STD X – HISTORY SUMMARY

CHAPTER 2 – GROWTH OF NATIONALISM

Syllabus

• Factors leading to the growth of Nationalism – economic exploitation, repressive

colonial policies, socio-religious reform movements (brief mention of the contribution
of Raja Ra Mohan Roy and Jyotiba Phule) and role of press.
• Foundation of Indian National Congress: - Indian National Association, Surendranath
Banerjee) and East India Association (Dadabhai Naoroji) as precursors.
• Immediate objectives of the Indian National Congress – the first two sessions and
their President should be mentioned.

❖ Meaning of Nationalism: Nationalism refers to the feeling of oneness and

common consciousness that emerges when people living in common territory
share the same historical, political and cultural background, have the same
cultural values and consider themselves as one nation.
❖ Factors Promoting Growth of Nationalism:
1) Economic exploitation: The Indians realized, the aim of the British policy in
India, was to protect their own interests at the cost of the welfare of the
Indians.
i. Peasants – As the government took away a large part of produce of the
peasants in the form of land revenue and other taxes.
ii. The Artisans & Craftsmen: Agricultural India became a source of raw
material and a market for the British finished goods.
iii. The Working Class: The working class were exploited by English factory
owners.
iv. Educated Indians: Educated Indians had hoped that the British capitalism
would help develop India’s productive forces as it had done in Britain but
they found that British policies were keeping India economically
backward.

2) Repressive colonial policies of Lord Lytton: Lord Lytton was the Viceroy of
India from 1876 to 1880.
i. Lord Lytton organized a grand Delhi durbar in 1877 to proclaim Queen
Victoria as the Empress of India
ii. Lord Lytton introduced the Vernacular Press Act (1878) and Indian Arms
Act (1879).

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 STD X – HISTORY SUMMARY

3) Role of Press:
• Through press the message of patriotism, liberty, freedom, equality,
home rule and independence spread among the people.
• The press criticised the unjust policies of the Government and
exposed the true nature of the British rule in India.
4) Socio-religious reform Movement:
i. Some prominent reform movements. Some of the prominent reform
movements were:
 Arya Samaj – founded by Dayanand Saraswati.
 Ramakrishna Mission – founded by Swami Vivekananda.
 Brahmo Samaj - was founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy.
 Satya Shodhak Samaj – founded by Jyotiba Phule.

ii. Role of Rajaram Mohan Roy:

 In 1828, he founded the Brahmo Sabha, which was later renamed

as Brahmo Samaj.
 Due to the efforts of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, William Bentinck, the
Governor General of India, passed a law, making sati illegal and
punishable by law.
• Rajaram Mohan Roy was Popularly known as:
 Father of Indian Renaissance

iii. Role of Jyotiba Phule: He was an urban educated member of the so-called
low caste.

• Jyotiba Phule founded the Satya Shodhak Samaj in 1873 with the
aim of securing social justice for the weaker sections of the society.

• He pioneered the widow remarriage movement in Maharashtra and

worked for the education of women.

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 STD X – HISTORY SUMMARY

iv. Contribution of socio-religious reform movements to Indian

nationalism:
• Swami Dayanand Saraswati and Swami Vivekananda proclaimed the
superiority of Indian culture and civilisation.
• They created consciousness of a new society devoid of privileges
based on caste, creed or religion.

❖ Foundation of Indian National Congress:

1) Founded by: The Indian National Congress was founded by Allan Octavian
Hume (A. O. Hume), a retired British member of Indian Civil Service at
Bombay, in December 1885.
2) Precursors of Indian National Congress:
i. The East India Association
ii. The Indian Association
3) Aim of the Indian National Congress:
i. To promote friendly relations between nationalist political workers from
different parts of the country
ii. To develop and consolidate feelings of national unity irrespective of
caste, religion or province.
4) Sessions of Congress:

Session Year Place held President

1st 1885 Mumbai W.C. Bonnerjee

Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College

2nd 1886 Kolkata Dadabhai Naoroji

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