Latest News
Analyze Desai’s claim that Indian nationalism emerged as an unintended consequence of British colonial policies. [Sociology - Mains Daily Answer writing Practice (20 Marks) - Paper 2]
A.R. Desai’s claim that Indian nationalism was an unintended consequence of British colonialism is a powerful Marxist interpretation that reframes nationalism not as a spiritual awakening or cultural revival, but as a dialectical response to colonial contradictions.
Colonial Policies That Triggered Nationalism
Desai argued that British rule disrupted traditional Indian society and unintentionally laid the groundwork for nationalist consciousness:
- Economic Exploitation:
- Land revenue systems (like Permanent Settlement) impoverished peasants.
- Deindustrialization policies destroyed handicrafts and local industries.
- India became a supplier of raw materials and a market for British goods.
- Modern Infrastructure:
- Railways, telegraphs, and postal systems connected regions and people.
- These tools, meant to serve imperial interests, ironically enabled pan-Indian communication and mobilization.
- Western Education:
- Created an English-educated middle class exposed to liberal, democratic ideas.
- This class became the intellectual backbone of early nationalist movements.
- Legal and Administrative Uniformity:
- British laws and bureaucracy standardized governance across India.
- This fostered a shared political identity, even among diverse communities.
Marxist Lens
Desai viewed nationalism as a class-based historical process, not a cultural or emotional phenomenon. He identified five phases, each led by a different class—from reformers to industrialists to workers. The bourgeoisie, for example, led moderate movements, while later phases saw mass mobilization by peasants and laborers.
|
Phase |
Period |
Key Features |
Social Class Leading |
|
1. Social Reform Phase |
1815–1885 |
Focused on reforming Indian society (e.g. abolition of sati, widow remarriage) |
Western-educated intelligentsia |
|
2. Moderate Nationalism |
1885–1905 |
Formation of Indian National Congress; loyalist petitions to British |
Educated middle class, bourgeoisie |
|
3. Extremist Nationalism |
1905–1918 |
Swadeshi movement, boycott, assertive politics |
Lower middle class, radical nationalists |
|
4. Gandhian/Mass Nationalism |
1918–1934 |
Mass mobilization: peasants, workers, women; Non-cooperation, Civil Disobedience |
Indian capitalist class (behind Congress) |
|
5. Socialist & Revolutionary Phase |
1934–1939 |
Rise of leftist ideologies, trade unions, peasant movements |
Petty bourgeoisie, working class, socialists |
Desai emphasized that nationalism was not a spiritual awakening, but a material response to colonial exploitation. Each phase reflected the interests of a specific class, reacting to the contradictions of British rule.
Unintended Consequences
The British never intended to foster Indian unity or resistance. Yet:
- Their economic policies created widespread suffering, uniting people across caste and region.
- Their modern institutions enabled political organization.
- Their repressive measures provoked resistance, from the Swadeshi movement to Gandhian mass struggles.
Critical Evaluation
- Desai’s analysis is structural and materialist, offering a grounded explanation of nationalism’s roots.
- However, it underplays cultural and symbolic dimensions—which thinkers like Benedict Anderson and Partha Chatterjee emphasize.
- Still, Desai’s work remains vital for understanding how colonial capitalism inadvertently birthed its own opposition.
- Desai vs. Anderson:
- Desai sees nationalism as material and class-driven.
- Anderson views it as a cultural construct, born from print capitalism and shared imagination.
- Desai vs. Chatterjee:
- Desai focuses on economic structures and class leadership.
- Chatterjee critiques the Western-centric view and highlights how colonized societies reclaim cultural sovereignty in the “spiritual domain.”
POSTED ON 31-07-2025 BY ADMIN
Next previous 
General Studies
Political Science and International Relations
Some Reference Essays
List of previous year essay topics (1997-2019)
IAS GOOGLE is googled by the team of Raja Sir’s Cracking IAS Academy. Sources include The Hindu, Indian Express, pib.nic.in, Down To Earth, Economic Times, Vigyan Prasar, AIR and the like. IAS GOOGLE has been prepared in pace with emerging UPSC Trends.