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258  Shashi Bhushan Upadhyay

                instances, it served to denote the material and moral superiority of
                the West and, consequently, the justification for colonial rule over
                the supposedly morally degraded and materially deprived subject
                people. It was selectively employed in an effort to conquer the minds
                of the colonial subjects and to constantly remind them about their
                comprehensive inferiority (ranging from intellectual to physical) in
                comparison to the hugely successful European civilizations.
                  In the nineteenth century, colonial intellectuals also imbibed these
                ideas and occasionally supported by the colonial rulers launched various
                projects of reform aimed at the improvement of the traditional social
                order. But modernity remained a problematic notion in the colonial
                territory. In Europe, in its fight against the medieval inegalitarian,
                superstitious  and  hierarchical  society,  it  spawned  the  ideals  of
                equality, liberty and fraternity. On the other hand, as a vehicle and
                tool for colonialism, it helped in undermining the physical and moral
                sovereignty of the subject people in the colonies. Its implementation
                in the colonial territories remained arbitrary and selective. Early
                Indian nationalists, therefore, accused the colonial regime for not
                doing enough to enforce modern ideas and institutions, and for failing
                to implement the project of modernity. Even those, such as Tilak in
                Maharashtra, and Bankim and some Swadeshi enthusiasts in Bengal,
                who were opposed to social reform measures, were basically against
                the intervention by colonial rulers in the social arena, and not against
                the project of modernity as such.
                  The arrival of Gandhi on the nationalist scene, however, signified
                certain paradigmatic shifts. Gandhi, under whose leadership the
                mass-oriented phase of the national movement was initiated, was
                fundamentally opposed to the modernist vision. About a decade before,
                in 1909, he had already attempted a comprehensive critique of the
                modern Western civilization in his book Hind Swaraj. Throughout
                most of his life he remained a bitter critic of modern institutions and
                lifestyles (Chatterjee 1986: 85–128).
                  Premchand, like many among the Indian intelligentsia, was much
                influenced by Gandhi. The latter’s insistence on non-violence and his
                criticism of the West, simultaneously implying the moral superiority
                of the Eastern culture and civilization, particularly appealed to him
                (for Gandhi’s views on modern civilization, see Gandhi 1997). In these,
                Premchand visualized the nodal points from which the resistance to
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