Today living in free India we have actually forgotten the cost our
freedom fighters have paid to achieve this independence. We hardly
remember our struggle for freedom but history tells us that it was not
achieved in one day. Series of events took place before we realized what
freedom is all about. According to history it was the impact of English
education in India, which led the foundation and growth of nationalism,
which eventually resulted in freedom of thought and expression.
Liberalism also came side by side. In the third quarter of the
nineteenth century there was a strong reaction against the sweeping
current of Western culture and influence. The barrier was mainly due to
the growing knowledge of ancient India's rich cultural heritage and
glory. It was India's strong past on which Indian nationalism was built.
The spirit of Indian nationalism was intensified by the growing
discontent and disaffection with British rule due to the racial
arrogance of the rulers. The result of those discontents and
dissatisfaction among Indians gave rise to the first major mass movement
for India's freedom the Revolt of 1857 or the so-called Sepoy Mutiny.
The cause behind this mutiny was the discontent and anger in the army.
The British rule exploited the economic and administrative part of the
country and led to discomfort and anger among the Indian population.
The series of major events that resulted in India's independence are
the partition of Bengal in1905, the Swadeshi Movement that was an
economic boycott of foreign goods in support of domestic product. World
Wars I and II, which weakened the power of British rulers. Mahatma's
successful civil disobedience movement all over the country against the
Salt Laws. His Salt March at Dandi, Gujarat, in December 1930 spread to
various parts of the country and last but not least the "Quit India"
movement in 1942 and its nationwide impact. These are some of the vital
events, which shook the base of British rule In India. India's
independence was accompanied by the largest demographic movement in
recorded history, with over seventeen million people crossing the border
between what was then designated Muslim-majority Pakistan and
Hindu-majority India. After three centuries of colonial rule, India
declared independence from Britain on 15 August 1947. This declaration
was the final culmination of a long struggle for Indian nationalism, a
movement that ardently demanded Swaraj, or self-rule, from British
colonial governance.
