The rise of Indian nationalism

British policies inadvertently created conditions for Indian nationalism. The unified administration, the railway network, the English-language education, and the shared experience of subjection all helped forge an Indian national consciousness that had not previously existed in unified form.

• Indian National Congress (1885): Originally a moderate organization advocating for Indian participation in their own government. Later (especially under Gandhi from the 1920s) became the principal vehicle for the independence movement.
• Muslim League (1906): Founded to represent Muslim political interests as Indian nationalism grew. Would later push for the separate Muslim state that became Pakistan.

Gandhi's career launches in this period and continues into Unit 10.7 on decolonization. Maria will see him there. For Unit 10.4 she just needs to know that organized Indian nationalism emerges in the late nineteenth century in response to British rule.