Chapter 6 The Beginnings Of Nationalism Salient Points Introduction
1. Economic Nationalism:
The Moderates criticized the British administration openly for the economic crisis in India. They said that India had gradually turned into land for supplying agricultural raw materials to Britain.
Again, India was being used as a market for selling goods manufactured in Britain. The agro-based economy of India was being used to protect the interests of Britain only. Consequently, the agriculture and industry of India were being destroyed.
The exponents of this ‘economic nationalism’ were Dadabhai Naoroji, Mahadev Govind Ranade, and Ramesh Chandra Dutta.
WBBSE Class 8 Nationalism Notes
2. Mitramela:
A new zeal entered the revolutionary movement of Maharashtra in the first half of the twentieth century. The pioneers of the movement were the Savarkar brothers Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and Ganesh Savarkar.
They founded a secret revolutionary society named Mitramela in Nasik in 1899. Here the youths were initiated into the revolutionary ideals and given. martial training.
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3. Abhinav Bharat:
In 1904 Ganesh Savarkar renamed ‘Mitramela’ as ‘Abhinav Bharat’ in imitation of Mazzini’s ‘young Italy’. This society aimed at obtaining freedom through armed revolution.
They made branches in different parts of the country where training was given for physical fitness, mountain neering, and fighting with swords and sticks. The society also tried to infuse revolutionary ideals into the students.
WBBSE Class 8 History Chapter 6 The Beginning Of Nationalism
4. Lal Bal Pal:
Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and Bipin Chandra Pal were together known as ‘Lal Bal Pal’. All of them were nationalist leaders who believed in extremism. Punjab Kesari, i.e., Late Lajpat Rai had led the movement against Simon Commission.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak said, “Swaraj is my birthright and I will attain it.” The pioneer of passive resistance, Bipin Chandra Pal said, “Swaraj, cannot be donated or granted, it has to be attained.”
Key Events in the Rise of Nationalism Notes
5. Theosophical Society:
The word ‘Theosophy’ consists of two words ‘Theos’ (God) and ‘Sophia’ (knowledge). So it means ‘knowledge of God.’ This term was first used by the Greek philosopher Lamblicus in the 3rd century, AD.
The ‘Theosophical Society’ was first established in New York by Colonel H.S. Olcott and Madame H.P. Blavatsky in 1875. Then they established a branch of this society at Adiyar in Madras in 1886. Society became popular when Anne Besant joined it in 1889.
The theosophists who had deep faith in the Indian religion and philosophy tried to revive the ancient Hindu, Buddhist, and Parsee religions.
WBBSE Class 8 History Chapter 6 The Beginning Of Nationalism Explained
6. Ganapati and Shivaji Festival:
The basis of extremist nationalistic ideals of the Maharashtrian revolutionary leader Bal
Gangadhar Tilak was an ancient Hindu religion and history.
So Tilak took the initiative of converting the worship of Ganapati, which was prevalent among the Marathas, into a public festival named ‘Ganapati Utsav’ to inspire the youths with the ideals of revolutionary nationalism and to spread nationalistic ideals among the public.
He also organized the ‘Shivaji Utsav’ in 1895 to commemorate the matchless patriotism, strength of character, valor, and achievement of Shivaji, the pride of Maharashtra, and project him as a representative of the revolutionary movement.
Through this festival, he tried to inspire the ideals of patriotism, self-sacrifice, and armed revolution against the British among the people of Maharashtra.
7. Carlyle’s Circular:
Thomas Carlyle, the Chief Secretary of the British government issued a circular on 10th October 1905 to keep the Indian students aloof from the Swadeshi movement.
This is known as Carlyle’s Circular. According to this circular, punitive measures would be taken against students and universities who were involved in the movement.
Important Definitions Related to Nationalism
8. Silk Handkerchief Conspiracy:
Case: Mahendra Pratap built up a temporary independent Indian Government in Kabul.
Sheikh Mahamdul Hassan and Maulana Abdullah carried on an anti-British campaign from Kabul. They used silk. handkerchiefs as the medium of exchanging messages. This exchange was done through. symbolic script.
The British government filed the Silk Handkerchief Conspiracy Case against them and many of the revolutionaries were imprisoned.
9. Safety Valve Theory:
Many people think that Hume had tried to keep the educated section of society aloof from the anti-British revolts. So he tried to restrict the agitation against the British by establishing a political institution, i.e. the Indian National Congress.
Therefore, he had tried to use Congress as a ‘safety valve’ of the British Empire in India or as a preventive for destructive forces. This theory came to be known as the ‘Safety Valve Theory’.