Bankimcandra Chatterji's novel Anandamath, published in 1882, was of crucial significance in shaping a new Hindu identity as well as the ideology of early Hindu nationalism. It gripped the imagination not only of Bengalis agitating for freedom from British colonialist rule, but also of leading nationalist-minded Indians. Its hymn Vande Mataram eventually became India's national song. In this stirring tale set in Bengal during the famine of 1770, a group of Hindu ...
