(i) Vernacular languages and local folklores played an important role in creating the idea of nation in Europe.
(ii) This was especially so in the case of Poland which had been partitioned by the great powers— Russia, Prussia and Austria.
(iii) Karol Kurpinski of Poland celebrated the national struggle through his operas and music, turning folk dances like the Polonaise, mazurka into nationalist symbols.
(iv) After Russian occupation, the polish language was forced out of schools and the Russian language was imposed everywhere.
(v) Many members of the clergy in Poland began to use language as a weapon of national resistance.
(vi) Polish was used for Church gatherings and all religious instructions.
(vii) As a result, a large number of priests and bishops were put in jail or sent to Siberia by the Russian authorities.
(viii) The use of polish came to be seen as a symbol of struggle against Russian dominance.
