ABSTRACT
Nationalism was undoubtedly the single most potent, dynamic, emotive element that altered the political configuration of Asia and Africa in the twentieth century. The factors helping the growth of Indian nationalism in nineteenth century were diverse. Some were the result of British innovations in administration and modernization policies, and some came in the form of reaction to Christian missionary challenge. The most important single factor that helped the growth of nationalism was education, which blossomed in the grant-in-aid schools and after the birth of three universities—Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta—in 1857. The Brahmo Samaj was founded in 1828 by Raja Ram Mohun Roy, who was very highly esteemed by the East India Company’s highest officials, who often consulted him on sensitive matters regarding Hindu society and laws. The establishment of the Arya Samaj in Bombay in 1875 by Swami Dayanand Saraswati took the reform movement from Brahmo Samaj’s passive stance to an aggressive stance in meeting the challenge of Christian missionaries.
