Swadeshi movement

2021-08-13T18:38:31Z

27.5.64.155: /* Etymology */ Added reference to sandhi

{{short description|Movement from 7 August 1905-15 August 1947 for domestic cloth production in India}}
[[File: Concentrate on Charkha and Swadeshi bazaar art.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Popular 1930s poster depicting Gandhi spinning a [[Spinning wheel#Charkha|charkha]], captioned "Concentrate on Charkha and Swadeshi"|alt=Poster of Gandhi sitting at a spinning wheel]]
The '''Swadeshi movement''' was part of the [[Indian independence movement]] and contributed to the development of [[Indian nationalism]].<ref>L. M. Bhole, ''Essays on Gandhian Socio-Economics'', Shipra Publications, Delhi, 2000. Chapter 14: "Savadesi: Meaning and Contemporary Relevance".</ref> After [[Partition of Bengal (1905)|Partition of Bengal]] Swadeshi movement was formally started from Town Hall Calcutta on 7 August 1905 to curb foreign goods by relying on domestic production.<ref>{{cite web|title=Swadeshi Movement: Timeline and Important facts that you must know|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}}</ref>[[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 & 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref> [[Indian National Congress]] used this movement as arsenal for 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

The [[British Raj|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 [[East India Company|company]] officials could not control the protests which they thought would spread throughout India. Reappointed [[George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston|George Curzon]], 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston Viceroy of India (1899–1905), in August 1904, he presided over the [[Partition of Bengal (1905)|1905 partition of Bengal]].
{{quote|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.”<ref>{{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|isbn=0192803581}}</ref>}} Bengal was divided by language and religion: the western half would be primarily [[Hinduism|Hindu]], and the eastern half would be primarily [[Islam|Muslim]]. This divide-and-conquer strategy sparked the Swadeshi movement. British reunited Bengal in 1911 and shifted their capital to New Delhi. Swadeshi movement took new definition after reunification event.

== Etymology ==
''Swadeshi'' is a conjunction (''[[sandhi]]'') of two Sanskrit words: ''swa'' ("self" or "own") and ''desh'' ("country"). ''Swadeshi'' is an adjective which means "of one's own country".<ref>{{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}}</ref>

==Timeline ==
Swadeshi Movement has been characterized as cloth production in India. It originated from Bengal because the sentiments due to closed down domestic cloth industry was very high. In 1757 East India Company exported muslin cloth to Europe but by 1857 they had conspired and crushed local cloth industry by cutting the thumbs of spinners who used to spin fine [[muslin]] cloth (exceeding 200 counts) in order to make way for English cloth which was not as fine as Indian hand spun cloth.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pastpresented.ukart.com/mahuadabar-thumbs.htm|title=Thumb-cutting and the East India Company|website=www.pastpresented.ukart.com}}</ref>
* 1850–1904: [[Dadabhai Naoroji]], [[Gopal Krishna Gokhale]], [[Mahadev Govind Ranade]], [[Bal Gangadhar Tilak]], [[Ganesh Vyankatesh Joshi]], and Bhaswat K. Nigoni began organizing to promote Indian nationalism (the First Swadeshi Movement).<ref name=":0">{{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}}</ref>
* 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]].<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Kaur|first1=Manmohan|title=Women in India's freedom struggle|date=1985|publisher=Sterling|page=76}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Clarke|first1=Peter|title=Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements|date=2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781134499700|location=Oxon|page=425}}</ref>
* 1905–1917: The movement opposed the 1905 [[Partition of Bengal (1905)|Partition of Bengal]], which was ordered by [[George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston|Lord Curzon]].<ref name=":0" /> Revolutionary groups in form of local clubs grew. Anushilan Samitee and Jugantar Party made attempts of arm revolts and assassination of notorious administrators.
* 1918–1947: The movement was further strenghted 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.robinage.com/History/gandhiji-in-mumbai.htm|title=RobinAge: History - Gandhiji's Days in Mumbai|website=www.robinage.com}}</ref> Mahatma Gandhi organized Khadi spinning centres all over the country and branded Khadi spinners as freedom fighters.<ref>{{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}}</ref>
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 Utsavs 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 [[Thoothukudi|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.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

=={{anchor|Legacy and influences|In popular media|Swadeshi After Independence|NHD}}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]]'') was influenced by Gandhi's concept of Swadeshi.<ref>{{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}}</ref>
* On 7 August 2015, [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]] [[Narendra Modi]] commemorated the first annual National Handloom Day in India to promote indigenous [[Loom|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.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

*In 2019 the movie [[Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi]] (film) by [[Kangana Ranaut]] on the Queen, who fought valiantly with English in 1857, vivaciously created khadi ( hand spun fabrics ) in cotton, brocade and paithani were crafted to mark the '''spirit of swadeshi''' with freedom struggle.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kangana Ranaut to promote Khadi fabric through Manikarnika|url= https://www.cinestaan.com/articles/2019/jan/22/18328|access-date=2 Jan 2019|publisher= Cinestaan}}</ref>
* 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'''.<ref>{{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}}</ref>
* On 14 May 2020 Home Minister [[Amit Shah]] announced that all [[Central Armed Police Force]] (CAPF) canteens across the country from June 1 will mandatory stock all goods amounting to around Rs 2800 crore from '''Swadeshi brands'''.
* 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref>
* In July 2020 '''Digital Atamnirbhar Bharat App Inovation Challenge'''announced CaptionPlus, Meme Chat and FTC Talent as winners for mobile in entertainment category followed by Logically and IsEqualTo in news and Hitwicket Superstars, ScarFall and WCC2 in games categories respectively. These are Made-in-India mobile applications among 24 which have been declared as winners under Digital India initiative.
*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.<ref>{{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}}</ref>
*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 August 7 "When the '''Swadeshi movement''' was launched years ago, many of our artisans were associated with it."<ref>{{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}}</ref>
*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.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

==See also==

* [[Autarky]] – A country, state, or society that is economically independent
* [[Continental Association]]
* [[Juche]] – The North Korean philosophy of self-reliance
* [[Khadi and Village Industries Commission]]
* [[National Charkha Museum]]
* [[Rajiv Dixit]]
* [[Sarvodaya]]
* [[Self-determination]]
* [[Stand-Up India]]
* [[Startup India]]
* [[Swadeshi Jagaran Manch]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==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)
*{{cite journal|last=Trivedi|first=Lisa N.|date=February 2003|title=Visually Mapping the 'Nation': Swadeshi Politics in Nationalist India, 1920-1930|journal=The Journal of Asian Studies|publisher=Association for Asian Studies|volume=62|issue=1|pages=11–41|doi=10.2307/3096134|jstor=3096134}}

==External link==
*{{Wiktionary-inline}}

{{Indian independence movement}}
{{Bal Gangadhar Tilak}}
{{Bengal Renaissance|swadesi andolan=people}}
{{Gandhi}}

[[Category:Economic nationalism]]
[[Category:Gandhism]]
[[Category:Indian independence movement]]
[[Category:Rural community development]]

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Swadeshi movement