2

Factors Promoting the Growth of

Nationalism and Foundation of
the Indian National Congress

SYLLABUS

The Indian National Movement

(1857-1917) - economic Factors
promoting growth of Nationalism,
foundation of the Indian
National Congress-immediate
objectives. Factors promoting
the growth of Nationalism
exploitation, repressive
colonial policies, socio-
religious reform movements
(brief mention of contributions
of Raja Rammohan Roy and Jyotiba
Phule), rediscovery of India's
past, influence of western
education, role of the Press,
modern means of transport and
communication. The Indian
National Association
(Surendranath Banerjee) and the
East India Association (Dadabhai
Naoroji) as precursors of the
Indian National Congress should
be highlighted. The first two
sessions and their presidents
should be mentioned.

The English came to India as

traders. The political chaos
that prevailed in India helped
the British establish their rule
in India. They followed the
policy of expansion and economic
exploitation. The Indians
revolted against the English in
A.D. 1857 to free themselves
from the foreign yoke, but they
failed. The British suppressed
the revolt and followed a policy
of olitical and economic
exploitation. This transformed

MAIN TOPICS FOR STUDY

• Factors Promoting the Growth

of Nationalism •
Predecessors/Precursors of the
Indian National Congress

.Foundation of the Indian

National Congress

• Immediate Objectives of the

Indian National Congress

. Social and Religious Reforms

Demands of the Congress in its

Early Phase

simmering discontent among the

Indians into a werful flame. The
second half of the 19th century

witnessed the growth of

political consciousness and the
rise of National Movement. The
struggle for freedom was carried
on under the Indian National
Congress and India became free
on August 15. 1947.

Nationalism denotes patriotism,

the love for one's country. This
feeling compelled people to
overthrow foreign domination and
become free Over a period of
time, the doctrine of
nationalism turned into the
belief that our nation was
entitled to independent
statehood.

ICSE History and Civics - X

* FACTORS PROMOTING THE GROWTH

OF NATIONALISM

Or

'CAUSES OF THE RISE OF THE

NATIONAL MOVEMENT

In the words of Professor Moon,

"The British imperialism in
India gave her a political unity
under a third party in spite of
many discordant elements in the
Indian society."

Various causes were responsible

for the rise and growth of the
National Movement in India.

exploit 1. British Policy of

Economic ic Exploitation: To and
oppress the people of India was
the only motive of the British,
so they followed the policy of
economic exploitation. The
economic system of India was
adjusted to the needs of the
people of England. They never
cared for the welfare of the
Indians.

They exploited the resources of

India to promote their own
interests. They drained the
wealth of India to England. The
peasants suffered under heavy
land taxes. They were oppressed
by the government, the landlords
and the money lenders.

Many of them were forced to grow

jute and cotton for the
factories in England.

No steps were taken to encourage

agriculture in India.

Raw material was exported to

England at cheaper (8) rates.

Goods manufactured in England

were dumped into India and sold
at higher prices.

The Flame of Freedom was Born in

1885 in the form of Indian
National Congress

This policy ruined the cottage

industries and the and the
handicraftsmen and the artisans
began to starve as

they were deprived of their

means of livelihood. The life of
the factory workers was also
very miserable. They were
exploited by the factory owners
who were generally Englishmen.

The policy of free trade

followed by the British hit the
Indian trade and industry hard
The British officers in India
were a heavy drain on the Indian

ICSE History and Civics - X

working resources because they

got high salaries Educated
Indians were dissatisfied
because they were not appointed
to high posts. The middle
classes suffered from the
bugbear of unemploymenthe
English never cared for the
welfare of the masses and
ignored welfare... activities
such as education, irrigation,
health services,

etc they reduced india to the

status of an economic colony. In
short, the British brought every
section of Indian society to the
brink of utter poverty and total
starvation. Frequent famines,
droughts and epidemics also
wreaked havoc The Indians
thought that the only solution
to their economic salvation lay
in uprooting the British Rule
from India.

2. Effects of the Great Rising

of 1857: The Indians revolted
against the tyrannical British
Rule in India and their policy
of political expansion and
economic exploitation in 1857
The English crushed the revolt.
ruthlessly and committed many
atrocities. Many people were
killed on both sides The British
began to suspect the Indians and
doubt their loyalty and
integrity. On the other hand,
the revolt created discontent
and dissatisfaction among the
Indians and they began to hate
the English rule in India. It
gave birth to a new political
consciousness and strengthened
the sentiment of nationalism.
There was a general national
awakening which gave rise to the
National Movement.

3. British Imperialism: It was

during the British Rule that the
entire country from the
Himalayas to

Cape Comorin was brought under

one government and this gave her
people a new sense of political
unity. The English established a
strong central government and
introduced a uniform system of
law and administration in the
country. Setting up of
industries and trade brought
about economic unification.
India had never witnessed such
political unity before. The
people of India began to think
and act as one nation. The
people from different parts of
the country began to meet and
understand each other. It became
easier to spread the feeling of
nationalism to every nook and
corner of the country. This
national sentiment unified

Il best SPU controvery

the Indians and integrated them

as one nation. The existence of
foreign rule acted as a unifying
force and the anti-imperialistic
feelings led to the rise of
national outlook and encouraged
the people of India to uproot
the British imperialism from
India.

4. Repressive Colonial Policies:

The nature of the British
Colonial rule over India helped
the growth of national sentiment
among the Indians. The British
had conquered India to promote
their own interests and
therefore, followed such
repressive policies so as to
make India subservient to the
needs of Britain. These policies
became the major barriers to
India's economic, social,
cultural, intellectual and
political development.

Lord Lytton was the Viceroy of

India from 18761880. He acted as
a catalyst for the growth of
nationalist movement in India.
These included the following:

(i) The Grand Delhi Durbar in

1877 to proclaim Queen Victoria
as the Empress of India, added
insult to injury, for it was
held at a time when millions in
south India were affected by a
terrible famine. The vernacular
press reacted sharply against
the act of callous
responsibility.

(ii) Lord Lytton introduced the

Vernacular Press Act (1878) and
Indian Arms Act (1878).

The government tried to silence

opposition by enacting
Vernacular Press Act and the
Arms Act.

The Vernacular Press Act forbade

vernacular papers from
publishing any material that
might excite feelings of
dissatisfaction against the
British government. This Act was
not applicable to English
newspapers. It crushed the
freedom

of the vernacular press. In 1882

this Act was repealed by Lord
Rippon.

The Indian Arms Act of 1878 made

it a criminal offence for
Indians to carry arms without
licence.

"It imposed a badge of racial

inferiority on Indians.

(iii) The maximum age limit for

the Indian Civil Service
Examination was reduced from 21
to 19 years. This was a
calculated move to ruin the
prospects of Indian candidates
for the Indian Civil Service.

(iv) The import duties on

British textiles were removed.
It proved harmful for the Indian
industry.

(v) Sir C.P. Ilbert, the Law

member of the Vice Council,
prepared a bill, popularly know
the Ilbert Bill in 1883. The
Bill which introduced by the
Viceroy, Lord Rippon,

to abolish judicial
disqualification based racial
distinctions. But his attempts
were mar by huge controversy
over the bill. At that fin
European could be tried for a
criminal offen except by a
European judge or magistrate.
The reaction provoked agitation
by the educa Indians. The
Government ultimately withdr the
bill and negotiated a
compromise. Ast result, the
Indian District Magistrates and
Judge were empowered to try
European offenders the condition
that the accused were to h

the benefit of trial by a jury

comprising 50% Europeans.

This bill made it clear to the

Indians that justice and
fairplay could be expected where

the interests of the European

community were involved.

Lord Curzon

Lord Lytton

"Of all the Viceroys and

Governor-Generals that came to
India, ford Lytton and Lord
Curzon did the most harm to
India and England. Both by their
reactionary policies aroused a
feeling of dissatisfaction in
the minds of the Indians and
this gure a great impetus in
arousing political
consciousness. Zarius

5. Binding Influence of the

Means of Transport and
Communication: The improvements
in the means of transport and
communication quickened the pace
of free movement in the country.
The English built roads and
railways and set up post and
telegraph offices in India. The
leaders used these means to
carry the message of the
national movement to all parts
of the country. These means
enabled the leaders and the werd

ICSE History and Civics - X

RE

people to meet together, to

discuss their problems and chalk
out plans for the uprooting of
the British Rule and for the
liberation of their country.

In the words of Dr. Tarachand.

"The means of pransport and
communication affected the inter
linking of the nee social groups
in different regions and bound
them to form an organic whole."

6. Western Thought and

Education: The British rulers
imparted western education in
arts and sciences through the
medium of English to serve their
own administrative and imperial
ends. They wanted petty derks to
run the administration. Through
western. education they wanted
to propagate the western culture
and to win the loyalty of
educated Indians, But it
produced results quite contrary
to their wishes. With the spread
of western education and
thought, the Indians came into
contact with the west and
imbibed a modern, rational,
secular, democratic and national
outlook. They came to know that
the English themselves hanged
their own King Charles I in A.D.
1649 as he was cruel and
despotic. They also studied how
they forced King James II to
abdicate the throne in A.D.
1688. So they came to the
conclusion that they too had the
right to throw off their cruel
foreign rulers. The American
Revolution, the French
Revolution and other revolutions
in Europe inspired the Indians
with the ideals/watchwords of
liberty, equality and
fraternity. They acquired the
ideals watchwords of democracy,
freedom and nationalism from the
writings of western thinkers
such as Rousseau, Paine, Mill.
Milton, Voltaire, Burke, et
Educated Indians felt the
humiliation of the foreign rule
and began to preach the
revolutionary ideas among the
Indians. They became the leaders
of the national movement and
were inspired to build a strong
modern and united India. -

Rousseau

Thomas Paine Edmund Burke

In the words of ford Ronaldshay.

"The new wi of western learning
went into the heads of the young
Indians and they got intoxicated
with it and the whole outlook
underwent a revolution."

English language also played an

important part in this respect.
It served as a medium for the
propagation of modern ideas. It
acted as a medium of exchange of
thought between the people of
different parts of the country.
The uniform system. of education
through the English language
throughout India produced the
unity of thought, ideas and
feelings.

In the words of Tagore, "We had

come to know England through her
glorious literature which had
brought new inspiration to our
young lives."

7. Indian Press and Literature:

The Indian press and literature
also aroused the feelings of
patriotism and national
consciousness. Many newspapers
were published in different
parts of the country such as the
Amrit Bazar Patrika, The Hindu,
the Patriot, the Maratha, the
Kesari, the Azad, the Indian
Mirror, The Tribune, the
Advocate the Kohingor etc. They
not only criticised the unjust
policies of the government but
also played a vital role in
infusing political ideas and
patriotic sentiments, and
rousing political consciousness
among the people. Tilak's
weeklies Kesari and Mahratta
also instilled pride among
Indian for their country!

A large quantity of national

literature was produced in the
19th century. The writings of
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee,
Rabindranath Tagore. Vishnu
Shastri. Bharatendu
Harishchandra, Din Bandhu Mitra,
Hali and Sir Syed Ahmad Khan,
etc., stirred the hearts of the
Indian masses and brought about
a revolution in their minds and
prepared them to make any
sacrifice for the sake of their
motherland: B.C. Chatterjees
Bengali

Voltaire

ICSE History and Civics - X

by mequality

83

novel Amind Much become the

Bible of modern Bengalt Muran
which greatly inspired the

people f

8. Racial Segregation The

British considered themselves as
a superior tace, who had come to
India with the noble intention
of civilizing the Indians. The
Indians, whom the British
considered as 'White man's
burden in their own country,
were regarded only fit as hewers
of wood and drawers of water.
They were racially segregated by
(a) not being allowed to travel
in the same compartment with the
Englishmon (b) being denied
entry into clubs and hotels
meant for the Englishmen. (c)
There were exclusive residential
areas for the Englishmen called
the Civil Lines in the most of
the district headquarters (d)
Indians were also severely
punished for petty crimes, while
the English were

9. Rediscovery

In this connection it has been

rightly remarked by Sir
Valentine Chirol, "The writings
of these scholars revealed to
India herself, scarcely less
than to the Western world, the
majesty and wealth of the
Sanskrit language and the
historical as well as literary
value of the great body of Hindu
literature which is the key to
India's civilisation."

Indian writers such as R G.

Bhandarkan, Ranade, Hara Prashad
Shastri, etc, threw light the
greatness and glory of ancient
India. The Indian began to take
pride in their culture and
civilia The works of these
scholars roused the feelings of
self respect, self-confidence,
patriotism and national neem

among the people.

given nominal punishments for

even grave offences.

of India's Glorious Past: Many

British scholars propagated the
theory that the Indians had
never been able to govern
themselves in the past and that
they were destined to be ruled
by foreigners. But Many foreign
scholars like Sir William Jones,
Max Mueller, A B Keith,
Cunningham, Marshal, Jacobi,
etc. conducted many studies on
Indian history. They were
greatly impressed by the
political, social and cultural
advancement of India in the
past. They praised the rich
cultural heritage of India to
the utmost.

William Jones

M.G. Ranade

10. Socio-Religious Reform

Movement: Many social and
religious reformers like Raja
Rammohan Roy, Swami Dayanand
(author of Satyartha Prakash),
Jyotiba Phule, Swami
Vivekananda, Annie Besant, etc.
carried out many social and
religious reforms and paved the
way for the national movement.
They inspired the people with
the ideas of self-respect,
selfconfidence and self-reliance
and roused in them the feelings
of patriotism and nationalism.

Mueller

Swami Dayanand

Vivekananda

The credit for starting the

religious and social reformation
in modern India goes to Raja
Rammohan Roy 18. o reformi the
Indian religion and society he
laid the foundation of the
Brahmo Samaj in 1828 It was not
merely a religious movement, it
also included in its B

ICSE History and Civics - X

programme matters of social and

political reform. It brought in
a New Awakening in India.

Rammohan • His Approach to

Religion Roy was a great
humanist. He stressed the Unity
of all Religions Rammohan Roy
was inspired by the monotheism
of Islam, the ethical teachings
of Christianity and sublime
doctrines of the Upanishads...
He believed that every religion
had set up a moral code
necessary for peace and
happiness.

FACT FILE

Liberty, Rights and a Free Press

Raja Rammohan Roy recognised the
blessings of British rule in
India. He could also see the
importance of English education
in the modern world. In spite of
his admiration for the British,
Rammohan Roy was a staunch
nationalist. He regarded liberty
as a "priceless possession" of
every individual. He criticised
all those measures which
deprived Indians of their civil
rights.

There existed many restrictions

on the publications, of
newspapers in those days. Raja
Rammohan Roy started a Bengali
weekly called the Samvad Kaumudi
in 1821. Later, he he started a
Persian paper called Mirat-ul-
Akbar. Both the publications had
a distinct nationalist and
progressive character. Along
with few other eminent persons,
Roy presented a petition to the
Supreme Court for legal action
to be taken against Press
Regulations.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and

Bande Mataram

> His Economic Ideas: Rammohan

Roy was sympathetic to the cause
of the poor peasants. He wanted
the military budget to be
reduced, so that more funds were
available for activities
concerned with the health and
education of the people. In the
Select Committee of the British
Parliament he apprised of the
poor economic conditions of the
people in India.

Contribution of Jyotiba Phule

1827-1890: Jyotiba Phule was a
highly admired social reformer
of the 19th century. He did a
great work for the upliftment

Bankim Chandra (1838-1894) was

one of the greatest novelists
and poets of India. His most
famous novel was 'Anand Math. It
contained the song Bande
Mataram' which was later adopted
as the National Song of India.
'Anand Math' (roughly translated
as the temple of joy) became
synonymous with the struggle for
Indian independence from the
British Empire. The novel is
about the rebellion of the
Sanyasis against the British.

Sfather of Indian Journalism

FACT FILE

Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941),

an icon of Indian culture, was a
poet, philosopher, musician,
writer and educationist. He was
the first Asian to become a
Nobel laureate. He won the Nobel
Prize for literature in 1913 for
Gitanjali - a collection of
poems.

Two of his songs are the

National Anthems of India and
Bangladesh - Jana, Gana, Mana
(India) and Amar Shonar Bangla
(Bangladesh).

of the depressed classes. He

strongly believed that all the
problems of Dalits could be
solved if proper education was
provided to them.

Raja Rammohan Roy

ICSE History and Civics - X

Jyotiba Phule

Phule said that women were

superior to men because they
bore children and nursed them."
Men kept their women uneducated
so that they would never
question their domination. Phule
established in 1851 one of the
first Girls Schools in India at
Pune. He set up an orphanage in
1864 to provide shelter to poor
widows and their children. He
also opened many schools for the
upliftment of the down trodden
people.

He founded the Satyashodhak

Samaj in 1873 to mitigate the
distress and sufferings of
dalits and women. The Samaj
opposed idolatry and denounced
the caste system, campaigned for
spread of rational thinking and
rejected the need for priests.

Phule praised the British rule

because it gave Indians the
tools with which to fight social
injustice. It is however,
Heartening to find Phule
mentioning in his book,
Gulamgiri that it were farmers
on whose Tabours the government,
its army and salaries and
pensions of the Whites depended.
According to Phule, "When the
farmers educate themselves and
carry whips on their shoulders,
the English will have to scream,
yell and flee the country.

Great leaders like G.K. Gokhale,

Lokmanya Tilak, Sardar Patel,
Lala Lajpat Rai, Mahatma Gandhi,
Jawaharlal Nehru, S.C. Bose
etc., also played a vital role
in rousing the people from the
deep slumber,and inspired them
with the new ideas and
inspirations and developed in
them the spirit of sacrifice and
love for their motherland. Tilak
raised the slogan, “Swaraj is my
birth right and I shall have it

J character. But they played an

important role in The seeds of
modern political consciousness
were sown by Raja Rammohan Roy
in the first half of the
nineteenth century. But the
second half of the nineteenth
century witnessed the rise and
growth of national political
consciousness and an organised
national movement. During this
period various political
associations were founded in
various parts of India. They
were local organisations and
were not national the foundation
of the Indian National Congress
in

December, 1885. They are called

the forerunners of the Congress.

PREDECESSORS OF THE INDIAN

NATIONAL CONGRESS

The discontented educated

Indians began to criticise the
policies of the government more
vehemently and accelerated
political activities Dadabhai
Naoroji, The Grand Old Man of
India made England the centre of
his political activities and
laid the foundation of East
India Association in London in
1866. He was of the opinion that
the British nation was just and
good. He wanted to place the
true state of affairs in India
before the people of England so
that the grievances of the
Indians may be removed. The
branches of this association
were ser up at Calcutta
(Kolkata), Bombay (Mumbai) and
Madras (Chennai), Dadabhai
Naoroji was one of the first
Indians to raise the slogan of
Swaraj. He was a great economist
and asserted that the British
Rule and its costly system of
administration was a heavy drain
on the poor resources of India.
His book "Poverty and Un-British
Rule in India" highlighted the
drain of wealth from India to
Britain,

Surendranath Banerjea

Surendranath Banerjea set up the

Indian Association in 1876. To
organise a powerful public
opinion, to promote the unity of
the Indian people and to broaden
the base of the national
movement were the main
objectives of this association.
It launched agitations against
the discriminatory and
oppressive Acts such as the
Licence Act, the Arms Act and
the Vernacular Press Act and
against lowering the age limit
from 21 years to 19 years for
the ICS Examination and to
safeguard plantations. But, this
association failed to become an
the interests of the workers on
the English-owned all-India body

ICSE Mistory and Clavics X

FOUNDATION OF THE INDIAN

NATIONAL CONGRESS

The unjust administration of the

English in India and the policy
of racial discrimination
followed by them led to
discontentment among the Indians
against the British Rule. They
also created political
consciousness among the Indians
and strengthened the spirit of
patriotism and nationalism.
Various political organisations
mentioned earlier and their
political activities had
prepared the ground for the
creation of a political
organisation which could embrace
the whole of India and bring
together into one body the
several political associations
and politically conscious
individuals, scattered over the
country.

AO Hume

Lord Dufferin

The politically conscious

Indians were becoming aware of
the need for an all-India
organisation. This would provide
a common forum for the meeting
of nationalists and the
formulation of a common
programme of activity. It would
also carry on the work of public
education in order to create a
broadbased freedom struggle.
While the Indian leaders (SN
Banerjea. Dadabhai Naoroji,
Pherozeshah Mehta, Badruddin
Tyabji. Justice Ranade, etc.)
were moving towards the
formation of an all-India
political body, Hume's support
hastened the birth of the Indian
National Congress.

Allan Octavian Hume (A O Hume)

was a retired member of the
Indian Civil Service. He played
an important role in the
foundation of the Indian
National Congress. That is why
he is considered as the 'Father
of the Indian National Congress.
He wanted to set up an
organisation that would draw the
government's attention towards
the ICSE History and Civics - X

administrative drawbacks and

suggest means to remove them.
Besides, he also professed to
help the Indians to develop
themselves intellectually,
socially and politically. He
wrote an open letter to the
graduates of the Calcutta
University on March 1, 1883
imploring them to dedicate
themselves to the service of the
people and to form a union to
organise and follow the well-
defined lines of action.

Hume had a passion for liberty.

His heart bled at the sight of
so much misery and poverty. Fle
burned with indignation at the
cowardly behaviour of his
countrymen towards Indians. He
was an ardent student of history
and knew fully well that no
government, whether national or
foreign, had conceded popular
demands without pressure from
below therefore if the Indians
wanted to strike for their
liberty the first step was
********* to organise. So he
advised organisation."

- Lala Lajpat Rai

This appeal produced the desired

result. In 1884, Hume, in
consultation with the Indian
leaders, laid the foundation of
Indian National Union. A
conference of representatives of
different parts of India was
convened by the Union at Poona
on December 25, 1885. As plague
broke out in Poona, so the
meeting of the Union was held at
Bombay (Mumbai) from December 28
to 31, 1885 under the
presidentship of

WC Banerjee. It was attended by

72 delegates. At discontentment
to safeguard the British Rule
and its interests in India.

the suggestion of Dadabhai

Naoroji, the name of the Union
was changed. It was named as the
Indian National Congress. In
this way, the foundation of an
all-India organisation was laid
on December 28, 1885. The
Congress was a national
organisation both in its outlook
and activities. It represented
the interests of all castes,
creeds and communities. The
Viceroy, Lord Dufferin, also
favoured the foundation of the
Congress because he wanted it to
act as a safety valve for
popular

The foundation of the Indian

National Congress was the most
remarkable event in the history
of India. A new race of Indians,
inspired with new ideals and
thrilled by the vision of a new
India, came together and started

a movement which attained its

goal in about sixty

years. For the first time

political unity was sponsored
not by foreign government, but
by a group of stronghearted,
forward-looking sons of the
motherland. The Congress
expressed the hopes and
aspirations of the people of
India who accepted its
leadership and guidance in
launching the freedom movement
against the British Rule in
India and achieved freedom in
1947.

WC Bonnerjee

"Mr WC Bonnerjee was one of the

greatest leaders of the Calcutta
Bar le was distinguished by an
uncommon power of judgement. It
was indeed a single honour that
he was called upon to preside at
the opening session of the
National Congress." Satyapal and
Prabodh Chandra

IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVES OF THE

INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS

The first session of the Indian

National Congress was held at
Bombay in December, 1885 under
the presidentship of WC
Bonnerjee. In his presidential
address he declared the
following as the aims of the
Indian National Congress:

(1) To promote friendly

relations between nationalist
political workers from different
parts of the country.

(2) To develop of national unity

irrespective of religious
beliefs, colour or creed.

and consolidate

the feeling

(3) To formulate popular demands

and place them before the
government.

(4) To train and organise the

public opinion of the country.

The Congress held its sessions

every year in a big town,
usually in December, to chalk
out a programme to achieve its
aims. The first session of the
Congress was held under the
presidentship of WC Bonnerjee,

at Mumbai. It was attended by 72

delegates including such
stalwarts as Dadabhai Naoroji,
Pherozeshah

Mehta, K.T. Telang, Badruddin

Tyabji, G.S. Iyer, M.G. Ranade
and others. The second session
of the Congress was held in 1886
at Kolkata under the
presidentshipof Dadabhai
Naoroji.

Changes were made in the above

mentioned aims of the Congress
from time to time according to
the changing circumstances.

THE LESSON AT A GLANCE

• The English came to India as

traders but the political chaos
in India aided them to establish
their rule in the country.

Factors Promoting Growth of

Nationalism or Causes of the
Rise of the National Movement •
Economic exploitation by the
British, the repressive policy
of Lord Lytton particularly his
Vernacular Press Act accelerated
the National Movement.

The Indians revolted against the

British tyranny in India in 1857
and this national awakening gave
rise to the National Movement.
Under the British, India had
been united under a strong
central government. The British
had a sense of superiority and
humiliated the Indians, injuring
their self-respect The
improvements the means of
transport and communication
quickened the pace of the
movement.

• Westem thought and education,

had been introduced by the
British. English language proved
to be a medium for the
propagation of Ideas. The Indian
press and literature aroused
feelings of patriotism and
national consciousness
Rediscovery of India's glorious
past and contribution of
religious and social reformers
paved the way for

nationalis feelings.

in