In undertaking to write the History of the Freedom Movement, I was faced with a number of problems. Where should the history begin? One answer was: from the foundation of the Indian National Congress in 1885. But the Congress was the organised expression of a growing national movement, and without tracing the history of the rise of national consciousness it would be impossible to explain the emergence of the Congress. When did then national consciousness arise? In the flaming holocaust of 1857, or earlier? It was necessary inevitably to go back to Ram Mohan Roy. But Ram Mohan Roy was the product of the impact of the British conquest. The conclusion was inescapable that the nature of the impact from its earliest stages required study and explanation (Chand xi).
Chand, Tara. “Preface.“ History of Freedom Movement in India, vol 1, Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, 1961, pp. xi-xiii.