Today, the idea and concept of ‘Nationalism’ has adopted several meanings. Nationalism is, by definition, the ‘identification with one’s own nation and support for its interests.’ It’s a movement that holds that the ‘nation should be congruent with the state.’ Nationalism promotes the interests of a particular nation, rather than that of an individual or a group and to the exclusion of other nations. India’s tryst with ‘modern’ nationalism began when the country began its fight against the British colonial rule.
In the western part of the world such as Europe, modern nationalism was associated with the formation of the nation-states and that’s when the process of making of a national identity began. In the rest of the world, several countries that were colonies, modern nationalism was initiated in the collective conscience with the emergence and strengthening of ‘freedom’ or ‘anti-colonial’ movements, just like in India.
The origin of Nationalism in ‘India’
Indian emperor Ashoka or Ashoka the Great of the Maurya Dynasty and grandson of Chandragupta Maurya was probably the first ‘ruler’ who unified the region. He ruled almost the entire Indian subcontinent during his reign from 273 B.C.E. to 232 B.C.E. Following a series of military conquests and battles, Ashoka the Great brought under his rule most of South Asia – from present day Afghanistan in the north to Bengal in the east and till Mysore in the south.
Even before that, ancient scriptures and texts mention ‘India’ as the region that forms most of what is present-day India. The scriptures mention Akhand Bharat that translates into ‘undivided India’. The idea of Akhand Bharat was originated by ancient Indian philosopher, teacher, economist, jurist and royal advisor and author of Arthashastra, Chanakya.
The Indian subcontinent circa third century BC covered present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Burma, Tibet, Bhutan and Bangladesh and was divided into many independent kingdoms. Chanakya, for the first time, conceived the idea of an Akhand Bharat that means all such entities in the region to be under one authority. Several rulers and kings have unified India in the past. These include the Guptas, Rashtrakutas, Vijayanagara Empire, Marathas, Mughals and finally the British Indian Empire.
Early proponents of Nationalism in India
Indian philosopher, social leader and founder of Arya Samaj Dayanand Saraswati was an ardent advocate of nationalism. He was the first to give the call for Swaraj – India for Indians – in 1876 that was later adopted by Indian nationalist and the first leader of the Indian independence movement, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Dayanand Saraswati was called one of the ‘makers of modern India’ by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.
Swami Dayanand Saraswati started the most vigorous religious movement of Nationalism through the Arya Samaj. He was one of the most vociferous advocates for reconstruction and national organization and played a significant role in laying the foundation of India’s freedom movement. He said that ‘no foreign government could ever equal self-government.’ His slogan became the basis of the Indian National Congress during the Calcutta Session.Swami Dayanand was confident that Swaraj was achievable if Indians become politically conscious.
Indian philosopher and patriot Sri Aurobindo described as ‘the most accomplished of modern Indian thinkers,’ said in a public meeting in Bombay in 1908, “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. If you are going to be nationalist, if you are going to assent to this religion of nationalism, you must do it in the religious spirit.You must remember that you are the instrumentof God.”
Aurobindo appealed to the masses by putting national freedom at the same pedestal as religious faith. C.R. Das called Aurobindo as the ‘poet of patriotism, the prophet of nationalism and the lover of humanity.’
Swami Vivekananda played a big role in infusing nationalism in colonial India. A key figure who introduced Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world, Swami Vivekananda had said, “I am an Indian and every Indian is my brother.The ignorant Indian, the poor and destitute Indian, the Brahmin Indian, the pariah Indian is my brother.The Indian is my brother, the Indian is my life, India’s gods and goddesses are my God, India’s society is the cradle of my infancy, the pleasure garden of my youth, the sacred heaven, the Varanasi of my old age.The soil of India is my highest heaven; the good of India is my good.” His words resonated in people’s consciousness and fostered among them a common identity as a nation.
The idea of Akhand Bharat
Freedom fighter and Hindu Mahasabha leader Vinayak Damodar Savarkar aka Swatantryaveer Savarkar or simply Veer Savarkar propounded the notion of an Akhand Bharat and a Hindu Rashtra (Hindu Nation). He based his philosophy on the existing and the potential unity of various religious groups in the Indian subcontinent ‘from Kashmir to Rameshwaram and from Sindh to Assam.’
Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay furthered the idea and said, “The word ‘Akhand Bharat’ (un-divided India) includes all those basic values of nationalism and an integral culture.”
“These words include the feeling that this entire land from Attock to Cuttack, Kutch to Kamrup, and Kashmir to Kanyakumari is not only sacred to us but is a part of us. The people who have been born in it since times immemorial and who still live in it may have all the differences superficially brought about by place and time, but the basic unity of their entire life can be seen in every devotee of Akhand Bharat.”
Even during the freedom struggle, Kanaiyalal Munshi advocated for ‘Akhand Hindustan,’ a proposition that Mahatma Gandhi agreed with. In 1944, Radha Mukherjee presided over the Akhand Hindustan Leaders’ Conference in October in Delhi.
India’s Independence movement
The independence movement in India, starting from the First War of Indian Independence or the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and later the freedom struggle, played a very important role in furthering the idea of nationalism in India.The rebellion began on 10 May 1857, in the garrison town of Meerut, in the form of a mutiny of ‘sepoys’ of the British East India Company’s army and later grew into several other mutinies and civil rebellions in India.
Like many European colonies, India too witnessed the surge of nationalism during its struggle against the colonial rule. The sense of being oppressed and ruled provided a common ground to the people that overcame the divisive factors of religion, community, caste, etc. Mahatma Gandhi successfully brought the diverse groups and factions together in the country’s fight against the British rule. After returning to India from South Africa, M K Gandhi successfully organised ‘satyagraha’ movements – in 1917 he travelled to Champaran in Bihar to inspire the peasants to struggle against the oppressive plantation system.
In January 1921, with the beginning of the Non-Cooperation Khilafat Movement, various social groups started participating and responding to the call of Swaraj i.e., self-rule. At the same time, revolutionaries such as Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekar Azad and more defied the British rule and revolted. Subhas Chandra Bose formed the Indian National Army to secure the country’s independence from British rule.
Indian history is ripe with poets, philosophers and revolutionaries who furthered the idea of nationalism in their own ways.
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Nikita Shastri
Nikita Shastri is a researcher with The History and Heritage Project – a DraftCraft International Initiative to document details, analyse facts and plug lacunae generated by oversight or to further national or foreign agenda in History and Heritage Across India and Beyond Borders.
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