bankimchandra chattopadhyay (1838-94)(2)

7/25/2019 Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay (1838-94)(2)

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Bankimchandra ChattopadhyayBankimchandra Chattopadhyay

(1838-94)(1838-94)

His most famous novel wasAnandaMath (Sacred Brotherhood),

published in 1882, which contains the

famous son !ande Mataram"Anandmath depicted an arm# of

Brahmin ascetics fihtin $ndian

Muslims in the pa# of the %ast $ndiacompan#"


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Bankim had originally composedthis as a song in 1875. Later,

when he had fnished the highlyinuential novel, nandamath, heinserted it within the story and

vested it with highly signifcantnarrative !unctions.

"he hymn, su#se$uently, wasdetached !rom the novel andachieved a li!e o! its own as aslogan in mass nationalist rallies,and later, in communal violence.


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Why has India been a subject nation or such a

!on" time#$ack o compe!!in" desire or !iberty

$ack o stron" be!ie that independence is

better than subjection$ack o so!idarity in %indu society


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%ational solidarity&'indu solidarity isdependent upon two attri#utes(

)onviction that what is good !orevery 'indu is good !or me.

"hat every 'indu should ensure thathis opinionselie!s and actions areconsistent with every other 'indu.

*ingle minded devotion to theinterests o! one+s own nation, evenat the cost o! other nations.


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ccording to Bankim, 'indus havelacked these !eelings and there!ore

national solidarity is completelya#sent.'e says, i! only 'indus desire li#erty

and convince themselves o! the

value o! li#erty they can achieve it.ccording to him, only a!ter coming

in contact with the nglish that-ndians learnt the values o! li#ertyand national solidarity.'is eplanation o! su#/ection o!

-ndia is in terms o! culture.


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ccording to him, cultural attri#uteso! uropeans e$uips them to achieve

power and progress. -ndians cultural attri#utes has led

them to their down!all and remain insu#/ugation.

0or nglish( knowledge is power0or 'indus( nowledge is salvation

nglish are devotees o! power

-ndians are negligent towards power

nglish are thus victorious andadvanced

-ndians are thus su#/ugated.


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&The present state of the Hindus is a product of

this excessive other-worldliness. The lack of

devotion to work which foreigners point out asour chief characteristic is only a manifestation of

this quality. Our second most important

characteristic fatalism is yet another form of

this other-worldliness it is because of this other-worldliness and fatalism that in spite of the

immense physical prowess of the Indians, this

land of the Aryans had come under Muslim rule.

nd it is for the same reason that !ndia remains asub"ect country till this day' (Sanh#adarsan*

222)"


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+or him the subection of $ndia has been for seven

centuries, startin from the first Muslim invasion of

$ndia and culminatin in the establishment of British

rule"

-he theoretical position implied in Banim.s discussion

involves the followin line of reasonin*

+orce or power is the basis of the state

-he libert# or subection of a nation is ultimatel# a

/uestion of force or power

But power is not somethin that is determined b#

material (environmental or technoloical) conditions

0ower can be ac/uired b# the cultivation of appropriate

national cultural values"


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How can these national cultural values be imitated

ne wa# is to imitate those who have demonstrated their

capacities as powerful and freedom lovin nations"But does imitation of others culture not lead to depletion

of one.s own culture, which then is contrar# to

nationalistic sentiments

He found an answer later in life*

-he superiorit# of the 3est was in the materialit# of its

culture (science, technolo# etc),

But culture did not e4ist onl# in the material aspect oflife,


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-here was spiritual aspect too, and here the 3est had

little to contribute,

-he %ast was superior in the spiritual aspect and hence

undominated,

So the need is to create a cultural ideal in which the

industries and the sciences of the 3est can be learnt and

emulated while retainin the spiritual reatness of%astern culture" -his should be the national cultural

proect for $ndia


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+or Banim the self awareness of a people consisted of

the nowlede of its own histor#"

-o him a nation e4isted in its histor#

-hus, his distress at what he saw as the inorance of theHindus of their own histor#"

He was anered at the 5falsifications. of Hindu histor# at

the hands of forein (includin Muslim) historians"


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#$y patriotism is both exclusivein the sense

that in all humanity ! confine my attention to

the land of my birth. %ut it is inclusive in thesense that my service is not of a competitive

or antagonistic nature. ! want to identify

myself with everything that lives.&

#$y idea of nationalism is that my country

may become free- free that if need be the

whole of the country may die so that the

human race may live. There is no room herefor race hatred. 'et that be our nationalism&.


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&andhi and %ind 'araj 6andhi.s wor will run into nearl# ninet# thic volumes"

7et, there e4ists few te4ts in which he can be seen

attemptin a s#stematic e4position of his ideas on state,

societ# and nation"

Hind Swaraj is one of those few te4ts which he wrote

on a vo#ae from %nland to South Africa in 19"

$t contains a statement of some of the fundamental

elements of 6andhi.s politics and the #asic idealson which the !uture constitution o! -ndiashould #e #ased.

$t was banned b# the colonial overnment in 119 for

fear of sedition"


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+or 6andhi $ndia is a subect nation because of moral

failure"

He wrote the n!lish have not taken India" we have !ivenit to them# $ecall the %ompany# &ho assisted the

%ompany's officers( &ho was tempted at the si!ht of their

silver(... History testifies that we did all this# &hen our

)rincess fou!ht amon! themselves, they sou!ht the

assistance of %ompany# It is not then useless to *lame then!lish #it is truer to say that we !ave India to the n!lish

than that India was lost+.

+or 6andhi, it is precisel# because $ndians were seduced

b# the litter of modern civili:ation that the# became

subect people"

Modern civili:ation accordin to him has two unethical

principles at its ver# core*

#mi!ht is ri!ht' survival of fittest'


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Accordin to him,

as lon! as Indians continue to har*or illusions a*out

the pro!ressive' ualities of modern civili/ation, they

will remain a su*ject nation. ven if they succeed

physically in drivin! out the n!lish, they would still

have n!lish rule without n!lishman', *ecause it is

not the physical presence of the n!lish which makes

India a su*ject nation" it is civili/ation which su*jects Accordin to him, modern imperialism;civili:ation as in

the 3est is based on the limitless desire for ever

bankimchandra chattopadhyay (1838-94)(2)

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