Colonialism and Nationalism Part-2 Notes

This school was represented by political activist such as Dada Bhai Naroji, Lala Lajpat Rai, A.C. Mazumdar, R. G Pradhan, S.N. Banerjee, and B.R. Nanda, etc.
Nationalist interpretation emerged in response to Colonial interpretation of Indian history and tried to expose the exploitative character of British colonialism.
These people challenged the colonial view that British government has brought to the subcontinent modern political system and political unity.
They believe British had harmful effects on economic and cultural development of India.
Modernity and political unity are in fact fruits of struggle undertaken by the Indians themselves.

Nationalist accepted some of the interpretation of Orientalists of golden age of India and its decline.
However, Orientalists claim of bringing modernity and unification in India rejected by Nationalists.
Further, they found British responsible for India’s decline.
Nationalist school of thought was a product of national movement by which they tried to establish the superiority of the past over the present while using the categorization of James Mill.
Mill viewed the remote past, as Hindu civilization and projected it as the golden age.
Nationalists’ attempt to rediscover their glorious past in ancient Hindu India gave rise to communal historiography
Nationalist historians, in contrast to colonial interpretation, tried to view national movement as peoples’ movement.
Various leaders of Indian national movement from Dadabhai Naroji to Gandhi accepted India as a nation in the making.