Swadeshi movement#Etymology

{{Short description|1905–1947 Indian movement for domestic cloth production}}

File: Concentrate on Charkha and Swadeshi bazaar art.jpg to spin cotton and weave cloth, captioned "Concentrate on Charkha and Swadeshi"|alt=Poster of Gandhi sitting at a spinning wheel]]

The Swadeshi movement was a self-sufficiency movement that was part of the Indian independence movement and contributed to the development of Indian nationalism.L. M. Bhole, Essays on Gandhian Socio-Economics, Shipra Publications, Delhi, 2000. Chapter 14: "Savadesi: Meaning and Contemporary Relevance". 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 at Calcutta on 7 August 1905 to curb foreign goods by relying on domestic production.{{cite web |title=Swadeshi Movement: Timeline and Important facts that you must know |date=7 August 2015 |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/swadeshi-movement-286966-2015-08-07 |publisher=India Today |access-date=7 August 2015 |archive-date=2018-11-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130232035/https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/swadeshi-movement-286966-2015-08-07 |url-status=live }} 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.{{cite news |title=Jamnalal Bajaj, the Gandhian capitalist who was called the Mahatma's 'Merchant Prince' |url=https://theprint.in/theprint-profile/jamnalal-bajaj-the-gandhian-capitalist-who-was-the-mahatmas-merchant-prince/189694/ |publisher=The Print |access-date=11 February 2019 |archive-date=17 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917020652/https://theprint.in/theprint-profile/jamnalal-bajaj-the-gandhian-capitalist-who-was-the-mahatmas-merchant-prince/189694/ |url-status=live }} 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.{{cite web |title=No, Nehru didn't hoist India's first tricolour at Red Fort. And British flag wasn't lowered |url=https://theprint.in/opinion/no-nehru-didnt-hoist-indias-first-tricolour-at-red-fort-and-british-flag-wasnt-lowered/276641/ |publisher=The Print |access-date=14 July 2019 |archive-date=14 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190814112158/https://theprint.in/opinion/no-nehru-didnt-hoist-indias-first-tricolour-at-red-fort-and-british-flag-wasnt-lowered/276641/ |url-status=live }}

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.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} Reappointed George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston Viceroy of India (1899–1905), in August 1904, he presided over the 1905 partition of Bengal.

{{blockquote|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."{{Cite book |title=Lion and Tiger:The Rise and fall of British Empire 1600 to 1947 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mitiTQZ1qu4C |first=Dennis |last=Judd |year=2004 | publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0192803581 |access-date=2021-07-27 |archive-date=2023-07-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707064930/https://books.google.com/books?id=mitiTQZ1qu4C |url-status=live }}}} 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.

Etymology

Swadeshi is a conjunction (sandhi) of two Sanskrit words: {{Transliteration|sa|swa}} ("self" or "own") and {{Transliteration|sa|desh}} ("country"). Swadeshi is an adjective that means "of one's own country".{{Cite web |date=2009-05-03 |title=Swadeshi |url=https://mettacenter.org/definitions/gloss-concepts/swadeshi/ |access-date=2020-10-01 |website=Metta Center |language=en-US |archive-date=2020-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925201538/https://mettacenter.org/definitions/gloss-concepts/swadeshi/ |url-status=live }}

Timeline

File:Bharat Mata by Abanindranath Tagore.jpg, 1905 painting by Abanindranath Tagore, one of the earliest visualizations of Bharat Mata, or "Mother India"]]

Swadeshi Movement has been characterized as cloth production in India.

1850–1906: Dadabhai Naoroji, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Mahadev Govind Ranade, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Ganesh Vyankatesh Joshi, and Bhaswat K. Nigoni,V.O. Chidambaram Pillai,Subramaniya Bharathi,Subramaniya Siva began organizing to promote Indian nationalism (the First Swadeshi Movement).{{Cite web |date=2018-07-19 |title=History of Swadeshi Movement : Causes & Effects |url=https://learn.culturalindia.net/swadeshi-movement.html |access-date=2020-09-20 |website=Cultural India |language=en-US |archive-date=2020-07-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200723053311/https://learn.culturalindia.net/swadeshi-movement.html |url-status=live }}
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 education and khap panchayats.{{cite book |last1=Anjan |first1=Tara |title=Satguru Ram Singh and the Kuka Movement |last2=Rattan |first2=Saldi |date=2016 |publisher=Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting |isbn=9788123022581 |location=New Delhi}}{{cite book |last1=McLeod |first1=W. H. |title=Historical Dictionary of Sikhism |last2=French |first2=Louis |date=2014 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=9781442236011 |page=261}}{{cite book |last1=Kaur |first1=Manmohan |title=Women in India's freedom struggle |date=1985 |publisher=Sterling |page=76}}{{cite book |last1=Clarke |first1=Peter |title=Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements |date=2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781134499700 |location=Oxon |page=425}}
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 and Jugantar Party made attempts of arm revolts and assassination of notorious administrators.
1918–1947: The movement was further strengthened by Mahatma Gandhi 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.{{Cite web |url=https://www.robinage.com/History/gandhiji-in-mumbai.htm |title=RobinAge: History - Gandhiji's Days in Mumbai |website=www.robinage.com |access-date=2021-07-26 |archive-date=2021-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417214708/https://www.robinage.com/history/gandhiji-in-mumbai.htm |url-status=live }} Mahatma Gandhi organized Khadi spinning centres all over the country and branded Khadi spinners as freedom fighters.{{cite web |title=History of Khadi – A Symbol of Indian Freedom Struggle |date=14 May 2020 |url=http://khadivastram.com/blog/history-of-khadi/ |publisher=Khadivastram |access-date=14 May 2020 |archive-date=24 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924060108/http://khadivastram.com/blog/history-of-khadi/ |url-status=live }}

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, 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.{{Cite news |title=Why India needs Swadeshi 2.0 |url=https://www.academics4nation.org/post/make-in-india-why-india-needs-swadeshi-2-0 |access-date=6 March 2020 |archive-date=23 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923125632/https://www.academics4nation.org/post/make-in-india-why-india-needs-swadeshi-2-0 |url-status=live }}

{{anchor|Legacy and influences|In popular media|Swadeshi After Independence|NHD}}Influence

Swadeshi movement forms the backdrop of the novel Ghare Baire (The Home and the World), published in 1916, by Rabindranath Tagore. The novel, besides many other complex themes, shows the pitfalls of fervent nationalism. The 1984 film Ghare Baire (The Home and the World) by Satyajit Ray is based on the novel.
In 1982 the movie Gandhi 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) was influenced by Gandhi's concept of Swadeshi.{{cite journal |last=Weber |first=Thomas |date=May 1999 |title=Gandhi, Deep Ecology, Peace Research and Buddhist Economics |journal=Journal of Peace Research |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=349–361 |doi=10.1177/0022343399036003007 |s2cid=145534577}}
On 7 August 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi 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.{{cite news |title=Explained: Why is August 7 called National Handloom Day |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/why-is-august-7-called-national-handloom-day-6544586/ |work=The Indian Express |date=7 August 2020 |access-date=8 August 2020 |archive-date=9 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809111747/https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/why-is-august-7-called-national-handloom-day-6544586/ |url-status=live }}
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.{{cite web |title=Kangana Ranaut to promote Khadi fabric through Manikarnika |url=https://www.cinestaan.com/articles/2019/jan/22/18328 |access-date=2 January 2019 |publisher=Cinestaan |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201071552/https://www.cinestaan.com/articles/2019/jan/22/18328 |url-status=live }}
In July 2020 Tooter is a new social media platform that was launched which is a cross-over between Facebook and Twitter. The social media platform has now garnered attention for calling itself the Swadeshi Andolan 2.0.{{Cite news |title=Tooter – New Kid on the Block – India's 'Swadeshi Andolan 2.0'? |url=https://www.thequint.com/news/india/tooter-social-media-platform-swadeshi-andolan |access-date=25 November 2020 |archive-date=25 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125050524/https://www.thequint.com/news/india/tooter-social-media-platform-swadeshi-andolan |url-status=live }}
On 18 August 2020 IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday announced Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge with award money of Rs 4.3 crore to key challenges after ban on Chinese investments.{{Cite news |title=Startups Called For INR 4.3 Cr 'Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge' |url=https://inc42.com/buzz/startups-called-for-inr-4-3-cr-swadeshi-microprocessor-challenge/ |access-date=19 August 2020 |archive-date=20 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820022437/https://inc42.com/buzz/startups-called-for-inr-4-3-cr-swadeshi-microprocessor-challenge/ |url-status=live }}
On 17 July 2021 at the 18th Investiture Ceremony of the Border Security Force (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".{{Cite news |title='Swadeshi tech' to counter drone threat: Amit Shah |url=https://www.thehansindia.com/news/national/swadeshi-tech-to-counter-drone-threat-amit-shah-696490 |publisher=Hans News |access-date=17 July 2021 |archive-date=17 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717184103/https://www.thehansindia.com/news/national/swadeshi-tech-to-counter-drone-threat-amit-shah-696490 |url-status=live }}
On 25 July 2021 Prime Minister Narendra Modi 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 7 August "When the Swadeshi movement was launched years ago, many of our artisans were associated with it."{{Cite news |title=Country proud of its athletes, says PM Modi on Mann Ki Baat |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/mann-ki-baat-july-25-2021/article35519718.ece |work=The Hindu |access-date=25 July 2021 |archive-date=25 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725070740/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/mann-ki-baat-july-25-2021/article35519718.ece |url-status=live }}
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 India's first National Award for Handlooms marketing (eCommerce) 2015.{{Cite news |title=Go Swadeshi by GoCoop from 28th July to 1st August 2021 at Jayanagar |url=https://indiaeducationdiary.in/go-swadeshi-by-gocoop-from-28th-july-to-1st-august-2021-at-jayanagar/amp/publisher |access-date=26 July 2021}}