With reference to the book “Desher Katha” written by Sakharam Ganesh Deuskar during the freedom struggle, consider the following statements: 1. It warned against the Colonial State’s hypnotic conquest of the mind. 2. It inspired the performance of swadeshi street plays and folk songs. 3. The use of ‘desh’ by Deuskar was in the specific context of the region of Bengal. Which of the statements given above are correct?

Answer: A. Statements 1 and 2 are correct; Statement 3 is wrong. 'DESHER KATHA' (Bengali for 'Story of the Country' or 'Tale of the Nation') was published in 1904 by SAKHARAM GANESH DEUSKAR, a Bengali-Marathi nationalist writer of the Swadeshi era. It became one of the most influential nationalist tracts of the early 20th century and a major intellectual influence on the Swadeshi Movement (1905-08) following the Partition of Bengal. Statement 1 is CORRECT. Deuskar warned against COLONIAL HEGEMONY OVER INDIAN MINDS, arguing that the most insidious form of colonial control was not military or political but the way the colonial state and English education shaped Indian consciousness, values, and aspirations. Deuskar urged a recovery of indigenous self-respect, cultural confidence, and economic self-reliance. Statement 2 is CORRECT. 'Desher Katha' had a deep popular impact and INSPIRED A CULTURAL MOVEMENT of swadeshi street plays (jatras), folk songs, patriotic poetry, and public meetings during the Swadeshi era. Cultural mobilisation through indigenous performance forms was central to the Swadeshi Movement, and Deuskar's text was a key intellectual catalyst. The book circulated in many thousand copies (despite British attempts to ban it) and was read aloud in village gatherings. Statement 3 is WRONG. Deuskar used 'DESH' in the BROADER SENSE OF THE WHOLE INDIAN NATION, not specifically the Bengal region. His intellectual project was pan-Indian nationalist consciousness. While the book was written in Bengali and had greatest reach in Bengal during the Swadeshi years, the conception of 'desh' was the larger India. Deuskar himself was Marathi by origin, settled in Bengal, and intellectually committed to building India-wide nationalism. So 1 and 2 are correct; 3 wrongly localises Deuskar's idea of 'desh' to Bengal. Source: NCERT Class 12 Themes in Indian History Part III; Sumit Sarkar 'The Swadeshi Movement in Bengal 1903-1908'; Bipan Chandra et al. 'India's Struggle for Independence'.