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| The
Hindu Phenomenon |
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HINDU
NATIONALISM : THE FIRST PHASE
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Hindus were clearly not in a position to influence the outcome of
the struggle between the Anglicists and the Orientalists. They would
have had to accept whatever the outcome. But even if that were not
the case, they would have faced the proverbial Hobson's choice. The
use of Sanskrit and Persian as languages of education would have
perpetuated the Hindu-Muslim cultural stalemate, with the balance in
favour of Muslims in view of the existing status of Persian as the
language of the administration even in non-Muslim states such as
those of the Peshwas in Pune and of the Sikhs in Lahore. The
changeover to English tilted the balance in their favour, but
involved the risk of the continued subordination of their culture
and civilization to an alien one. This risk could not be avoided and
had to be lived with. And, of course, Western education with English
as the medium of instruction, was not without its advantages. It,
for instance stimulated the development of Indian languages which
appeared to have got frozen. The renaissance in Bengali language and
literature can, for example, be directly traced to the publication
of Nathaniel Halhed's Grammar of the Bengali Language.
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| About
Hindu Nationalism: The First Phase |
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