Difference Between Nationalism And Colonialism

The political developments in third world countries in the first half of the last century gave rise to nationalism as a reaction against colonialism. This paper explores the theme of nationalism in selected Indian and African novels dealing with the national movements in India and Nigeria. It examines how Mulk Raj Anand, Raja Rao and Chinua Achebe deal with the national movement and the struggle for freedom in their novels and how they view the encounter with the British presence. One of the objectives of the study is to show the similarities in the national experience in India and Nigeria in the first half of the last century and how the three novelists deal with this experience. The focus is on Anand 's The Sword and the Sickle,

In wikipedia.org nationalism is defined as "essentially a shared group feeling in the significance of a geographical and sometimes demographic region seeking independence for its culture and/or ethnicity that holds that group together, this can be expressed as a belief or political ideology that involves an individual identifying with, or becoming attached to, one 's nation.". Merriam-Webster dictionary defines nationalism as " a feeling that people have of being loyal to and proud of their country often with the belief that it is better and more important than other countries: a desire by a large group of people (such as people who share the same culture, history, language, etc.) to form a separate and independent nation of their own" .It is a broad term that covers a wide range of meanings. The basic thing in nationalism is the love of one 's country and a wish to see it politically independent. Nationalism is one of the forces that shape the national and cultural identity of a people. Nationalism in this paper means two things; the armed resistance to colonial rule and the psychological, social and cultural resistance to the idea of colonialism. The

The social, political factors that played major role in the rise of nationalism in India and Nigeria are similar. These factors include the role of the educated elite, the racial practices of the British, the emergence of nationalist political parties and groups, and the return of the soldiers who fought in the World Wars. Colonial policies by the British in India and Nigeria equally contributed in stimulating national consciousness. The British mistreated the colonized people depriving them of their rights and dealing with them as second –rate citizens. The colonial racial activities contributed in spurring nationalist feelings among the elite and the masses alike. Another similarity in the development of nationalism in both countries is the return of the soldiers who fought during the world wars.Nationalist feelings and activities were strengthened by the influence of the soldiers who had fought in the war. Most of them returned with new skills and with new awareness of the importance of a national identity. They like Lau Singh in Anand The Sword and the Sickle, took active part in the freedom movements in both countries. Another factor that contributed to the grievances of the Indians and Nigerians is the fact that there was much discrimination shown in respect of appoint¬ment of Indians and Nigerians to the government