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| The Hindu Phenomenon |
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HINDU NATIONALISM : THE FIRST PHASE |
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this narrative, so far we have referred to the Indian National
Congress only once tangentially. This has been deliberate because we
have thought it necessary first to outline the parameters within
which it would have to function if it was to be effective. More
often than not, the cultural-civilizational framework has been
sidestepped in discussions of the Congress. By and large, emphasis
has been placed, in these discussions, on the one hand, on the
growth of aspirations to equality with the British and unemployment
among the educated intelligentsia, demands for Indianization of
services and admission to exclusive British clubs and the
impoverishment of India as a result of British policies, and, on the
other, on the involvement or lack of involvement of Muslims in the
Congress. This has produced a rather lopsided view of the freedom
movement.
As is well known, in its formative phase, the Congress was dominated by moderate constitutionalists who believed in the bonafides of the British and practised the politics of petitioning the Queen, the British government and Parliament in London. The first big break in this kind of politics came with Lord Curzon's decision to partition the Bengal presidency in 1905. This provoked a fierce reaction among the Bengali bhadralok and produced the first mass movement since 1857. This was a turning point in modern India's political history. And it is hardly necessary to underscore the point that this was a Hindu movement even if it is true that some influential Muslims in Bengal were also opposed to partition.
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| About Hindu Nationalism: The First Phase |
