The Novelist and the Nationalist: Bankim Chandra in the Life of Subhas Chandra Bose

This article seeks to explore a hitherto unploughed field of research on Indian freedom movement in general and Subhas Chandra Bose in particular that is the influence of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, the famous novelist of Bengal in the life of Subhas Chandra Bose, the militant nationalist. While Bankim Chandra was never embroiled in politics, yet his influence on Indian nationalist movement was most profound. It was particularly discernible in the firebrand revolutionaries of Bengal whose legacy was inherited by Subhas Chandra Bose. No work on Bankim Chandra’s influence on the inception, germination, evolution, articulation maturation and expression of Bose’s concept of nationalism has been produced so far. The article tries to recapture and reassess the extent of reflection of Bankim Chandra’s outlook on British rule in India and India’s subjection to British imperialism, the contentious issue of Hindu nationalism and also related pertinent issues like communalism and secularism. It is a comparative study which intends to review these issues and questions in critical perspective. The central point is that Bankim Chandra’s influence on Bose was not transitory but everlasting and Bankim was always an abiding source of inspiration behind all his nationalist endeavour.