Hindu ''Mela'' was a political and cultural festival started in 1867 in Calcutta. Its primary objective was to instill a sense of national pride among the city-dwellers to indigenous handmade products rather than imported British-made products. It included the display of ''swadeshi'' wrestling, ''swadeshi'' art and recital and performances of ''swadeshi'' poetry and songs. The ''mela'' met regularly until 1880 after which it lost its importance due to the establishment of other institutions.

Founding

In 1867, the National Paper published the ''Prospectus of a Society for the Promotion of National Feeling among the Educated Natives of Bengal'' by

Rajnarayan Basu Rajnarayan Basu ({1826–1899) was an Indian writer and intellectual of the Bengal Renaissance. He was born in Boral in 24 Parganas and studied at the Hare School and Hindu College, in Kolkata, Bengal. A monotheist at heart, Rajnarayan Basu c ...

. Inspired by this booklet

Nabagopal Mitra Nabagopal Mitra ( bn, নবগোপাল মিত্র; 1840– 9 February 1894) was an Indian playwright, poet, essayist, patriot and one of the founding fathers of Hindu nationalism. He founded the Hindu Mela (which was inaugurated by R ...

founded the Hindu ''Mela'' and the National Society in 1867. The ''mela'' was first known as the ''Chaitra Mela''. The founding of the ''mela'' was supported financially by the

Tagore family The Tagore family (also spelled as ''Thakur''), with over three hundred years of history,Deb, Chitra, pp 64–65. has been one of the leading families of Calcutta, India, and is regarded as one of the key influencers during the Bengali Renaiss ...

of Jorashako. Members of the Tagore family recited poetry and performed songs at the event.

Later years

Satyendranath Tagore Satyendranath Tagore (1 June 1842 – 9 January 1923) was an Indian Bengali civil servant, poet, composer, writer, social reformer and linguist from Kolkata, West Bengal. He was the first Indian who became an Indian Civil Service officer in 1863 ...

was deeply associated with the Hindu ''Mela''. He was not present in the founding session of the Hindu ''Mela'' held in April 1867 as he was in western India. However, he was present for the second session. He composed a song "''mile sabe Bharat santan, ektan gaho gaan''" (unite, India's children, sing in unison), which was hailed as the first national anthem of India. Despite being too young to participate during the founding years of the ''mela'',

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

quickly became deeply involved in the ''mela''. It was here that he got first exposed to anti-British sentiments which shaped his beliefs later in life. On the tenth anniversary of the ''mela'', Rabindranath Tagore recited a poem attacking the then newly appointed Viceroy Lord Lytton's decision to hold a lavish Durbar in Delhi where

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

was proclaimed the "

Empress of India Emperor or Empress of India was a title used by British monarchs from 1 May 1876 (with the Royal Titles Act 1876) to 22 June 1948, that was used to signify their rule over British India, as its imperial head of state. Royal Proclamation of 22 ...

" all while a famine raged across the country. This was among his first acts of publicly attacking the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

. Several organisers of the Hindu ''Mela'' came together to form a secret society, Sanjivani Sabha which manufactured ''swadeshi'' matchsticks and cloth woven in ''swadeshi'' looms. The Hindu ''Mela'' also provided sufficient exposure to indigenous physical sports. In the first session of the ''mela'', renowned wrestlers in the city were invited and felicated. In the following session, competitions for indigenous physical sports such as ''lathi''-play and wrestling were organized. In 1874, when the fifth session of the ''mela'' was held, tickets for muscle-posing shows sold at a rate of 50 paise. As a result of this exposure, many schools introduced physical education into their curriculum. Physical education was also included into the syllabus of Indian Civil Service examinations.

Founding

Later years

References

Further reading