Art and Nationalism in India
The art of India is a vital cultural expression of India. As Partha Mitter explains, it is intertwined with assertions of nationalism, the equation of modernisation and westernisation, and a desire to preserve the cultural heritage of India.
‘One of the most intriguing yet least explored aspects of western impact on traditional Asian societies in the modern or colonial period, has been the traditional artist's response to European representational art. Unlike the more obvious impact of western technology in these societies, the reception of European art has been less even in countries such as India, oscillating from an enthusiastic and wholehearted acceptance of western art to a strong resistance to it, reflecting the change from an initial period of unquestioned westernisation to the growth of national consciousness. The benefits of adopting superior technology are somewhat easier to demonstrate. In the case of art, which involves judgments of taste that are by their very nature not so absolute, the consequences are more elusive and problematic.
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