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Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru’s views on Nationalism
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Critically assess Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru’s views on Nationalism.
Tej Bahadur Sapru was an eminent lawyer, nationalist and social leader during the British rule in India. Born in 1875 in Aligarh (U.P.) in a Kashmiri Brahmin family, Sir Sapru practiced as a lawyer in Allahabad High Court where Purshottam Dass Tandon was his assistant. He was a known moderate leader and subscribed to the views of Gopal Krishan Gokhale. He was the jurist leader of the Indian Liberal Party and favoured a dialogue with the British government rather than confrontation. He was a firm believer of self-government reforms and did not favour independence from the British rule, as he felt that the Indians were not ready for independence. In support of his views on the nationalism, just like other leaders like M.R. Jayakar, he was a regular participant in the provincial and central legislatures that most of the nationalists thought were only the rubber stamps of the Viceroy.
Sir Sapru was opposed to the methods and leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and strongly opposed the non-cooperation movement and salt Satyagraha. He however often acted as a mediator between the government and other nationalist leaders. He was instrumental in getting the Gandhi-Irwin Pact settled, negotiating the end of salt Satyagraha and forging the Poona Pact between Mahatma Gandhi, Dr Amdedkar and the British government. He was very active during Round Table Conferences in 1931-33 and was an informal spokesman of liberal views on Indian nationalism.
He was knighted by the British government in the year 1922. It is however, an admitted fact that his Liberal Party lacked popular support of the people and was more of a group of intellectuals who continued to practice nationalism as per their own thoughts, without caring for the popular sentiments and feelings.
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