M.A. (Sociology) Part I (Semester-II) Paper III L .No. 2.2 Author : Prof. B.K. Nagla A.R. Desai: Social Background of Indian Nationalism Structure 2.2.0 Objectives 2.2.1 Introduction to the Author 2.2.2 Writing of Desai 2.2.3 Nationalism 2.2.3.1 Nation : E.H. Carr's definition 2.2.3.2 National Sentiment 2.2.3.3 Study of Rise and Growth of Indian Nationalism 2.2.3.4 Social Background of Indian Nationalism 2.2.4 Discussion 2.2.5 Nationalism in India, Its Chief Phases 2.2.5.1 First Phase 2.2.5.2 Second Phase 2.2.5.3 Third Phase 2.2.5.4 Fourth Phase 2.2.5.5 Fifth Phase 2.2.6 Perspective 2.2.7 Suggested Readings 2.2.0 Objectives: After going through this lesson you will be able to : • introduce the Author. • explain Nationalism. • discuss rise and growth of Indian Nationalism. • know Nationalism in India and its different phases. 2.2.1 Introduction to the Author A.R.Desai: (1915-1994) Akshay Ramanlal Desai was born on April 16, 1915 at Nadiad in Central Gujarat and died on November 12, 1994 at Baroda in Gujarat. In his early ears, he was influenced by his father Ramanlal Vasantlal Desai, a well-known litterateur who inspired the youth in Gujarat in the 30s. A.R.Desai took part in student movements in Baroda, Surat and Bombay. He graduated from the university of M.A. (Sociology) Part I 95 Paper III Bombay, secured a law degree and a Ph.D. in sociology under G.S Ghurye from the same university in 1946. Later on he taught at the Bombay University and also became head of the department. In 1947 he married Neera Deasi, who has done pioneering work in the field of women’s studies. In 1953, he took the membership of the Trotskyites revolutionary socialist party and resigned from its membership in 1981. 2.2.2 Writings of Desai: A refreshingly new perspective from which to evaluate changes in Indian society was brought about by a few Marxist sociologists. A.R.Desai, a student of Ghurye, stands out in this respect with his devoted and sustained endeavours to understand the diverse aspects of Indian social reality: the social background of Indian Nationalism(1948); currently operating (1973); and immanent features of Indian nationalism (1975); the issue and problems of rural sociology in India (1969); Slums and Urbanization of India (1970, 1972); and the implications of the modernization of Indian society in the world context (1971), State and Society in India (1975), Peasant Struggle in India, (1979), Rural India in Transition (1979), India’s Path of Development (1984). Desai also developed the field of political sociology in 1960s. In an anthology, Desai (1979) included the studies on peasant struggled have also been carried out by historians and social scientists of diverse orientations. Like D.P.Mukerji (1958), A.R.Desai (1976) studied Indian society from Marxian perspective and also did use history fruitfully. Desai and Pillai (1972) conducted a study of slums which constitutes a separate category within the area of city studies. Desai (1969:1-99) contributed agrarian studies and edited a volume on Rural Sociology in India- an anthology that was a major turning point and pace-setter. In this lesson, we would like to discuss the important contribution of Desai on Social background of Indian nationalism. The text of this lesson is adapted from Desai’s book on Social Background of Indian Nationalism. 2.2.3 Nationalism: Like all social phenomena, nationalism is a historical category. It emerged in the social world at a certain stage of evolution of the life of the community when certain socio-historical conditions, both objective and subjective, matured. As E.H. Carr remarks, ‘ “nations”, in the modern sense of the world, did not emerge until the close of the Middle Ages' (Carr: 1939). Before national communities, national societies, national states, and national cultures came into existence, communities in the various parts of the world generally lived through tribal, slave, and feudal phases off social existence. At a certain stage of social, economic and cultural development, nations came into being. They were generally distinguished from non-national communities of M.A. (Sociology) Part I 96 Paper III previous periods of social existence by certain characteristics such as an organic welding of the members of the nation, living in a distinct territory within a single economy, so that they felt conscious of common economic existence; generally one common language used by them; and further, a similar psychological structure among its members and a common culture evolved by it. Though, an ideal nation possessing all these traits in a state of fullest development remained an abstraction, still, from the sixteenth century onward, national communities, have appeared in the amphitheatre of human history. 2.2.3.1 Nation: E.H. Carr’s definition Regarding the traits which distinguish a nation from a non-national community, E.H. Carr (1939) remarks as follows: ‘…The term nation has been used to denote a human group with the following characteristics: (a) The idea of a common government whether as a reality in the present or past, or as an aspiration of the future. (b) A certain size and closeness of contact between all its individual members. (c) A more or less defined territory. (d) Certain characteristics (of which the most frequent is language) clearly distinguishing the nation from other nations and non-national groups. (e) Certain interests common to the individual members. (f) A certain degree of common feeling or will, associated with a picture of the nation in the minds of the individual members. 2.2.3.2 National Sentiment The nation is the prime fact of the present epoch and the national sentiment, the dominant emotion of man. Contemporary movements in the spheres of economy, politics or culture (barring the field such objective sciences as natural sciences and technology) are inspired by conscious national motives and urges, irrespective of whether they are organized to defend and develop the freedom and culture of respective nations or to mitigate or supress the freedom or culture of other nations. The nation remains, also, a unit in all contemporary programmes of world reconstruction which seeks to integrate humanity, on a capitalist or socialist basis. Due to this decisive significance of the role of nationalism in the life of humanity, some of the most acute and eminent thinkers of the world have, in recent years, made nationalism a special subject of study and investigation. Since nationalism emerged in its own unique way in each separate country, the study of nationalism in each country became a separate task. M.A. (Sociology) Part I 97 Paper III 2.2.3.3 Study of Rise and Growth of Indian Nationalism Indian nationalism is a modern phenomenon. It came into being during the British period as a result of the action and interaction of numerous subjective and objective forces and factors which developed within the Indian society under the conditions of the British rule and the impact of world forces. The study of the rise and growth of Indian nationalism is of great significance from the standpoint of a general study of nationalism. The process of the growth of Indian nationalism has been very complex and many-sided. This is due to a number of reasons. Pre-British Indian society had a social structure quite unique and perhaps without a parallel in history. It sharply differed in its economic base from the pre-capitalist medieval societies of European countries. Further, India was a vast country inhabited by a huge population, speaking many languages and professing different religions. Socially, the Hindus, comprising two-thirds of the population were almost atomized in various castes and sub-castes, a phenomenon peculiar to the Hindu society. Again, Hinduism itself was not a homogeneous religion but a conglomeration of religious cults which divided people into a number of sects... This extreme social and religious division of the Hindus in particular and the Indians in general presented a peculiar background to the growth of nationalism in India. Nationalism in other countries did not rise amidst such peculiar traditions and institutions. India’s peculiar social, economic and political structure and religious history, together with its territorial vastness and a teeming population, make the study of the rise and growth of Indian nationalism more difficult, but more interesting and useful also. The self-preservative will of the past social, economic and cultural structure was stronger in India than in perhaps any country in the world. Further, the significance of the Indian nationalist movement for the present and future history of humanity is also great since it is movement, increasingly becoming dynamic, of an appreciable section of the human race. Another very striking thing about Indian nationalism is that it emerged under conditions of political subjection of the Indian people by the British. The advanced British nation, for its own purpose, radically changed the economic structure of the Indian society, established a crystalized state, and introduced modern education, modern means of communications, and other institutions. This resulted in the growth of new social classes and the unleashing of new social forces unique in themselves (Weisbord: ) These social forces by their very nature came into conflict with British Imperialism and became the basis of and provided motive power for the rise and development of Indian nationalism. M.A. (Sociology) Part I 98 Paper III Thus, Indian nationalism has grown and is developing in a complex and peculiar background.