How did people belonging to different communities, regions or languages develop a sense of collective belonging? Explain with examples.

A sense of collective belonging was developed:

1. Images: Nation came to be symbolized through various images of Bharat Mata. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, who also wrote ‘Vande Mataram’ for the homeland, created the first image of an ascetic figure who was calm and divine.

2. Folklore: Indian folklore was revived to build nationalist feeling. Indian leaders wanted to bring the traditional culture back. In Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore himself collected myth, rhymes, ballads etc. In Madras, Shastri collected Tamil folk tales.

3. Flag: During Swadeshi movement, a tricolour flag with eight lotuses and a crescent moon representing Hindus and Muslims were designed. Gandhi designed the Swaraj flag that was tricolour and had a spinning wheel in center symbolising self-help.

4. History: Indian leaders wanted to evoke a feeling of pride in people so they looked back to the great achievements in Indian history and reinterpreting them. They talked about the glorious ancient times when art, law, culture etc. flourished.

5. Limit: When the Hindu past and Hindu iconography was being glorified, other communities felt left out.

Explanations: To instil the nationalist feelings in the common man, the leaders turned to the culture of the country like folklore, legends, past etc. that everyone would relate to and would inspire to fight against an alien rule.