Movements – The History of India and the Indian National Movement

India gained its independence on 15th August, in the year 1947. To achieve its independence, India had to fight relentlessly. India was able to achieve complete independence through the sacrifice of numerous heroes. However, the outrage of rebels started with the introduction of nationalism. The Indian National movement was the first movement that shook the British and the national movement itself paved the path of independence for India and its people. Nationalism played an important part in constructing the history of India and the Indian National Movement. 

How did nationalism arise? 

Numerous developments took place in the country and these developments make people curious about certain things. They started asking questions like what is the country of India, and for what kind of people India is meant for? Eventually, the questions were answered. All the people of India together make India where an individual’s class, color, sex, and language do not matter. Additionally, all the resources that are present inside the boundaries of India belong to the people of India as well. As the people of India received answers like this, they started to become aware of the British implementation of control on the lives of the citizens, and resources of India. People started to understand how the British government was compromising the well-being of the country of India and only focused on the development of Britain. The political associations that were formed after the year 1850 were majorly those that came into formation in the 1870s and 1880s. These political associations had well-educated individuals who were professionally a lawyer. Some of the most important political associations were the Indian association, the Bombay Presidency Association, the Madras Mahajan Sabha, Poona Sarvajanik Sabha, and the Indian National Congress.  The Poona Sarvajanik Sabha was called so because the word “Sarvajanik” translates to “for or of all the people” (Sarva= all, Janik= off the people).  All of these associations worked in a certain part of the country. The goals set by these associations were goals set by the people of the entire nation. The goals remained uniform among all the citizens and they did not change according to caste or creed. This was to make India a sovereign country. Sovereignty was a relatively modern concept for the people of India. The idea of sovereignty played a big role in nationalism. In simpler words, the Indian people believed that they must be allowed to take care of their affairs. Then another act was introduced named ‘The Arms Act’. According to this act, Indians were not allowed to carry any kind of weapons. The Vernacular Press Act was introduced to silence the voice of the Indian Press. Then a bill, named Ilbert Bill was supposed to be passed. According to this bill, the Britishers and the Indians would get equal grounds in a court. However, the Britishers did not allow the Bill to pass. This showed the mindset of the Britishers regarding Indian race. The Britishers discriminated based on color. Therefore, due to the passing of such acts and the prevalence of racial discrimination, the Indians started to generate a feeling of nationalism inside their heart.

What is the Indian National Movement?

Indian National Movement is a mass movement where the people of India started having a feeling of nationalism inside their hearts. The nationalism feeling helped the Indians to speak up. Therefore, Indians started to revolt against the Britishers. The Indian National Movement started in 1850 and soon revolts became bigger and bigger which further helped India in gaining freedom.

Conclusions

The Nationalistic feeling assisted India in gaining its freedom. The introduction of the Indian National Movement helped Indians revolt against the Britishers which further spread the feeling of Nationalism all over the country. India could achieve independence after spending two hundred years under British control. It was only possible because of the feeling of nationalism. The Nationalistic feeling led to Indian National Movement. Therefore, the Indian National Movement plays an important role in the independence of the country of India.