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| The
Hindu Phenomenon |
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HINDU
NATIONALISM : THE FIRST PHASE
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this reckoning, 1817, when the foundation of the Hindu College (now
known as the Presidency College) was laid is another important date
for the purpose of our narration. But whatever the date, the issue
is the rise of the new intelligentsia which has been a crucial
factor in the building of India today. But in addition to the
Western impact, the point to emphasize is that this intelligentsia
has not operated in a cultural- civilizational vacuum. India has not
been a clean slate on which the British or the intelligentsia could
write whatever they chose. Indeed, the slate has refused to be wiped
clean. By way of illustration, it may be pointed out that Raja
Rammohan Roy, justly regarded as the father of modern India by
virtue of his leadership of the Brahmo Samaj, was no Westernizer in
the normal sense of the term. For one thing, he met the challenge of
Christian missionaries head-on and, for another, he made the Hindus
suffering from loss of memory and pride aware that in the Upanishads
they had an inexhaustible source of wisdom which no other
civilization could claim to supersede. He justified the reforms that
he campaigned for, such as the abolition of sati, in terms of
ancient Hindu traditions and texts.
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| About
Hindu Nationalism: The First Phase |
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