Author:

Arpita Sen

Professor
Department of History
Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan,
Birbhum,West Bengal,India

Email: arpitadib@rediffmail.com

Abstract: The example of the Irish nationalist struggle and the adoption of its various strategies against British colonial rule have attracted the attention of Indian moderate nationalists and revolutionaries. This was so as both were British colonies subject to oppression and exploitation. This article is an attempt to understand how Ireland and its forms of nationalist struggle such as Obstructionism and Sinn Féinism figured in the perception of Jawaharlal Nehru who developed feelings of repulsion against the violent methods of Sinn Féinism , though initially he was a great admirer of Sinn Féinism when it was synonymous with the boycott of British goods and de-anglicization. He was totally against the adoption of violent methods of Ireland by the Indian Volunteers. Nehru was aware that Obstructionism, however successful it was in Ireland was unsuited to Indian conditions. This article therefore delves into some of these aspects and also refers to some of the correspondence that took place between Nehru and his father, Motilal Nehru regarding matters such as the hunger strikes in Ireland which were adopted as a means of protest against the injustices of British colonial rule.

Key Words:Ireland, Nehru, Obstructionism, Sinn Féinism, Volunteers, Violence etc.