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Role of Hindu Mela in the development of nationalism: – In 1861, the great patriot of Bengal, Rajnarayan Bose, instilled a feeling of nationalism among the people of Bengal by creating interest in culture and tradition.  As a result, one of his disciples, Nav Gopal Mitra, formed the Hindu Mela in 1867.  It was an annual festival that was held ceremonially every year in the month of Chaitra.  Hence it is also known as Chaitra Mela.  The main objective of this fair was to inculcate the feeling of nationalism among the Hindus by binding them in the thread of unity.

The Hindu fair was primarily a national fair.  Yuva Narendranath (Vivekananda) also participated in this Mela Mahotsav.  Nav Gopal Mitra emphasized gymnastics, wrestling, and other traditional sports in Hindu Mela.  In 1868, he opened a gymnastics school at his residence which was named National Gymnasium.  Along with gymnastics, this school also taught nationality lessons to the candidates.  Bipin Chandra Pal, Sundari Mohan Das, Rajchandra Choudhary, and Swami Vivekananda were prominent among the students of this school.  People from different parts of the country used to come to the Hindu fair and national public opinion was formed by their meeting here.  Thus the Hindu Mela served to prepare the background for the Indian national movements.