ABSTRACT
The manner in which the nation mapped trajectories in South Asia was unique and at the same time distinct from its Western counterparts. The underlying reason for this particular kind of process of nation making was that these societies were mediated by what is referred to as colonial modernity.1 This was the result of the interaction of these societies with the West through the means of colonialism and imperialism. As a result of this interaction, the manner in which the self and the nation evolved in South Asia was distinct as religious and cultural resources, which were drawn upon into active consideration in establishing one’s own idea of the self in nation. The nationalist movement across South Asian societies witnessed an amalgamation of tradition and modernity, as the language of the struggle was Western using the liberal terminologies like ‘equality’, ‘liberty’, ‘fraternity’ and ‘sovereignty’, but the underlying spirit guiding these movements were taken/ picked from the indigenous/native sources.
