100 SOCIAL SCIENTIST practices. Colonialism was the dominant context which influenced 'human conscipusness* in a significant way. Nationalism representing a particular type of consciousness was predominantly a reaction of the subjugated people to an intrusion of an alien culture and an attempt to break the muteness imposed by the foreign rule. Colonialism apart, the socio-economic and political configurations internal to India also played a crucial role in shaping the consciousness as well. Thus a selective pride in one's language, culture and religion figured decisively in such a consciousness. Although colonialism provided a shared experience to all, nationalism had its varied manifestations probably due to the differences in social and cultural milieus of the human agents articulating the consciousness. So, in order to capture the complex world of Indian nationalism one needs to grasp the interplay of factors involving colonialism and its attendant value system, the prevalent socio-economic and political compulsion and the role of human agency in creating and sustaining a particular worldview. An argument, couched in above terms, will help explain the triumph of the Muslim League and its call for Pakistan in Bengal and Punjab and its failure in Uttar Pradesh and Hyderabad despite the Muslim-hegemony in the socio-political affairs of these two areas. Similarly, the rising importance of Gandhi and his ideology in north India and elsewhere, and its relative eclipse in Bengal and Punjab will be gauged better if the discussion is pursued in similar fashion.