Nationalism in South India- Its Economic and Social Background (1885-1918)

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

Research on India's freedom movement for the last two decades has undergone a dramatic change. While one school of historians has concentrated, on economic and social conditions, and the other on nationalism as a political concept. the subtle interaction between the two factors has somehow been neglected by almost all except a very few but their studies only cover macro level India as a whole.

But Dr Naidu. keeping in mind the relative importance of this mutual mingling between factors and the absence of micro studies, breaks new ground in this work on the former Madras Presidency, for which he was awarded Ph. D. degree by the Andhra University.

The book begins with an introductory chapter. analysing the meaning of nationalism, different interpretations by eminent scholars like Hans Kohn, Eric Stokes. R P. Dutt. K. M. Panikkar and arrives at a convincing conclusion that economic and social factors have not only got direct and causal relationship with nationalism but also vice versa.

Applying this theory to South India without princely states, the author treats the conditions under two heads one dealing with economic like agricul- ture, land revenue. irrigation, famine. forests, salt. railways, industry, foreign trade, and the other social like educa- tion and journalism and the catalytic role of communities like Hindu. Muslim and Christian. The common but salient features in economic part were the arbitrary policies of the Madras Govern- ment and the consequent growth of frustration in masses while in the social part Government's liberal policies that brought about intellectual quickening in the elite. sense of awareness in the niasses on current political issues, their pursuance by the nationalistic minded leaders like G. Subramania lyer. V O. Chidambaram Pillai, Yakub Hasan.

Dr. Ch M. Naidu (b. 1939) is currently Reader in History, Andhra University. Waltair. Having worked in M. R College. Vizianagram, as a lecturer for a decade, he joined Andhra University as Reader where he continues to serve for over a decade. He is a member of professional bodies like Indian History Congress Institute of Histori- cal Studies, and South Indian History Congress. He is the author of a number of articles which have been published in almost all leading historical journals like Journal of Indian History, Review of Historical Studies, Itihas, Gandhi Marg etc. He has authored two books; of which Salt Satyagraha in the Coastal Andhra has come out and the other History of Modern China is forthcoming. He is at present engaged on a UGC research project. Quit India Movement in the Coastal Andhra.

During the last two or three decades much research work has been done and many books have come out if not exactly on this work's theme and area but on different themes on India or some other allied local areas. While scholars, both Indian and foreign, like T. Ravinder Kumar, R.P. Dua, C.H. Heimsath, Elizabeth Whitcombe, Thomas Metcalfe, C.A. Bayley, R.E. Frykenberg, J.H. Broomfield, Francis Robinson, and Eric Stokes have concentrated on economic and social conditions, R. Suntharalingam, Birendra Prasad, L.A. Gordon, Anil Seal, Dietmar Rothermund and Gordon Johnson, on nationalism. But subtle affinity between those rapidly changing conditions and the newly emerging nationalist consciousness, their intermingling and interaction have not been analysed except perhaps only by two A.R. Desai in his work Social Background of Indian Nationalism and Bipan Chandra in The Rise and Growth of Economic Nationalism in India.

In fact there is no denying the fact that these conditions constitute strong basis for the growth of nationalism and so an indepth study of both, besides their mutual relationship, needs a challenging approach. C.H. Philips, former Vice-Chancellor of the London University, Director of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, and one of the adjudicators of this work, too has opined that such a study shows an inclina- tion to set up a major theory. It is true because nationalism evolves due to several conditions but it would not be tenacious and gripping unless it is supported by economic and social factors. Hans Kohn, a well known historian and author of several books on nationalism of different countries, also has admitted that nationalism is a product of economic and social factors.

This is a commendable study of the growth of nationalism in South India and its economic and social background by Dr. Naidu. It covers the period 1885-1918 and attempts to bring out the impact of economic and social conditions prevailing in the period on the growing nationalist consciousness of the people in South India. There are very few studies of impor tance available on this subject. Generally historians have tended to ignore the regional and local dimensions of nationalist upsurge in India. It is a well established fact that the economic and commercial policies of the British administration in India were designed only to exploit India as a colony; and understand- ing the nature, process and consequences of this exploitation, on the part of the Indian leaders and middle classes was perhaps the most important factor contributing to the growth of Indian nationalism. No doubt, their pride in India's glorious past and the inspiration they derived from European liberal thought and modern European history were also important factors. South Indian leaders were among the foremost in India in apprehend- ing the disastrous consequences of the British rule, articulating the Indian grievances, aspirations and demands, and raising the level of people's political and nationalist consciousness. Most of them came from the English educated elite groups and middle classes; but they succeeded in spreading their message to the poor and illiterate masses. The spread of English education and journalism in South India needs to be particularly mentioned in this context as an important factor. These and several other aspects of the theme have been ably dealt with by Dr. Naidu. He has consulted extensively the available primary sources of information, both government and non-official documents, especially the daily newspapers such as the Hindu; and this is one of the merits of the study. I hope Dr. Naidu will pursue this line of enquiry-the regional and local dimensions of the broad theme of nationalism and national integration. This will enable him to pay more attention than he was able to do in the present study, to the role of the rural, village leaders and journalism in the regional languages.

I believe Dr. Naidu's study is a valuable addition to the literature on this subject; and I commend it to all students and scholars of Indian History.

A study is made in these pages on the economic and social conditions as the background nourishing nationalistic conscious- ness and helping it to spread with full vigour in South India.' Thus it brings about an interaction between two factors, economic and social, against another factor, nationalism, over a vast region, though with mutual and beneficial influences.

Prof. Hans Kohn, a Czechoslovakian historian and an expert on the study of nationalisms of different countries, set forth a theory related to this interaction thus: "Nationalism is a state of mind and an act of consciousness.....a process of integration of masses of the people into a common political form... a product of the growth of social and intellectual factors at a certain stage of history......gains the emotional warmth of concreteness only through the effects of education, economic interdependence, and corresponding political and social institu- tions... brings about identification of masses with a body far too great for any concrete experience." If this theory is applied to South India during the period from 1885 to 1918, it is found that the region suffered from economic deterioration but revived with intellectual leadership and integrating com- munal forces and eventually all these formed powerful bases for the spread of nationalism in the classes and masses. Hence nationalism was a phenomenon that had causal relationship with the economic and social factors.

But it should be noted that South Indian nationalism was somewhat unique. In style and content it might not be diffe- rent from that of other regions in the country; but relative to other parts of the world, it was specific. The usual key factors. like common race, religion and language, that are considered essential for the growth of nationalism, were absent in the case of South India. Yet a new group called the middle classes or westernised elite emerged in this period and these classes very ably remedied the existing deficiencies and proved that such ingredients were not so compulsory for a successful development of nationalism. They, fresh from being trained in western liberalism through English language, mastered the writings of leading thinkers like John Milton, J.S. Mill, Mazzini and further understood fully the lessons taught by the freedom movements like the American War of Independence and French Revolution. Next with the recollection of India's past glory, tradition and culture, they possessed an uncommon competence and leadership and developed in the illiterate masses a sense of awareness of the growing poverty and shibboleths of the past. Further with masses help the middle classes formed a united front, conveyed their common grievances to the Government in the form of representations, and challenged if necessary but always laid emphasis on the need to preserve unity. Actually in imparting the western education the British never expected this kind of emergence of middle classes but ruled with a view to managing their bureaucracy and stabilising their Raj. But indirectly their education created the middle classes, who exploited it, and played a strategic part in bringing back com- posure, inner coherence, and unity to India.

**Contents and Sample Pages**