With reference to the growth of nationalism, explain the relevance of the following:

(a) Impact of Socio-Religious Movements

(b) Write any three repressive colonial policies of the British

(c) State any three ways in which the Press played an important role in developing nationalist interest amongst Indians.

(a) Social and religious reformers like Raja Rammohan Roy, Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Jyotiba Phule, Swami Vivekananda and Annie Besant carried out reforms that paved the way for the national movement. They inspired the people with the ideals of self-respect, self-confidence and self-reliance and roused feelings of patriotism and nationalism. Raja Rammohan Roy laid the foundation of the Brahmo Samaj in 1828, which brought in a New Awakening in India, and it was because of his efforts that Lord Bentinck passed a law in 1829 making the practice of Sati illegal and punishable by law. Jyotiba Phule established one of the first Girls Schools in India at Pune in 1851 and founded the Satyashodhak Samaj in 1873 to mitigate the distress and sufferings of dalits and women. These movements attacked social evils, spread education and rational thinking, and thus prepared the ground for the growth of nationalism.

(b) Three repressive colonial policies of the British are given below:

1. The Vernacular Press Act (1878) — Introduced by Lord Lytton, it forbade vernacular papers from publishing any material that might excite feelings of dissatisfaction against the British government. This Act was not applicable to English newspapers. It crushed the freedom of the vernacular press. In 1882 this Act was repealed by Lord Ripon.
2. The Indian Arms Act (1878) — It made it a criminal offence for Indians to carry arms without licence. It imposed a badge of racial inferiority on Indians.
3. Reduction of the age limit for the Indian Civil Service Examination — The maximum age limit for the Indian Civil Service Examination was gradually reduced from 23 to 19 years. This was a calculated move to ruin the prospects of Indian candidates for the Indian Civil Service.

(c) Three ways in which the Press played an important role in developing nationalist interest amongst Indians are given below:

1. Many newspapers were published in different parts of the country such as the Amrit Bazar Patrika, The Hindu, the Patriot, the Maratha, the Kesari, the Azad, the Indian Mirror, The Tribune, the Advocate, the Kohinoor, etc. They criticised the unjust policies of the government and thus exposed British exploitation before the people.
2. They played a vital role in infusing political ideas and patriotic sentiments, and rousing political consciousness among the people.
3. Tilak's weeklies Kesari and Mahratta instilled pride among Indians for their country and inspired them to work for the freedom of the motherland.