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The Swadeshi movement was a
self-sufficiency Self-sustainability and self-sufficiency are overlapping states of being in which a person or organization needs little or no help from, or interaction with, others. Self-sufficiency entails the self being enough (to fulfill needs), and a self-s ...
movement that was part of the
Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal ...
and contributed to the development of Indian nationalism. Before the BML 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 Calcutta on 7 August 1905 to curb foreign goods by relying on domestic production.
Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
described it as the soul of
swaraj Swarāj ( sa, स्वराज, translit=Svarāja '' sva-'' "self", '' raj'' "rule") can mean generally self-governance or "self-rule". It was first used by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to attain self rule from the Mughal Empire and the Adil ...
(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. The
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...
used this movement as arsenal for its freedom struggle and ultimately on 15 August 1947, a hand-spun Khadi 'tricolor ashok chakra' Indian flag was unfurled at 'Princess Park' near India Gate, New Delhi by Pandit Nehru. 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 center of the revolt, and British officials could not control the protests, which they thought would spread throughout India. Reappointed George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston Viceroy of India (1899–1905), in August 1904, he presided over the
1905 partition of Bengal The first Partition of Bengal (1905) was a territorial reorganization of the Bengal Presidency implemented by the authorities of the British Raj. The reorganization separated the largely Muslim eastern areas from the largely Hindu western are ...
. Bengal was divided by language and religion: the western half would be primarily
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
, and the eastern half would be primarily
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
. 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.


Etymology

''Swadeshi'' is a conjunction (''
sandhi Sandhi ( sa, सन्धि ' , "joining") is a cover term for a wide variety of sound changes that occur at morpheme or word boundaries. Examples include fusion of sounds across word boundaries and the alteration of one sound depending on near ...
'') of two Sanskrit words: ''swa'' ("self" or "own") and ''desh'' ("country"). ''Swadeshi'' is an adjective that means "of one's own country".


Timeline

Swadeshi Movement has been characterized as cloth production in India. * 1850–1904: Dadabhai Naoroji, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Mahadev Govind Ranade, Bal Gangadhar Tilak,
Ganesh Vyankatesh Joshi Ganesh Vyankatesh Joshi (9 June 1851 – 20 May 1911) was an economist. Early life of G.V Joshi Ganesh Vyankatesh Joshi was born at Miraj on 9 June 1851. The family is known as the Utturkar family in that province, as it held hereditary la ...
, and Bhaswat K. Nigoni began organizing to promote Indian nationalism (the First Swadeshi Movement). * 1871-1872: Namdhari Sikhs boycotted English cloth in Punjab. Ram Singh Kuka boycotted English cloths, education and courts and instead promoted hand spun cloths ' khaddar',
vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
education and khap panchayats. * 1905–1917: The movement opposed the 1905 Partition of Bengal, which was ordered by Lord Curzon. Revolutionary groups in form of local clubs grew.
Anushilan Samiti Anushilan Samiti ( bn, অনুশীলন সমিতি, , bodybuilding society) was an Indian fitness club, which was actually used as an underground society for anti-British revolutionaries. In the first quarter of the 20th century it su ...
and Jugantar Party made attempts of arm revolts and assassination of notorious administrators. * 1918–1947: The movement was further strengthened by
Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
when he took a pledge to boycott foreign goods by burning 150,000 English cloths at Elpinstone Mill Compound, Parel, Mumbai on 31 July 1921. Mahatma Gandhi organized Khadi spinning centres all over the country and branded Khadi spinners as freedom fighters. Indians started ditching British goods for Indian products, even though they were costlier. The impact was strong with British seeing 20% fall in its product sales. The trio of Lal-Bal-Pal organized several samitis, Bal Gangadhar Tilak led Ganesh Utsav as a means to popularize use and consumption of indigenous products from soil to sweets. Another notable figure in Swadeshi movement is V. O. Chidambaram Pillai in
Tuticorin Thoothukudi (formerly Tuticorin) is a port city, a municipal corporation and an industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The city lies in the Coromandel Coast of Bay of Bengal. Thoothukudi is the capital and ...
, who took over British India Steam Navigation Company and converted it into Indian-owned shipping company and named it Swadeshi Shipping Company in October 1906.


Influence

*In 1982 the movie Gandhi (film) by Richard Attenborough, Indians vow on the bonfire of English cloths to wear swadeshi khadi after Gandhi's speech at Elphinstone Fort, Mumbai. * According to a 1999 article, E. F. Schumacher (author of ''
Small Is Beautiful ''Small Is Beautiful: A Study of Economics As If People Mattered'' is a collection of essays published in 1973 by German-born British economist E. F. Schumacher. The title "Small Is Beautiful" came from a principle espoused by Schumach ...
'') was influenced by Gandhi's concept of Swadeshi. * On 7 August 2015,
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
commemorated the first annual National Handloom Day in India to promote indigenous handloom and khadi products. The date was chosen because on 7 August 1905, the Swadeshi movement was proclaimed to avoid foreign goods and use only Indian-made products. *In 2019 the movie Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi (film) by Kangana Ranaut on the Queen, who fought valiantly against English in 1857, extensively used khadi (hand spun fabrics) made of cotton, brocade and paithani to mark the spirit of swadeshi. Prior to becoming the Queen, the historical figure learned how to made the fabric. * In July 2020 Tooter is a new social media platform that was launched which is a cross-over between
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...
and
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
. The social media platform has now garnered attention for calling itself the Swadeshi Andolan 2.0. * On 18 August 2020 IT minister
Ravi Shankar Prasad Ravi Shankar Prasad (born 30 August 1954) is an Indian politician and lawyer, from the Bharatiya Janata Party. A Member of Parliament since 2000, first in the Rajya Sabha (2000-2019) and then in the Lok Sabha (since 2019), Prasad has served as ...
on Tuesday announced Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge with award money of Rs 4.3 crore to key challenges after ban on Chinese investments. *On 17 July 2021 at the 18th Investiture Ceremony of the
Border Security Force The Border Security Force (BSF) is India's border guarding organisation on its border with Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) of India, and was raised in the wake of the 1965 war on 1 December 1 ...
(BSF), Home Minister Amit Shah said that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and other agencies are working on an anti-drone swadeshi technology to deal with this danger of "Smuggling of drugs, arms, and explosives by drones has become a major challenge. *On 25 July 2021 Prime Minister
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
addressed the nation through the 79th episode of his monthly radio programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’ encouraging the people to buy Indian arts and crafts and attributed the increase in sales of khadi to its Indian patrons. "To buy khadi is to serve the people and the country #myhandloommypride should be used when you buy and post it online. He also reminded the celebration of National Handloom Day on August 7 "When the Swadeshi movement was launched years ago, many of our artisans were associated with it." *On 28 July 2021 Bangalore based GoCoop, India's first online marketplace for artisans and weavers is hosting Go Swadeshi, an exhibition showcasing handcrafted weaves from 30,000+ artisans, 12,000+ woman showcasing their largest collection of handmade textiles from India with over 70,000 products across sarees, apparel, accessories, home furnishings and fabrics. In 2015, GoCoop was the winner of Govt. of India's first National Award for Handlooms marketing (eCommerce) 2015.


See also

* Autarky – A country, state, or society that is economically independent *
Continental Association The Continental Association, also known as the Articles of Association or simply the Association, was an agreement among the American colonies adopted by the First Continental Congress on October 20, 1774. It called for a trade boycott against B ...
* Juche – The North Korean philosophy of self-reliance *
Khadi and Village Industries Commission The Khadii and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is a statutory body formed in April 1957 by the Government of India, under the Act of Parliament, 'Khadi and Village Industries Commission Act of 1956'. It is an apex organisation under the ...
* National Charkha Museum *
Rajiv Dixit Rājīv (Devanagari: राजीव, Bengali script: রাজীব) is a popular Indian, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan and Nepalese male name, also spelt Rajeev, Rajive, Rajib, Rajeeb, Rajiva and Rajiba. It is said that the lotus flower (''Nelumbo nuc ...
*
Sarvodaya Sarvōdaya ( hi, सर्वोदय '' sarv-'' "all", '' uday'' "rising") is a Sanskrit term which generally means "universal uplift" or "progress of all". The term was used by Mahatma Gandhi as the title of his 1908 translation of John Ruski ...
* Self-determination * Stand-Up India * Startup India *
Swadeshi Jagaran Manch The Swadeshi Jagaran Manch is a political and cultural pan-India movement that deals with economic issues. Since at least 2015 the SJM has been critical of foreign direct investment A foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment in the ...


References


Further reading

*Bandyopadhyay, Sekhar. ''From Plassey to Partition - A History of Modern India'' (2004) pp 248–62 *Das, M. N. ''India Under Morley and Minto: Politics Behind Revolution, Revolution, and Reform'' (1964) *Gonsalves, Peter. ''Clothing for Liberation, A Communication Analysis of Gandhi's Swadeshi Revolution'', SAGE, (2010) *Gonsalves, Peter. ''Khadi: Gandhi's Mega Symbol of Subversion'', SAGE, (2012) *Trivedi, Lisa. "Clothing Gandhi's Nation: Homespun and Modern India", Indiana University Press, (2007) *


External links

* {{Gandhi Economic nationalism Gandhism Indian independence movement Rural community development