SOAS, University of London (The School of Oriental and African Studies)

On the origins of Indian nationalism

Nationalism has been regarded for many years as a phenomenon that is fundamentally Western in its origins and logic of operation. The iconic scholarly studies of nationalism’s genesis look almost exclusively to Europe and North America in order to reveal the roots and maturation of this distinctive ideology of social and political association. When (and if) scholars turn their attention to the role that the rest of the world had in nationalism’s history, it is largely viewed as an unoriginal sequel to that which was initiated and perfected in the West. This paper will claim that the Euro-centrism of the prevailing view of nationalism is distorting. Instead through an exploration of the profound influences of one of the most notable administrators of early nineteenth–century India –– James Tod –– on the ideas about nationalism of arguably one of the most important mid nineteenth–century political theorists –– John Stuart Mill, this paper will argue that the birth and growth of modern British nationalism cannot be separated from the colonial experience. Indeed, some aspects of the modern ideology of nationalism appear to have been worked out first in the colonial context before being introduced to the metropole. Moreover, by showing how some of the ideas and concerns about nationalism that Tod imparted on Mill reflected indigenous Indian attitudes about territory, identity, and ethics for political action, this paper will suggest that British nationalism has some distinctly Indian characteristics that were then ‘naturalized’ as being hallmarks of modern, European civilization.