Define nationalism and stages of indian …

Indian nationalism developed as a concept during the Indian independence movement which campaigned for independence from British rule. Indian nationalism is an instance of territorial nationalism, which is inclusive of all of the people of India, despite their diverse ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds. It continues to strongly influence the politics of India and reflects an opposition to the sectarian strands of Hindu nationalism and Muslim nationalism. 

India has been unified under many emperors and governments in history. Ancient texts mention India under emperor Bharata and Akhand Bharat, these regions roughly form the entities of modern-day greater India. The Mauryan Empire was the first to unite all of India, and South Asia (including much of Afghanistan). In addition, much of India has also been unified under a central government by empires, such as the Gupta Empire, Rashtrakuta Empire, Pala Empire, Mughal Empire, Vijayanagara Empire, Maratha Empire, British Indian Empire, etc.

Nationalism spreads when people begin to believe that they are all part of the same nation, when they discover some unity that binds them together. The united struggles for independence helped in building the sense of collective belonging. Additionally, a variety of cultural processes also captured the spirit of nationalism.

Nation Depicted in Images: The identity of the nation is most often symbolised in a figure or image; with which people can identify the nation. The image of Bharat Mata was the pictorial representation of the mother land. ‘Vande Mataram’ the national song was written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1870s. This was sung during the Swadeshi movement in Bengal. Different artists projected their own version of Bharat Mata.

Folklores: Many nationalist leaders took help of folk tales to spread the idea of nationalism. It was believed that the folk tales revealed the true picture of traditional culture.

National Flag: The national flag which we see today has evolved through various stages. A tricolor (red, green and yellow) was used during the Swadeshi movement. There were eight lotuses on it which depicted the eight provinces of British India. There was a crescent moon on the flag which represented Hindus and Muslims. Gandhji had designed the Swaraj flag by 1921. It was also a tricolor (red, green and white) and there was a spinning wheel in the centre.

Reinterpretation of History: Many Indians felt that the British had given a different interpretation of the Indian history. They felt that it was important to interpret the history from an Indian perspective. They wanted to glorify the rich past of India so that the Indians could feel proud of their history.