THE NATIONAL BOURGEOISIE OF INDIA IN THE 19TH-FIRST HALF OF THE 20TH CENTUR

ABSTRACT

The Indian Freedom Movement is a unique example of the liberation struggle compared to similar movements in world history. During this period, the region under consideration is actively involved in the global economic and political space.

Keywords: commonwealth, nation, Indian movement, bourgeoisie, colonialists, socio-political formations, petty-bourgeois democrats.

The Indian freedom movement is a unique example of a liberation struggle compared to similar movements in world history. The desire of the Indian people to get rid of foreign domination, colonial oppression since the second half of the XIX century. led to the activation of national consciousness, as a result of which the great Indian civilization took shape in a sovereign state, and also determined the vector of further development for subsequent popular movements in history. However, it should be noted that, despite numerous unsuccessful attempts by Indian rulers, it was British influence that largely accelerated the formation of a single state from disparate principalities. «In this regard, consideration of the specifics of European influence on the development of the bourgeois-national movement in India is an urgent debatable problem for modern historical science»[2].

«The contradictions between the national bourgeoisie and the British colonialists escalated as Indian capitalism developed. The liberal leaders of the national movement protested against the oppression and omnipotence of the colonial bureaucracy. They advocated that the Indians be admitted to the government of the country, for limiting the colonial tribute received by the British masters of India, and also for reducing the taxation of the population»[4].

The first bourgeois-landowner social and political formations appeared «These organizations represented the interests of large merchants-compradors, the top of the Indian bourgeois-landlord intelligentsia. Of great importance is the fact that liberal-minded Bengal landowners played a key role in the British India Association»[1].

«Popular unrest among impoverished and ruined peasants brought moderate nationalists closer to the British administration. With the rise of the national liberation movement, the social significance of the old very moderate and inert Indian organizations began to rapidly diminish. There is an objective need to create new, more radical organizations of Indian bourgeois nationalists»[3].

«On the wave of protest moods in 1870 in Maharashtra, the Pune Sarvajanik Sabha was formed - in the translation of the "Union of the Ordinary People of Pune", and also in 1876 in Calcutta - the Indian Association. These formations came out in defense of the economic and political interests of the Indian bourgeoisie»[2].

«Initially, there was no unity within the bourgeois organizations, as well as the entire bourgeois-national movement. Key directions are formed in it - liberal and democratic. During the 60s and early 80s. 19th century the liberal bourgeoisie dominated the national movement, since during this period the petty-bourgeois democrats failed to formalize their associations» [3].

Thus, the aggressive colonial policy of the British authorities contributed to the emergence of the bourgeois-national movement.However, at the initial stage, the political demands of the liberal wing of the big industrial bourgeoisie boiled down to expanding the representation of Indians in government bodies, with maintaining the colonial regime and condemning popular uprisings. «The political views of the petty-bourgeois democrats more consistently expressed the interests of those who stood for the bourgeois development of the country» [3].

Therefore, they attached paramount importance to the promotion of their ideas through the press. The Ghosh brothers, Harishchandra Mukherjee, the largest Bengali writer of that time Bankim-Chandra Chatterjee and others propagandized the ideas of petty-bourgeois nationalism through the newspapers and magazines they published. However, their weakness lay in the absence of their own political organizations, separate from the liberals.

The National Congress played an important role in the national liberation struggle of the Indian people. Already at the beginning of the XX century. At the meetings of the Congress, nationalists put forward political demands, the most important of which was the granting of self-government to India.

The wave of the protest movement of 1905-1906, despite its defeat by the mother country, demonstrated the possibility of participation in the national movement of broad sections of the Indian people. The active expansionist colonial policy of Great Britain led to an increase in the national consciousness of the Indians, its transition to a new level.

References:

1. Pavlov V.I. Formation of the Indian bourgeoisie. - Moscow, 1958. - S. 34.
2. India: problems of the history of the national liberation movement and modern political development. - Moscow, 1980. - S. 76.
3. Problems of the history of India and the countries of the Middle East. - Moscow, 1972. - S. 104.
4. Komarov E.N. Criticism of bourgeois society and egalitarian concepts in India // Peoples of Asia and Africa. - No. 6. - 1967. - S. 36-48.
5. Pavlov V.I. Formation of the Indian bourgeoisie. - Moscow: Ed. Eastern Literature, 1958. - P. 116.