How did people belonging to different communities, regions or language groups develop a sense of collective belonging?

This sense of collective belonging came partly through the experience of united struggles. But there were also a variety of cultural processes through which nationalism captured people's imagination.

(i)History and fiction, folklore and songs, popular prints and symbols, all played a part in the making of nationalism.

(ii)The identity of India came to be visually associated with the image of Bharat Mata, which was created in 1870 by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, who wrote ‘Vande Mataram’ as a hymn to the motherland. Inspired by the Swadeshi Movement, Abanindranath Tagore painted his famous image of Bharat Mata.

(iii)The idea of nationalism was also developed through reviving Indian folklore. In late-nineteenth-century India, nationalists began recording folk tales sung by bards and they toured villages to gather folk songs and legends. This was done to promote the traditional culture that had been corrupted and damaged by outside forces.