Swadeshi movement
Encyclopedia
The Swadeshi movement, part of the Indian independence movement
, was an economic strategy aimed at removing the British Empire from power and improving economic conditions in India by following the principles of swadeshi (self-sufficiency), which had some success. Strategies of the Swadeshi movement involved boycotting British products and the revival of domestic-made products and production techniques.
The Swadeshi Movement began with the partition of Bengal by the Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon, 1905 and continued up to 1908. It was the most successful of the pre-Gandhian movements. Its chief architects were Aurobindo Ghosh, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal
and Lala Lajpat Rai
. Swadeshi, as a strategy, was a key focus of Mahatma Gandhi
, who described it as the soul of Swaraj
(self rule). However, there is no corroborative evidence to support the idea that Swadeshi was successful at punishing the British.
In order to weaken it, Lord Curzon(1899-1905) then Viceroy of India, proposed partition of Bengal. The official reason was stated as Administrative Convinience due to size of Bengal. But Partition itself was based on religion and Political agenda. By this scheme, Bengal was to be divided into two region - Eastern Bengal and Assam with population of 31 million and Muslim majority, Where as other region had the Rest of Bengal with population of 54 million with Bihari
and Oriya
majority. Thus to reduce the nationalist movement in Bengal and there by in the in entire Country. Benagal Partition was to take place on 16th October 1905.
H.H. Riseley, home secretary to Govt of India, stated on 6th december 1904:
" Bengal united is a power; Bengal divided will pull in several different ways. That is what congress leaders feel; their apprehensions are perfectly correct and they form one of the great merits of the scheme...in this scheme...one of our main objects is to split up and there by weaken a solid body of opponents to our rule"
This way British tried to curb Bengalee influnece on nationalist movement and also introduced a new form of division - Religion based. There by creating challenge in front of Indian National Congress
which was slowly becoming as main opponent to British Rule.
But The Indian Nationalist saw design behind partition and condemed it unanimously. Thus began anti partition and Swadeshi movement.
Proposal of partition
became publicaly known in 1903, followed by immediate and sponteneous protest in all over Bengal
. 500 Protest meetings were held in East Bengal alone. 50,000 copies of pamphlet, detailed critique of partition, was distributed. This phase is marked by moderate techniques of protest such as petitions, public meetings, press campaign etc. Objective was to turn public opinion in India
as well as in England
against partition. Prominant leaders were Surendranath Banerjea
, Krishna kumar mitra, Prithwishchande ray etc
Another example of sandhi in Sanskrit is Swaraj. Swa is self (related to Latin reflexive root "su-") and raj is "rule" (related to English "rich", Latin "rex", and German "Reich").
Indian independence movement
The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
, was an economic strategy aimed at removing the British Empire from power and improving economic conditions in India by following the principles of swadeshi (self-sufficiency), which had some success. Strategies of the Swadeshi movement involved boycotting British products and the revival of domestic-made products and production techniques.
The Swadeshi Movement began with the partition of Bengal by the Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon, 1905 and continued up to 1908. It was the most successful of the pre-Gandhian movements. Its chief architects were Aurobindo Ghosh, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal
Bipin Chandra Pal
Bipin Chandra Pal was an Indian nationalist. He was among the triumvirate of Lal Bal Pal.-Early life and background:...
and Lala Lajpat Rai
Lala Lajpat Rai
Lala Lajpat Rai was an Indian author, freedom fighter and politician who is chiefly remembered as a leader in the Indian fight for freedom from the British Raj. He was popularly known as Punjab Kesari or Sher-e-Punjab meaning the samem and was part of the Lal Bal Pal trio...
. Swadeshi, as a strategy, was a key focus of Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
, who described it as the soul of Swaraj
Swaraj
Swaraj can mean generally self-governance or "self-rule", and was used synonymously with "home-rule" by Gandhi but the word usually refers to Gandhi's concept for Indian independence from foreign domination. Swaraj lays stress on governance not by a hierarchical government, but self governance...
(self rule). However, there is no corroborative evidence to support the idea that Swadeshi was successful at punishing the British.
History
During 1900, Bengal had become the nerve centre for Indian Nationalism.In order to weaken it, Lord Curzon(1899-1905) then Viceroy of India, proposed partition of Bengal. The official reason was stated as Administrative Convinience due to size of Bengal. But Partition itself was based on religion and Political agenda. By this scheme, Bengal was to be divided into two region - Eastern Bengal and Assam with population of 31 million and Muslim majority, Where as other region had the Rest of Bengal with population of 54 million with Bihari
Bihari
Bihari may refer to:* of Bihar, a state in central eastern India** Bihari people*** Stranded Pakistanis popularly known as "Biharis", people of Bihari origin in Bangladesh** Bihari languages** Bihari Culture** Bihari Music** Bihari Cuisine** Bihari Dance...
and Oriya
Oriya
Oriya or Odia may refer to:*Oriya cuisine* Oriya people in India* Oriya language* Oriya script* Oriya literature* Oriya cinema...
majority. Thus to reduce the nationalist movement in Bengal and there by in the in entire Country. Benagal Partition was to take place on 16th October 1905.
H.H. Riseley, home secretary to Govt of India, stated on 6th december 1904:
" Bengal united is a power; Bengal divided will pull in several different ways. That is what congress leaders feel; their apprehensions are perfectly correct and they form one of the great merits of the scheme...in this scheme...one of our main objects is to split up and there by weaken a solid body of opponents to our rule"
This way British tried to curb Bengalee influnece on nationalist movement and also introduced a new form of division - Religion based. There by creating challenge in front of Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
which was slowly becoming as main opponent to British Rule.
But The Indian Nationalist saw design behind partition and condemed it unanimously. Thus began anti partition and Swadeshi movement.
Swadeshi Movement
Phase Ι (1903-1905)Proposal of partition
Partition
-Computing:* Partition , the division of a database* Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive* Logical partition , a subset of a computer's resources, virtualized as a separate computer-Mathematics:...
became publicaly known in 1903, followed by immediate and sponteneous protest in all over Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
. 500 Protest meetings were held in East Bengal alone. 50,000 copies of pamphlet, detailed critique of partition, was distributed. This phase is marked by moderate techniques of protest such as petitions, public meetings, press campaign etc. Objective was to turn public opinion in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
as well as in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
against partition. Prominant leaders were Surendranath Banerjea
Surendranath Banerjea
Sir Surendranath Banerjee was one of the earliest Indian political leaders during the British Raj. He founded the Indian National Association, one of the earliest Indian political organizations, and later became a senior leader of the Indian National Congress...
, Krishna kumar mitra, Prithwishchande ray etc
Swadeshi after independence
Some people and organisations such as Rajiv Dixit, Swami Ramdev and the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, a wing of the Sangh Parivar, are spreading the concept of Swadeshi in modern India.Etymology
The word Swadeshi derives from Sanskrit and is a sandhi or conjunction of two Sanskrit words. Swa means "self" or "own" and desh means country, so Swadesh would be "own country", and Swadeshi, the adjectival form, would mean "of one's own country". The opposite of Swadeshi in Sanskrit is videshi or "not of one's country".Another example of sandhi in Sanskrit is Swaraj. Swa is self (related to Latin reflexive root "su-") and raj is "rule" (related to English "rich", Latin "rex", and German "Reich").
Influences
- E. F. SchumacherE. F. SchumacherErnst Friedrich "Fritz" Schumacher was an internationally influential economic thinker, statistician and economist in Britain, serving as Chief Economic Advisor to the UK National Coal Board for two decades. His ideas became popularized in much of the English-speaking world during the 1970s...
, author of Small is BeautifulSmall Is BeautifulSmall Is Beautiful: Economics As If People Mattered is a collection of essays by British economist E. F. Schumacher. The phrase "Small Is Beautiful" came from a phrase by his teacher Leopold Kohr...
, was influenced by Gandhi's concept of Swadeshi when he wrote his article on Buddhist economicsBuddhist economicsBuddhist Economics is a spiritual approach to Economics. It examines the psychology of the human mind and the anxiety,aspirations and emotions that direct economic activity. Its understanding aims to clear the confusion between what is truly harmful and beneficial in Economics and ultimately tries... - Satish KumarSatish KumarSatish Kumar is an Indian, currently living in England, who has been a Jain monk and a nuclear disarmament advocate, and is the current editor of Resurgence, founder and Director of Programmes of the Schumacher College international centre for ecological studies and of The Small School...
, editor of ResurgenceResurgenceResurgence is a British bi-monthly magazine which has been described as the artistic and spiritual voice of the green movement in Great Britain. Resurgence was founded in the 1960s by John Papworth....
, has promoted the concept of Swadeshi in his writing and teaching, including a section in his book You Are, Therefore I Am (2002).