The Swadeshi movement was a self-sufficiency movement that was part of the Indian independence movement and contributed to the development of Indian nationalism. [1] After the British government's decision for the partition of Bengal was made public in December 1903, there was a lot of growing discontentment among the Indians. In response , the Swadeshi movement was formally started from Town Hall at Calcutta on 7 August 1905 to curb foreign goods by relying on domestic production. [2] Mahatma Gandhi described it as the soul of swaraj (self-rule). The movement took its vast size and shape after rich Indians donated money and land dedicated to Khadi and Gramodyog societies which started cloth production in every household. It also included other village industries so as to make village self-sufficient and self-reliant. [3] The Indian National Congress used this movement as arsenal for its freedom struggle and ultimately on 15 August 1947, a hand-spun Khadi tricolor Ashoka Chakra Indian flag was unfurled at Princess Park near India Gate, New Delhi by Jawaharlal Nehru ~ Economic Warfare & Global Impact Manchester Mill Closures: The systematic boycott in India had a direct, devastating impact on the British economy. By 1908, the London Times reported a massive depression in the world trade, leading to the closure of 540 mills in Manchester alone and leaving approximately 400,000 workers unemployed. Saving Bombay Mills: Ironically, while global mills were closing, the Swadeshi campaign created such a surge in demand for indigenous cloth that mills in and around Bombay worked incessantly through 1908 to meet the domestic need, effectively saving the Indian textile industry from the global depression. Swadeshi Paper for Sacred Texts: When Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s seminal work, Geetarahasya, was to be published while he was in Mandalay jail, he insisted that only indigenously manufactured paper from D. Padamji and Sons be used. e-Adhyayan e-Adhyayan
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Extreme Social Boycotts Religious Refusal: In Bengal, priests frequently refused to officiate at religious ceremonies if foreign salt or sugar were offered as oblations. Brahmins in some areas even refused to assist in rituals at houses where European products were used. Washermen Strikes: In one notable incident near Tirupati, a washerman made history by refusing to wash the mill-made clothes of a local Brahmin and even threatened to destroy them. Wedding Gifts: Social pressure was so high that marriage presents containing foreign goods were often returned to the senders. e-Adhyayan e-Adhyayan
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Lesser-Known Figures & Innovations The "Golamkhana" Label: Students who boycotted British-run institutions like Calcutta University began calling it "Golamkhana" (House of manufacturing slaves). The Carlyle Circular: In response to student participation, the British issued the Carlyle Circular in 1905, which threatened to withdraw grants and scholarships from any student involved in protests. Swadeshi Coins: To keep the movement's message alive at a grassroots level, some activists even minted and distributed "Swadeshi coins" as a form of symbolic currency. Paisa Fund Glass Works: Inspired by Tilak’s speeches, entrepreneur Ishwar Das Varshney established the Paisa Fund Glass Works near Pune, a community-funded industrial project that became a symbol of economic self-reliance.]]. [4]
The government's decision to partition Bengal was made in December 1903. The official reason was that Bengal, with a population of 78 million, was too large to be administered; the real reason, however, was that it was the centre of the revolt, and British officials could not control the protests, which they thought would spread throughout India. [5] Reappointed George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston Viceroy of India (1899–1905), in August 1904, he presided over the 1905 partition of Bengal.
In 'Lion and the Tiger : The Rise and Fall of the British Raj, 1600–1947', Denis Judd wrote: "Curzon had hoped... to bind India permanently to the Raj. Ironically, his partition of Bengal, and the bitter controversy that followed, did much to revitalize Congress. Curzon, typically, had dismissed the Congress in 1900 as ‘tottering to its fall’. But he left India with Congress more active and effective than at any time in its history." [6]
— Dennis judd, Lion and the Tiger : The Rise and Fall of the British Raj, 1600–1947
Bengal was divided by religion: the western half would be primarily Hindu, and the eastern half would be primarily Muslim. This divide-and-conquer strategy sparked the Swadeshi movement. The British reunited Bengal in 1911 and shifted their capital to New Delhi. The Swadeshi movement took on a new meaning after the reunification of Bengal.
