Реферат: Hindu Revival Essay Research Paper Hindu revivalism

contribution to the nationalist sentiment. Constitutional reforms that offered

increased Indian participation in the legislative bodies and bureaucracy did not

match expectations. The Western educated Indians believed that they should enjoy

the same civil liberties as the English. With the development of new techniques

of agitation, the government undermined popular trust by enforcing regulations

that further diminished civil liberties. The claims that British economic

policies caused a drain of wealth from India, further enforced the view that the

British were fundamentally unconcerned with the country?s well being.

(Andersen and Damle 30) Developments in the late nineteenth century created

conditions conducive to the expansion of revivalism. Nationalism was beginning

to assert itself. The revivalist message, based on traditional Hindu concepts

regarding society, was appealing to many Indian Hindus. In pre-independent

India, the premier nationalist organization was the Indian National Congress, an

umbrella organization that accommodated a variety of interests including those

of the revivalists. However, the Congress was not entirely successful in

adequately satisfying all groups. Many Muslim leaders felt that Westernized

Hindu elite, who controlled the Congress, did not adequately respond to Muslim

interests. The same sentiments were shared by Hindu revivalist leaders regarding

the Hindu community. The founder of the RSS doubted whether the Congress, which

included Muslims, could bring about the desired unity of the Hindu community. As

the Hindu and Muslim leaders within these communities continued to feel unfairly

represented, they turned to forming other political organizations claiming to

represent their respective groups. It would be appropriate to note that there

was no cohesive community, either Hindu or Muslim, in India that was united.

These communities were divided by many barriers, and developed in each region

differently, both politically and socially. What these organizations did

represent was a certain aspect of their respective communities that was very

defensive in nature. The RSS was established in 1925 as a kind of educational

body whose objective was to train a group of Hindu men who would work together