Debating nationalism: Bihari intelligentsia and the Swadeshi movement of Bengal

Abstract

During the Swadeshi movement in Bengal, the bhadralok advocated an idea of Indian nationalism that freely used Hindu myths, symbols and imagery and hence tended to exclude several multi-ethnic religious communities from its reach. A section of intellectual and political elites in Bihar saw this as a narrow projection of the idea of Indian nationalism. They challenged it as a form of Hindu nationalism and argued that a true idea of nationality could evolve in India only when backward regions like Bihar achieved a certain level of progress and development, as well as a separate sub-national political identity. They also rejected the revolutionary militant, nationalism that was gaining popularity among the youth. Exploring the tensions that played out between the bhadralok political elites and the intelligentsia in Bihar over the question of Indian nationalism during the Swadeshi movement of Bengal, this article argues for an emphasis on the sub-regional and secular aspects of nationalism and that the non-violent freedom struggle against colonialism was a critical dimension for understanding the rise of nationalism in early twentieth-century India.