Question

How did reinterpretation of history become a means of creating a sense of nationalism by the end of the 19^ th century in India? Explain. OR How did…

Accepted Answer

(i) By the end of the nineteenth century many Indians began feeling that to instill a sense of pride in the nation, Indian history had to be thought about differently. (ii) The British saw Indians as backward and primitive, incapable of governing themselves. In response, Indians began looking into the past to discover India’s great achievements. (iii) They wrote about the glorious developments in ancient times when art and architecture, science and mathematics, religion and culture, law and philosophy, crafts and trade had flourished. (iv) This glorious time, in their view, was followed by a history of decline, when India was colonised. (v) These nationalist histories urged the readers to take pride in India’s great achievements in the past and struggle to change the miserable conditions of life under British rule. (b) How did symbols and icons contribute to create a feeling of nationalism among the people in the national movement of India? Explain (i) The identity of the nation is most often symbolised in a figure or image. This helps create an image with which people can identify the nation. (ii) In the twentieth century, with the growth of nationalism the identity of India came to be visually associated with the image of Bharat Mata. This image was first created by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay through his song Vandematram. (iii) Moved by the Swadeshi movement, Abanindranath Tagore painted his famous image of Bharat Mata. (iv) During the Swadeshi movement in Bengal, a tricolour flag (red, green and yellow) was designed. It had eight lotuses representing eight provinces of British India, and a crescent moon, representing Hindus and Muslims. (v) By 1921, Gandhiji had designed the Swaraj flag. It was again a tricolour (red, green and white) and had a spinning wheel in the centre, (vi) Carrying the flag, holding it aloft, during marches became a symbol of defiance.

How did reinterpretation of history become a means of creating a sense of nationalism by the end of the $\displaystyle 19^{\text {th }}$ century in India ? Explain.

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