Shakespeare and Indian Nationalism aims to articulate the reception of Shakespeare by the 19thc Indian intelligentsia from Bengal and their ambivalent approach to the Indian Renaissance and consequent nationalist project. Showcasing the cultural politics of British imperialism, this volume focuses on six early nationalist writers and their engagement with Shakespeare; Bengal-Hemchandra Bandopadhay(1838-1903), Girishchandra Ghosh(1844-1912), Purnachandra Basu(1844-unknown), Iswarchandra Vidyasagar (1820-1891), Bankimchandra Chattopadhaya(1838-1894) and Rabindranath Tagore(1861-1941). Drawing on Antonio Gramsci's theory of hegemony and cultural politics, this interdisciplinary approach combines post-colonial studies and Shakespeare studies in an attempt to reconcile the existence of a national admiration for an English cultural icon in India alongside a fierce resistance to British rule.