The Unquiet Heart: Emotions, Resistance, and the Making of Modern India (1918-1928)

• IMTIAZ HUSSAIN

  Enforcement Officer, PERA.

  Author

This essay investigates the representation of emotions in the political resistance of British India during the crucial decade of 1918-1928. I propose that emotions-specifically fear, hate, and anger-were not mere byproducts of the colonial encounter but were, in fact, the primary catalysts and shaping forces behind the significant political events of this period. The British administration, through its policies of suppression, half-hearted reforms, and outright violence, systemically generated these emotional responses. Indian political actors, in turn, channeled this potent emotional energy into structured resistance, from the mass mobilization of the Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movements to the unified boycotts of the Simon Commission. This study examines how British actions, such as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and the all-white Simon Commission, acted as emotional flashpoints that transformed latent public fear into active political anger and a deep-seated hatred for the colonial system. I argue that understanding this emotional economy is essential for comprehending the escalating trajectory of the independence movement, the growing communal rifts, and the ultimate impossibility of continued British rule. This work re-frames the narrative of resistance, moving beyond a purely political or economic analysis to center the visceral, human emotions that fueled the fight for freedom.

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