के प्रबुतव के साथ उसकी प्रनतस्ऩधास

Institute of Lifelong Learning,University of Delhi

अननवामस थी । मदद बायत के ऩॉूजीऩनत वगस ने केवर सॊस्कृ त भᴂ भरखे वेदⴂ का अध्ममन

क्रकमा होता अथवा सबी तयह की ववचायधायाओॊ से अरग हटकय भठⴂ से ऻान प्राप्त क्रकमा

होता तो ननश्चम ही उसे सॊस्कृ त वेदⴂ भᴂ बी अऩनी आजादी के सॊघषस की प्रेयणा से बयऩूय

भसिाॊत भभर जाते।

ए. आय देसाई अऩनी ऩुस्तक (बायतीम याष्ट्रवाद की साभाजजक ऩष्ट्ृ ठबूभभ, 1976) भᴂ बायतीम

याष्ट्रवाद की िकृ तत की व्माख्मा कयते हुए कहत े हℂ कक सॊगदठत आॊदोरन के 셂ऩ भᴂ बायतीम

याष्ट्रवाद का उद्भव, उन्नीसवीॊ सदी के अॊनतभ दशकⴂ भᴂ हुआ। रेक्रकन इसके प्रथभ अकॊ ु य 19वीॊ

सदी के प्रायम्प्ब भᴂ बी 饃त्ष्ट्टगोचय होते हℂ। प्रफुि दहदॊ ू फुविजीववमⴂ ने अॊग्रेजⴂ 饍वाया राई गई

आधनु नक भशऺा ऩाई थी औय इस भशऺा के भाध्मभ से इस वगस के रोग आधनु नक ऩाश्चातम,

प्रजाताॊबत्रक ववचायधायाओॊ के सम्प्ऩकस भᴂ आए थे। इस वगस की उदीमभान याष्ट्रीम चेतना का

1828 भᴂ स्थावऩत िहभ सभाज के 셂ऩ भᴂ धाभभसक प्रस्पु टन हुआ। इसी कार भᴂ 1843 भᴂ

स्थावऩत बिदटश इॊडडमा सोसामटी औय 1851 भᴂ स्थावऩत बिदटश इॊडडमा एसोभसएशन जो उन

ददनⴂ के याजनीनतक दरⴂ के एकीकयण से फना हुआ था, जैसे धभसननयऩेऺ याजनीनतक सॊगठनⴂ

का जन्भ हुआ। शु셂 के याजनीनतक दर बायतीम याजनीनतक याष्ट्रवाद के उद्भव के

ऩरयचामक हℂ। रेक्रकन मे दर भहज कु छेक व्मत्र्कतमⴂ से फने थे औय इनका कोई साभूदहक

आधाय नहीॊ था।

बायतीम औय बिदटश दहतⴂ भᴂ ववयोध था, इसभरए बिटेन औय बायतीम जनता के

ववभबन्न वगⴂ औय दरⴂ भᴂ, ववभबन्न अॊशⴂ भᴂ, ऩायस्ऩरयक 饍वॊ饍व का जन्भ हुआ। याजनीनतक

याष्ट्रवाद दहतⴂ के इस सॊघषस का ऩरयणाभ था, औय इसके कायण देश भᴂ कई याजनीनतक

आॊदोरनⴂ का उद्भव हुआ। इन आॊदोरनⴂ के रक्ष्म थे- याजनीनतक सतता भᴂ अगधकागधक

सहबागगता औय क्रपय िभश: डोभभननमन स्टेटस होभ셂र औय ऩूण स स्वया煍म। अऩने ववभबन्न

साभात्जक, आगथसक एवॊ अन्मान्म दहतⴂ की ऩूनत स के भरए याजनीनतक सतता हस्तगत कयने के

बायतीम जनता औय उसके ववभबन्न अॊगⴂ के प्रमास याजनीनतक आॊदोरन भᴂ भूनतभस ान हℂ।

Institute of Lifelong Learning,University of Delhi

बायत ऩय बिटेन के ननयॊकु श शासन के कायण औ饍मोगगक फूजुआस जी को बायत का

अननमॊबत्रत औ饍मोगगक ववकास कयने भᴂ सभस्मा ऩैदा हो यही थी। या煍म व्मवस्था के प्रभुख

ऩदⴂ ऩय अॊग्रेजⴂ के एकागधकाय के कायण, भशक्षऺत वगस के रोगⴂ को नौकरयमाॊ प्राप्त कयने की

अऩनी न्मामसॊगत आकाॊऺा की ऩूनत स भᴂ ददर्ककत हो यही थी। धयती के फेटे क्रकसान मह देखते

थे क्रक अॊग्रेजⴂ 饍वाया राई गई नई बू-याजस्व व्मवस्था उनकी फढ़ती हुई गयीफी का कायण थी।

सवसहाया भजदयू वगस देखता था क्रक मह ववदेशी अप्रजाताॊबत्रक शासन व्मवस्था उन्हᴂ अऩनी

हारत सुधायने औय त्जस भजदयू ी तॊत्र भᴂ उनका शोषण हो यहा था, उसे फदरने के भरए

आवश्मक वगस सॊघषस को ववकभसत कयने से योक यही थी। क्रपय सभस्त बायतीम जनता ने मह

बी देखा क्रक इस ववदेशी शासन के कायण उनका अऩना साधायण साभात्जक, आगथसक औय

साॊस्कृ नतक ववकास नहीॊ हो ऩा यहा था । याजनीनतक सतता से उनकी मह बी अऩेऺा थी क्रक

दक्षऺण अफ्रीका, केन्मा, भरामा, रॊका आदद उऩननवेशⴂ मा अिस उऩननवेशⴂ भᴂ प्रचभरत जानत

ववबेद औय बायतीम दहतⴂ की अवहेरना आदद कु यीनतमाॊ सभाप्त की जाएॉ । चक्रूॊ क ववदेशी

शासन गुराभ देश का स्वतॊत्र ववकास अव셁ि कयता है, इसभरए साधायण जनता भᴂ याष्ट्रीम

बावनाएॉ स्वत: उबयती हℂ।

आरोचना

वववऩनचॊद्र अऩनी ऩुस्तक (आधुतनक बायत भᴂ याष्ट्रवाद औय उऩतनवेशवाद 1979) भᴂ फतात े

हℂ क्रक भार्कससवादी इनतहास-रेखक अऩने वववेचन भᴂ, भुख्म अॊतववसयोध तथा 셂ऩाकाय ग्रहण कय

यहे याष्ट्रवाद की प्रक्रिमा दोनⴂ का ध्मान यखते हℂ औय याष्ट्रवादी इनतहासकायⴂ की तयह वे

बायतीम सभाज के अॊदय के अॊतववसयोधⴂ को बी नजयअॊदाज नहीॊ कयते।11

फहयहार, इनभᴂ से बी कई इनतहासकाय खासतौय से यजनी ऩाभ दतत ,

उऩननवेशवाद ववयोधी भुख्म अॊतववसयोध औय बायतीम सभाज के बीतय के गौण अॊतववसयोधⴂ के

ववश्रेषण भᴂ एक-दसू ये के साथ साभॊजस्म नहीॊ फैठा सके हℂ औय साम्रा煍मवाद ववयोधी सॊघषस

को वगस सॊघषस अथवा साभात्जक सॊघषस से फयाफयी कयने की प्रवत्ृ तत इनभᴂ बी ददखाई ऩड़ती है।

Institute of Lifelong Learning,University of Delhi

इस सभूच े आॊदोरन को फूजुआस आॊदोरन के साॉचे भᴂ यखकय देखने की प्रवत्ृ तत बी इनभᴂ है।

म饍मवऩ वे इसको भसपस फूजुआस वगस का आॊदोरन नहीॊ भानते हℂ, इसका भुर्कत स्व셂ऩ औय

सवसवगीम ववशेषता उनके ववश्रेषण भᴂ गामफ हो जाती है। उनकी सभझ के भुताबफक इस

आॊदोरन भᴂ फूजुआस वगस की बूभभका प्रबावशारी है। फूजुआस जी के साथ याष्ट्रीम नेततृ व की

सभानता दशासते हℂ अथवा इन दोनⴂ को एक साथ भभरा देने की प्रवत्ृ तत इनभᴂ है। इस

आॊदोरन के सॊघषस के 셂ऩⴂ के आधाय ऩय ही मे रोग इसके वगीम स्व셂ऩ का वववेचन बी

कयते हℂ औय इस तथ्म के आधाय ऩय क्रक यणनीनत के तहत मह सॊकीणस है। उनका सुझाव है

क्रक ववततीम सॊसाधनⴂ तक ऩहुॉच से याष्ट्रीम याजनीनत का यास्ता तम कयने औय उसको ददशा

देने की शत्र्कत ननधासरयत होती थी। फहुत से भार्कससवादी इनतहासकाय बी याष्ट्रीम आॊदोरन की

यणनीनत, कामसिभ, ववचायधाया, उसने क्रकस सीभा तक आभ जनता को राभफॊद क्रकमा है तथा

यणनीनत एवॊ कामसनीनत सॊफॊधी दाॊवऩᴂच आदद की वास्तववक ववस्ततृ औय ऐनतहाभसक छानफीन

नहीॊ कयते हℂ।

वववऩन चॊद्र का अऩना 饃त्ष्ट्टकोण है वे भोटे तौय ऩय भार्कससवादी ऩयॊऩया के अॊतगसत

यहकय ववभबन्न भुद्दⴂ का ववश्रेषण कयते हℂ उऩननवेशवादी बायत भᴂ अॊतववसयोधⴂ का स्व셂ऩ,

भुख्म तथा गौण अॊतववसयोधⴂ का सॊफॊध, आॊदोरन का वगस चरयत्र, फूजुआस जी (ऩॉूजीऩनतवग)स तथा

अन्म साभात्जक वगⴂ के फीच सॊफॊध तथा बायतीम याष्ट्रीम काॊग्रेस तथा उसका नेततृ व वगस

चरयत्र ऩाटी के फीच सॊफॊध, सॊघषस के ववभबन्न 셂ऩⴂ (इसभᴂ अदहॊसातभक 셂ऩ बी है)। औय वगस

12 चरयत्र, ववचायधाया, यणनीनत तथा आॊदोरन का जनाधारयत स्व셂ऩ आदद।

वववऩन चॊद्र के अनुसाय बायत का भुत्र्कत सॊग्राभ भूरत: बायतीम जनता औय बिदटश

उऩननवेशवाद के दहतⴂ के फीच आधायबूत अॊतववसयोधⴂ का नतीजा था। एकदभ श셂 से ही बायत

के याष्ट्रीम नेताओॊ ने इन अॊतववसयोधⴂ को सभझा था। इस फात को सभझने की उनभᴂ ऺभता

थी क्रक बायत अ쥍ऩ ववकास की प्रक्रिमा से गुजय यहा है। सभम यहते उन्हⴂने उऩननवेशवाद के

वैऻाननक ववश्रेषण की ऩिनत का ववकास क्रकमा। उन्नीसवीॊ शताधदी के सचभुच वे ऩहरे रोग

Institute of Lifelong Learning,University of Delhi

थे त्जन्हⴂने उऩननवेशवाद की आगथसक सभीऺा का ववकास कय इसकी जदटर सॊयचना का

यहस्म रोगⴂ के साभने यखा। वे उऩननवेशवादी नीनत औय उऩननवेशवादी ढ़ाॉचे की

अननवामसताओॊ के अॊतय को बी सभझने भᴂ सऺभ थे। औऩननवेभशक प्रजा के 셂ऩ भᴂ बायतीम

जनता का अनुबव रेकय औय उऩननवेशवाद के वव셁ि बायतीम जनता के साभान्म दहतⴂ की

ऩहचान कय याष्ट्रीम नेताओॊ ने िभश: एक सुस्ऩष्ट्ट उऩननवेशवाद ववयोधी ववचायधाया ववकभसत

की त्जसको उन्हⴂने याष्ट्रीम आॊदोरन का आधाय फनामा। आॊदोरन को व्माऩक जनाधाय प्रदान

कयने वारे चयण भᴂ उऩननवेशवाद ववयोधी इस ववचायधाया औय उऩननवेशवाद की आरोचना को

प्रचारयत क्रकमा गमा। ऐनतहाभसक प्रक्रिमा भᴂ बी याष्ट्रीम आॊदोरन की कᴂ द्रीम बूभभका थी

त्जसके भाध्मभ से बायतीम जनता ने अऩने को याष्ट्र के 셂ऩ भᴂ सॊगदठत क्रकमा। याष्ट्रीम

आॊदोरन उबयते हुए याष्ट्र की प्रक्रिमा का ऩरयणाभ है। बायत की ऺेत्रीम, बाषाई, प्रजातीम

ऩहचान कबी बी इसके याष्ट्र फनने की प्रक्रिमा के ववयोध भᴂ नहीॊ खड़ी हुई। इसके ठीक

ववऩयीत याष्ट्रीम अत्स्भता के उतथान के साथ ही मे अन्म छोटी अत्स्भताएॊ बी उबयीॊ औयइन

दोनⴂ से एक-दसू ये को शत्र्कत प्राप्त हुई। इस प्रकाय वववऩनचॊद्र ने अऩने रेखन India’s

Struggle for independence (1989) भᴂ भार्कसवस ादी व्माख्मा को एक सुस्ऩष्ट्ट याष्ट्रवादी

셁झान प्रदान क्रकमा है। उनका तकस है क्रक बायतीम याष्ट्रवादी आॊदोरन ववभबन्न वगⴂ काएक

जन आॊदोरन था, जो ऩूयी तयह ऩूॊजीऩनतमⴂ 饍वाया ननमॊबत्रत नहीॊ था। उन्हⴂने उऩननवेशी बायत

भᴂ दो प्रकाय के अतॊ ववयस ोध ददखाए हℂ। प्रभुख अतॊ ववयस ोध बायतीम जनता के औय बिदटश याज

के दहतⴂ के फीच था, ऩय उससे अरग हटकय बायतीम सभाज के अॊदय वगो, जानतमⴂ औय

धाभभकस सभुदामⴂ के फीच अनेक गौण अतॊ ववयस ोध ऩय सभझौते कय भरए औय इस तयह एक

याष्ट्रवादी ववचायधाया का वचस्स व स्थावऩत हुआ। रेक्रकन याष्ट्रीम आॊदोरन क्रकसी एक का जानत

मा धाभभकस सभुदाम का आॊदोरन नहीॊ था औय गाॊधी मा जवाहयरार नेह셂 जैसे नेताओॊ ने

भाना क्रक बायत कोई ढ़ाॉचाफि याष्ट्र न होकय एक ननभासणाधीन याष्ट्र था। ऩयस्ऩय ववयोधी दहतⴂ

वारे अनेक सभूह महाॉ थे औय इसभरए वग स मा जानतगत मा साम्प्प्रदानमक टकयावⴂ से फचने

Institute of Lifelong Learning,University of Delhi

औय इन सबी असॊफॊि सभूहⴂ को एकछत्र नेततृ व के अतॊ गतस राने के भरए हभेशा सभझौते

कयने ऩड़ते थे। परस्व셂ऩ बायतीम याष्ट्रीम आॊदोरन एकव्माऩक आॊदोरन फन गमा।13

सुभभत सयकाय (आधनु नक बायत 1993) का कहना है क्रक 20 वी सदी भᴂ याष्ट्रीम आॊदोरन

अॊतत: अऩनी भूर अभबजात तथा फुविजीवी वगीम सीभाओॊ को ऩाय कय गमा। 1936 तक

काॊग्रेस के अध्मऺ मह उगचत 셂ऩ से दावा कय सकते थे क्रक काॊग्रेस अफ “आभ जनता का

सफसे फड़ा सॊगठन फन गई है औय इसके सदस्म अगधकाॊशत: ग्राभीण ऺेत्रⴂ के हℂ त्जनभᴂ

राखⴂ क्रकसान औय काश्तकाय हℂ औय -थोड़े फहुत औ饍मोगग क एवॊ खेत भजदयू बी”। काॊग्रेस का

आॊदोरन बौगोभरक एवॊ साभात्जक, दोनⴂ ही 饃त्ष्ट्टमⴂ से पैरा औय रहय-रहय आगे फढ़ा

त्जसके स्ऩष्ट्ट उ楍च बफदॊ ु 1905-1908, 1919-1922, 1928-1934, 1942 औय 1945-1946

थे14। उग्रवाद के चयण भᴂ इसका कᴂद्र अगय फॊगार, भहायाष्ट्र औय ऩॊजाफ था तो गाॊधीवादी

चयण भᴂ मह हटकय गुजयात, बफहाय, सॊमुर्कत प्राॊत, भध्म-प्राॊत एवॊ आॊध्र जैसे नए प्रदेशⴂ भᴂ

ऩहुॉच गमा। मह आॊदोरन शहयी फुविजीववमⴂ से आयॊब होकय छोटे शहयⴂ के ननम्प्न भध्म वगⴂ,

क्रकसान वगस के फड़े बागⴂ एवॊ प्रबावशारी फूजुआस सभूहⴂ तक ऩहुॉचा। साथ ही आॊदोरन के

नए-नए 셂ऩ बी उबये स्वदेशी, फदहष्ट्काय औय सववनम अवऻा आॊदोरन, गाॊधीवादी सतमाग्रह

औय यचनातभक ग्राभोतथान कामस । साथ ही कु छ ऐसे थे त्जन ऩय अनेक नेता नाक-ब㄂

भसकोड़ते थे, क्रकॊ तु जो कबी-कबी फड़े भहततवऩूण स हो जाते थे, जैसे िाॊनतकायी आॊतक, हड़तारᴂ,

नगयⴂ, गावⴂ औय आददवासी ऺेत्रⴂ भᴂ दहॊसा का बड़क उठना। चौथे दशक तक देश के अनेक

बागⴂ भᴂ क्रकसान सबाएॊ एवॊ रेड मुननमने एक ताकत फनती जा यही थीॊ, औय अनेक यजवाड़ⴂ

15 भᴂ बी जन-आॊदोरन उबयने रगे थे। इस प्रकाय तभाभ अॊतववसयोधⴂ के फावजूद एक

ऐनतहाभसक तथ्म का जन्भ हुआ औय वह था जनसाभान्म का सक्रिम याजनीनतक जीवन भᴂ

प्रवेश।्

भुखजी ने याष्ट्रवाद की जदटरताओॊ, उसके अनेक स्तयⴂ औय उसके साथ-साथ एक आधनु नक

बाषा के ववकास की ओय सॊकेत क्रकमा। सुभभत सयकाय ने बायतीम भशक्षऺत वगⴂ की गैय-

Institute of Lifelong Learning,University of Delhi

ऩॉूजीवादी ऩष्ट्ृ ठबूभभ को दशासमा औय तकस ददमा क्रक उनका कभस उतऩादन की प्रक्रिमाओॊ से

सॊफि, “ऩायम्प्ऩरयक फुविजीववमⴂ” जैसा था, वे ववश्व की उदायवाद मा याष्ट्रवाद जैसी वैचारयक

धायाओॊ का प्रतमुततय दे यहे थे औय उन्हⴂन े अबी तक ननत्ष्ट्िम ऩड़े बायतीम जनसभूहⴂ की

16 जगह री। “ अऩनी ऩयवती ऩुस्तक भॉडनस इॊडडमा (1983) भᴂ सुभभत सयकाय ने हभᴂ चेतामा है

क्रक “वगस औय वगस चेतना ववश्रेषण के उऩकयण हℂ, त्जनका ऩहरे से अगधक कौशर औय सोच

के साथ उऩमोग कयना होगा” वे याष्ट्रवाद की वैधता को स्वीकाय कयते हℂ, ऩय उसके “अॊद셂नी

तनावⴂ” की उऩेऺा नहीॊ कयते। उनका कहना है क्रक बायत भᴂ बी साम्रा煍मवाद ववयोधी सॊघषस के

दो स्तय थे: एक कु रीनⴂ का औय दसू या जनता का। दोनⴂ भᴂ से क्रकसी को बी अनदेखा कयने

की ज셂यत नहीॊ है, फत्쥍क “इन (दोनⴂ) स्तयⴂ के जदटर घात-प्रनतघात” को देखा जाना चादहमे,

त्जसके भाध्मभ से “ऩरयवतसन के 饍वाया ननयॊतयता का जदटर ऩैटनस” ऩैदा हुआ, वही ऩैटनस जो

17 उस कार का प्रभुख ववषम था ।

िाम: मह देिा जाता है कक इनतहास रेखन भᴂ अगधकाॊश का आधाय प्रकाभशत गौण सोत्र थे

र्कमⴂक्रक सयकायी अभबरेख केवर हार ही के कार तक सीभभत थे औय ननजी अभबरेखⴂ को

प्राप्त कयने का व्मवत्स्थत प्रमास नहीॊ क्रकमा गमा था। 饃त्ष्ट्टकोण भᴂ स्ऩष्ट्ट अॊतय होने के

फावजूद सीतायभय्मा, तायाचॊद अथवा आय-सी भजुभदाय के फीच भौटे तौय ऩय एक प्रकाय की

सहभनत ददखाई ऩड़ती है। इन रेखकⴂ के अनुसाय बायत भᴂ एक ऐसे अॊग्रेजी भशऺा-प्राप्त

भध्म-वगस का उदम हुआ त्जसका ऩोषक था बिदटश शासन, औय जो नवजागयण की ववभबन्न

गनतववगधमⴂ भᴂ रगा हुआ था, रेक्रकन जो कॊु दठत स्वाथी भहतवाकाॊऺाओॊ, ऩत्श्चभी सॊस्कृ नत से

सीखे हुए जनतॊत्र के आदशो, अथवा ववदेशी शासन के वव셁ि स्वाबाववक घणृ ा के कायण

अॊतत: अऩने स्वाभभमⴂ के वव셁ि हो गमा औय इस प्रकाय आधनु नक याष्ट्रवाद का जन्भ हुआ।

ऩाथस चटजी का तकस है क्रक बायत भᴂ याष्ट्रवाद, त्जसे ऩत्श्चभ भᴂ भशऺाप्राप्त याजनीनतक

नेताओॊ ने एक ववभशष्ट्ट स्थान ददमा था, ऩत्श्चभ से एक “भबन्न” भगय उससे व्मुतऩन्न सॊवाद

Institute of Lifelong Learning,University of Delhi

(derivative discourse) था।18 आशीष नॊदी की सोच बी मही है क्रक ऩत्श्चभी साम्रा煍मवाद

के एक प्रतमुततय के 셂ऩ भᴂ बायतीम याष्ट्रवाद “ऐसे सबी प्रतमुततयⴂ की तयह उसी चीज से

19 ननधासरयत हुआ त्जसका वह प्रतमुततय था”।

तनष्ट्कष:थ

तनष्ट्कष थ के 셂ऩ भᴂ कह सकते हℂ कक बायतीम याष्ट्रवाद को ववभबन्न वैचारयक कोणⴂ से औय

ववभबन्न ऐनतहाभसक ऩरयप्रेक्ष्मⴂ भᴂ देखा गमा है। दसू ये शधदⴂ भᴂ, बायतीम याष्ट्रवाद तीखे

वववादⴂ से ग्रस्त एक ऺेत्र है, जहाॉ से क्रकसी 饍वॊ饍ववादी भध्मभाग स तक ऩहुॉचना मा ऐसा कोई

饃त्ष्ट्टकोण ववकभसत कय सकना कदठन है, जो सफको स्वीकामस हो । अगय बिदटश याज

बायतीम भानस का उऩननवेशीकयण कयना चाहता था, तो उऩननवेशी वचसस्व का प्रनतयोध कयने

के भरए बायतवाभसमⴂ ने बी उस उऩननवेशी ऻान को चनु नदॊ ा ढ़ॊग से ग्रहण क्रकमा, उसे

आतभसात औय उसभᴂ पेयफदर क्रकमा । भुख्मधाया के याष्ट्रवाद ने एक ऐसे सभयस याष्ट्र के

अत्स्ततव की भान्मता यखी जो एक ही वाणी भᴂ फोरता था । दसू यी तयप असहभनत के स्वयⴂ

जैसे त्स्त्रमⴂ मा दभरतⴂ के फदहगसभन के दावे , उनको खाभोश क्रकए जाने औय कु चर जाने के

दावे बी रगाताय क्रकए जाते यहे हℂ। दसू ये शधदⴂ भᴂ, इनतहासकायⴂ का एक ववकासभान सभूह

आज मह तकस दे यहा है क्रक उऩननवेशवाद ववयोधी प्रनतयोध के 셂ऩⴂ औय उनके ऩीछे भौजूद

ववचायधायाओॊ को अनेकानेक ढॊगⴂ से सभझा मा नन셂वऩत क्रकमा गमा। अननमा रुॊफा की इस

दटप्ऩणी की स楍चाई को अस्वीकाय कय ऩाना कदठन है क्रक “महाॉ स्वमॊ ‘याष्ट्र’ ही वववाद औय

फहस का एक भैदान है, ववभबन्न वैचारयक औय याजनीनतक दहतⴂ की ऩयस्ऩय-ववयोधी

ऩरयक쥍ऩनाओॊ का अखाड़ा है ”। बायत एक फहुरवादी सभाज था औय इसभरए ननत्श्चत था क्रक

बायतीम याष्ट्रवाद के अनेक स्वय होते, र्कमⴂक्रक ववभबन्न वगⴂ, सभूहⴂ, सभुदामⴂ औय ऺेत्रⴂ ने

अऩने ‘याष्ट्र’ की व्माख्मा ववभबन्न औय कबी-कबी ऩयस्ऩय ववयोधी ढ़ॊग से की। बायतवाभसमⴂ

की अनेक ऩहचान थीॊ, जैसे वगीम ऩहचान, जानतगत ऩहचान, धाभभसक ऩहचान आदद ।

ववभबन्न ऐनतहाभसक भोड़ⴂ ऩय भबन्न-भबन्न ऩहचानⴂ को अभबव्मत्र्कत भभरती थी औय वे एक-

Institute of Lifelong Learning,University of Delhi

दसू ये से घात-प्रनतघात कयती थी। जफ अवववेकी याजसतता ने इन टकयावⴂ को तीखा फनाने

औय फढ़ाने की कोभशशᴂ कीॊ, तो बायतीम याष्ट्रवाददमⴂ ने एकता के एक वैकत्쥍ऩक सॊवाद का

प्रचाय कयने के प्रमास क्रकए। जवाहयरार नेह셂 ने “भबन्न-भबन्न तततवⴂ के सॊश्रेषण औय एक

साझी याष्ट्रीमता भᴂ उनके ववरम के प्राचीन आदशस” की फातᴂ कीॊ ।

END NOTES:

1 उनका ऩूया उद्धयण एस िकाय है : भातबृ ूसभ की तकरीपो ने ववचाय को वेग ददमा, रेककन स्वमं ववचाय

उ楍च बावबूसभ ऩय था , रोगो के ददभागो भᴂ सशकामतो को दयू कयन े की फात नही ं थी , फजकक

स्वंतंत्रता की इ楍छा थी , राजऩत याम, ऩ-ृ 32.

2.वही , ऩ-ृ 85-88

3 तायाचदं ,2 ,ऩ-ृ 1-107, भजुभदाय, जजकद,1, ऩ-ृ 48

4 चद्रं , वववऩन,बायत का स्वंतंत्रता संघष(1990)थ , दह. भा.का. तन. देकरी ववश्ववव饍मारम.

5 चद्रं , वववऩन, वही

6सुसभत सयकाय(१९९३),आधतु नक बायत ,याजकभर िकाशन ,नई डके ही। ऩ-ृ 21

7 यणजीत गुहा (स륍ऩा)1982. स녍रटन थ स्टडीज ,वॉकमूभ -१,ऑक्सफ़ोड थ िकाशन, नई देकरी

8 एस.एन.भुखेयजी(1996). भसदटज़न दहस्टोरयमन : एर्कसप्रोयनतओन इन दहस्टोयीओग्रापी ,

भनोहय ,नई दद쥍री, ऩ-ृ 104

9 यजनी ऩाभ द配त (1940) 'आज का बायत' अनुवाद, याभबफरास शभाथ,ग्रंथ सशकऩी िकाशन, नई

दद쥍री

10 ए. आय देसाई (1975),'सोशर फैकग्राउंड ऑफ़ इंडडमन नेशनसर煍भ', ऩॉऩुनरय िकाशन, फॉ륍फे

Institute of Lifelong Learning,University of Delhi

11 एस. गोऩार (1987), ऩ-ृ 4-5

12 उदाहयण के सरए फुच भᴂ उद्धृत कथनो को देिे , ऩ-ृ 258-60

13 सुसभत सयकाय(1973) स्वदेशी भूवभᴂट इन फंगार ,1903-08,ऩीऩर ऩज녍रसशगं होभ , नई दद쥍री

14 चद्रं , वववऩन,बायत का स्वंतंत्रता संघष(1990)थ , दह. भा.का. तन. देकरी ववश्ववव饍मारम

15 सुसभत सयकाय(1993),आधतु नक बायत 1885-1947 ,याजकभर िकाशन , नई दद쥍री । ऩ-ृ 11.

16 वही

17 वही

18 वही

19 वही

20 ऩाथाथ चटजी(1986), नेशनसरस्ट थॉट एंड द कसरतनअर वकड थ : अ डये ीवेदटव डडस्कोयस ? जेड

फुक्स,ऩ-42.

21आशीष नंदी (1994), द ज रधगततभासी ऑफ़ नेशनसर煍भ : यबफन्द्रनाथ टैगोय एंड द ऩॉसरदटक्स

ऑफ़ सेकप ,ऑक्सफ़ोड थ िकाशन , नई देकरी।, ऩ -3-4

िभोद कु भाय ददकरी ववश्ववव饍मारम के याजनीतत ववऻान भᴂ शोधयत

है।([email protected])

Institute of Lifelong Learning,University of Delhi

Institute of Lifelong Learning,University of Delhi

Institute of Lifelong Learning,University of Delhi