Communalism in Nationalist Politics
Introduction
Before
the establishment of British Raj, Mughals and their agents had ruled large
parts of the country. Large sections of the Muslims therefore enjoyed the
advantages of being the co-religionists of the ruling class many of whom were
sovereigns, landlords, the generals and officials. The official and court
language was Persian. When the British gradually replaced them they introduced
a new system of administration. By the mid-nineteenth century English education
predominated. The 1857 rebellion was the last gasp of the earlier ruling class.
Following the brutal suppression of the revolt, the Muslims lost everything,
their land, their job and other opportunities and were reduced to the state of
penury. Unable to reconcile to the condition to which they were reduced, the
Muslims retreated into a shell. And for the first few generations after 1857
they hated everything British. Besides they resented competing with the Hindus
who had taken recourse to the new avenues opened by colonialism. With the
emergence of Indian nationalism especially among the educated Hindu upper
castes, the British saw in the Muslim middle class a force to keep the Congress
in check. They cleverly exploited the situation for the promotion of their own
interests. The competing three strands of nationalism namely Indian
nationalism, Hindu nationalism, and Muslim nationalism are dealt with in this
lesson.
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