SWADESHI MOVEMENT

Sasanbha Lytan

Q. How did the Swadeshi movement broaden the base of the Indian National Movement?

Q. Critically analyse the major trends within the Swadeshi movement. Do you agree with the view that it ended in
‘anti-climax’? (2015)

Q. Discuss the key issues during the Swadeshi movement in India. To what extent was it a popular movement? (2016)

Q. Discuss the response of different social groups to the partition of Bengal in 1905. (2016 b)

Q. Analyse the reasons leading to the partition of Bengal. Examine the different trends within the Swadeshi
movement. (2018)

The Swadeshi Movement (1905-1908) which was highly significant in the Indian national struggle had its roots in the anti-
partition movement (1903-1905. It was born out of the need for more effective resistance against the partition plan of Bengal
chalked by Lt. Governor Fraser, home Secretary Risley and Lord Curzon between December 1903 and 19th July 1905
when the formal announcement was made.

Bengal was undoubtedly an administratively unwieldy province extending from the Sutlej to Burma. Assam had been
separated in 1874, yet the 1901 census recorded Bengal’s population at 78.5 million, which caused urgency for Partition.
Historians say that till 1903, administrative concerns governed proposals behind Partition. The English originally wanted a
“transfer of territories” and a relief of Bengal and improvement of Assam for their own administrative convenience and not
because of a deliberate ‘divide and rule’ policy as alleged by Nationalist historians. However, Sumit Sarkar shows that
secret official minutes and public speeches of Lord Curzon reveal that post 1903 the Partition was guided by the sole aim of
crushing the rising nationalist tide amongst the politically active Bengalis as Bengal was a Congress stronghold.

The Partition plan announced on the 19th July 1905 made this amply clear as Curzon rejected the linguistic division of
Bengal in favour of dividing it on both communal lines and linguistic lines - by creating a province of East Bengal and
Assam- containing 31 million people (18 million Muslims & 12 million Hindus) and Bengal containing 54 million people
(42 million Hindus & 9 million Muslims). Bengal was also divided on linguistic lines to contain the majority Oriya and
Hindi speaking population. Curzon’s Home Secretary H.H. Risley clearly spelt that “Bengal united is a power. Bengal
divided will pull in different ways.”

The announcement of the plan in 1903 sparked off a huge anti-partition movement carried out by the Moderates till 1905, as
the Government had expected. Bipan Chandra says Moderates aimed to turn public opinion abroad and in India against the
Partition using the intensive use of their traditional methods like – holding protest meetings, petitions, publishing a detailed
critique of Partition through a press campaign in The Bengalee, Hitabandi and large protest meetings at the Calcutta Town
Hall twice (March 1904 and January 1905) calling for Boycott of British goods and Institutions. However the government
remained unnerved. The inefficacy of such methods led to the adoption of new forms such as the boycott of British goods
and appeals for ‘rakhi-bandhan’ & ‘arandhan’ ( suggested by Rabindranath & R. Trivedi).

Swadeshi: (1905-1908):

In July 1905 when the date for partition was announced as 16th October, the Moderate anti partition movement changed
character and now emerged as the Swadeshi movement- led by the new leaders the “Extremists” with novel methods.
This surprised the British and now spread beyond Bengal to Punjab, Maharashtra and Madras.

Sumit Sarkar and S. Bandhopadhyay trace the origins of the Swadeshi movement in Bengal to other factors apart from
the initial spark-Partition of Bengal. They say –

• There was escalating Bengali unity –fostered by new cultural developments- like emergence of modern Bengali literature
under Rabindranath Tagore etc., Calcutta was now a metropolis and united students/professionals from all districts, early
English education and Hindu revivalism fostered self-confidence.

• Secondly, political disappointment with Moderate methods and achievements spurred Swadeshi in order to try new
methods.
• Economic grievances like overcrowding in liberal professions, famines, epidemics (1890s) and rising prices.

• International events like British defeats in Boer War and Russo Japanese War1904-5 boosted the movement.

MAIN TRENDS:

Sumit Sarkar identified four main trends in Bengal Swadeshi- (1) the Moderate Trend,(2)Constructive Swadeshi,
(3)Political Extremism and (4) Revolutionary Terrorism. All trends more or less overlapped between 1905-08, yet one does
see a movement from one to the other.

(1)The Moderate trend –

• It began in 1903 with the announcement of Partition proposals. Moderates initially employed their usual methods of
opposition-prayers, petitions and public meetings but failed to change the Government’s proposals.

• With Partition announcement in July 1905, Moderates methods changed for first time, marking the start of a wider
Swadeshi movement. Moderate, Surendranath Banerjea gave a first time call for Boycott of British goods and
institutions at the Calcutta Town Hall on 7th August 1905.

 On 16th October, the day of the partition, coloured threads were exchanged as symbol of brotherhood and the
hearth kept unlit as a sign of mourning.

• The British cracked down on student picketers with the Carlyle Circular (October 22, 1905) that threatened the
withdrawal of grants, scholarships & affiliations from nationalist dominated institutions. This led to the boycott of
educational institutions and organization of national schools with donations by rich Indians. For the first time Moderates
tried to mobilise non-literate population and thus helped in labour strikes and national education.

 As repression increased, so did differences within the movement in Bengal: some, like Surendranath Banerjea,
considered the boycott a “last desperate effort” to get the partition revoked by injuring the market for Manchester
goods; others saw the movement as a mere stepping stone in the struggle for ‘swaraj’ or complete independence
devising a whole range of new methods. By 16th November 1905, the Moderate leaders who now wanted to take
advantage of the liberal Morley’s appointment as the Secretary of State called off the educational boycott.

Thus, in a way, Moderates’ aims remained limited-to the annulment of Partition and they only saw Boycott a step in that
direction. Nevertheless, Boycott and frustration with the inefficacy of the Moderates led to the growth of other trends such as
the Non-political Constructive Swadeshi, and Political Extremism alongside continuation of Moderate politics.

(2) Constructive Swadeshi:

‘Constructive Swadeshi’ rejected the self-demeaning Moderate politics and stood for self-help or self-reliance or
atmashakti, through the setting up of Swadeshi industries, National schools and village level constructive programmes.

• Initially Bengal Extremists propounded non-political constructive Swadeshi, thus Swadeshi industries were set up like-
The Bengal Chemical factory by Prafullachandra Roy (1893), soap factories, textile mills, etc.

• Within National education Satishchandra Mukherji’s journal Dawn and Dawn Society (1902) played a seminal role and
so did Rabindranath Tagore’s Shantiniketan Ashram.

• In terms of village programmes, Rabindranath Tagore the main ideologue of constructive Swadeshi (1904) planned for
constructive work in villages through the revival of the traditional Hindu ‘samaj’ or community. In 1907, a 1000-village
Samitis or national volunteer organizations were reported in Bengal. Such non-political Constructive programmes often used
Hindu revivalism as a tool of unity- as seen in Rabindranath Tagore’s Hindu Samaj proposal, though Tagore rejected Hindu
revivalism after 1906. However Hindu revivalism was used in a bigger way by some leaders under the trend of political
Extremism.

(3)Political Extremism :

• It emerged around 1906 as young political extremists like Aurobindo Ghosh, Bipin Chandra Pal and Brahmobandhab
Upadhyay were unhappy with the slow peaceful unostentatious development advocated by Constructive Swadeshi.
 • They argued that freedom was essential to national regeneration and thus called for a struggle for Swaraj, in their
journals like Bande Materam, Yugantar and Sandhya.

• The main difference was in new political methods they advocated like- organised boycott that extended beyond British
goods to British education, justice and executive administration and ultimately civil disobedience of unjust laws, social
boycott of loyalists and recourse to armed struggle if British repression escalated. Older methods like modern industries,
national school etc were meant to continue also. Thus Sarkar says that they anticipated future political programme of
Gandhianism minus the dogma of non-violence.

 One of their main aims was mass political mobilization. In their efforts they set up a huge chain of Samitis and
gave novel political leadership to labour unrest.

 Sarkar says one notes that the trend of Hindu Revivalism in the Swadeshi movement cuts across all differences
in political methods. While some leaders embraced this in a major way as a short cut to political mass
mobilization others rejected it out right recognizing its divisive nature. Moderate proponents included
Surendranath Banerjea who advocated Swadeshi vows in temples, national education plan with revivalist
content, etc. Extremists like Aurodhindo Ghosh, Bipin Pal etc insisted on Shivaji Utsav taking the cue from
Tilak in Maharashtra. Yet others such as the Brahmo-edited journals like Sanjivani, post-1907 Radindranath
Tagore and Krishnakumar Mitra’s Anti Circular Society denounced such religious patriotism as divisive.

(4) Revolutionary Terrorism

• Sarkar says by 1907 the mass movement aim of the Political Extremists was being challenged from within their ranks, by
men who called for elite action terrorism or Revolutionary Terrorism.

• He says that by 1908 the methods of Political extremists - Gandhian constructive work and mass Satyagraha proved very
short lived. One saw a return to Moderate politics and the growth of Revolutionary Terrorism.

• Sumit Sarkar says that revolutionary groups began developing as early as 1902 in Midnapur (Midnapur Society) and
Calcutta (e.g. Anushilan Samiti founded by Satishchandra Basu, and the Atmonnoti Samiti and gymnasium founded by
Sarla Ghoshal). Initially their activities were confined to physical and moral training and were insignificant till 1907-08.

• In early years 1905-6 Aurobindo Ghosh’s brother started the newspaper Yugantar which expressed revolutionary ideas and
planned a few attacks – like an attack on East Bengal Lt. Gov Fuller which failed.

• Henchandra Kaunungo went abroad to get revolutionary training from Russian émigré in Paris and returned in 1908 to
set up a religious school and bomb factory in Maniktala, Calcutta.

• With the decline of the Swadeshi movement by mid-1908, Sarkar says revolutionary terrorism emerged as a new trend and
was to constitute the main legacy of the Swadeshi movement as it continued even in other parts of India.

• Revolutionary activities took two shapes

i. Swadeshi dacoitites to raise funds for the movement (e.g.Pulin Das’s Dacca Anushilan Samiti organized the
Barrah dacoity-1908)
ii. Later attempts to assassinate oppressive Government Officials – (1) in 1908 Khudiram Bose and Prafulla
Chaki threw a bomb on the carriage of the Magistrate Kingsford, yet failed to kill him and led to the arrest of the
Maniktala revolutionaries including Aurobindo Ghosh and his brother Barindranath. Chakki shot himself and
Khudiram was tried and hung-with thousands mourning this.
(2) Rash Behari Ghosh and Sachin Sanyal also tried to kill Viceroy Hardinge only managing to wound him. (3)
Even abroad officials were targeted by Revolutionary centres set up by Swadeshi leaders like VD Savakar, Ajit
Singh, Madam Cama.

• Sarkar and Chandra say Revolutionary Terrorist activity outlived the period of Swadeshi, contributing greatly to the
nationalist struggle as it frightened British officials and led to worldwide arms and ideological training contacts.

• However Sarkar cites its main limitations as follows- 1) British administration never saw it as a major danger and the
emphasis on religious doctrines like Gita doctrine of Nishkama to justify terrorist activities, stimulated a cult of martyrdom
rather than an effective planned struggle making these actions spontaneous and futile . 2) Elite terrorist action postponed
efforts at a mass political struggle that was sustainable. 3) Social limitations of Revolutionary terrorism were clear as very
few men joined such terrorist activity

MAIN COMPONENTS OF SWADESHI AND DECLINE DUE TO INTERNAL LIMITATIONS:

A common explanation for the decline in the Swadeshi movement post 1908 has been British repression. However the total
number of people tried during Swadeshi movement till 1909 were a minute-115, with short sentences of 6months-2yrs and
two cases of firing on non-Swadeshi demonstrators. Sarkar analyses the achievements/ main methods/trends of the
movement and each one’s internal limitation that resulted in its decline/ anti-climax.

Boycott and Swadeshi –

• The movement saw great success initially as the Calcutta Customs Collector in September 1905 reported a 22% fall in
imported cotton goods, 44% in cotton yarn, 55% in cigarettes, 68% in shoes as compared to August 1905, due to a boycott
of such goods. The sharpest decline interestingly was in ‘cigarettes and shoes’ – middle class Indian gentlemanly products
reflecting the social base of this movement.

• Sarkar says that this decline in imports was not just due to boycott but more due to a disagreement on trade terms between
Calcutta Marwari dealers and British Merchants and imports picked up once this dispute was settled. Bombay Mill owners
despite Bengali pleas still hiked up their prices in this period.

• Swadeshi was successful as indigenous industries like Handloom, silk weaving etc. were revived. Modern Indian industries
were promoted- e.g. Banga Lakshmi Cotton mills (1906), Calcutta Pottery Works (1906) along with matches, cigarettes
and soap factories etc. Patrons included few big zamindars but mainly professional intelligentsia.

• The main limitation of Swadeshi enterprise was the lack of capital and role of the Indian business community which found
it easier to make money from trade than investment in industry. It was an intelligentsia movement with bourgeoisie
aspirations but no bourgeois support. Thus in the long term, Swadeshi never seriously threatened British economic interests
in Bengal.

National Education

• National education was promoted during the Swadeshi movement to foster self-reliance and saw varied educational
institutions being set up. These included the Bengal Technical Institute for technical education, the Bengal National
College, with Aurobindo Ghosh as principal and scores of national schools across the country.

• In 1906 the National Council of Education was established to organize education on “national lines” with the advocacy
of vernacular education in most institutions.

• According to Sarkar the main limitations of national education were – 1) its negligible job prospects which failed to
attract students 2) little focus on village level education.

• Ultimately what survived were the Bengal National College, Bengal Technical Institute and a dozen national schools in
West Bengal. The largest number of national schools was in East Bengal which aimed to extend education to villages
although in later years they became centres for Revolutionary activity.

Samitis –

• Samitis or National Volunteer organizations were one of Swadeshi’s biggest achievements. Till 1908 Samitis were engaged
in varied activities like-physical and moral training, social work during famines, preaching the Swadeshi message by
organizing craft manufacture, schools, arbitration courts. Bipan Chandra says that Samitis were used for mass
mobilization.

• The most prominent Samiti was Ashwini Kumar Dutt’s Swadesh Bhandav Samiti in Barisal (East Bengal). It had 175
branches in the district and unparalleled mass following amongst mainly Muslim peasants. The Samiti movement was
strongest in East Bengal.

• Samitis were varied in their social base and activities- 1) the Calcutta Anushilan Samiti had a secular social base 2) The
Barisal Swadesh Bhandav had a mass base through humanitarian work, 3) the Dacca Anushilan samiti emphasised
physical training of cadres and used Hindu revivalism.
• Post the summer of 1908, in the face of repression, many Samitis disappeared while some turned into revolutionary
outfits- e.g. Dacca Anushilam Samiti. Another reason for their decline was that many village samitis did not develop
peasant membership but consisted mostly village bhadralok.

Labour Unrest –

• This was due to rising prices during the Swadeshi period, especially in white collar enterprises, which found the support of
Swadeshi leaders.

• Extremist newspapers supported these strikes and some financial aid was also given.

• In Sept 1905, 247 Bengali Clerks of Burn Company-Howrah went on strike and were lauded by the public.

• The main achievement was that the first Labour Union was founded- the Printers Union (1905).

• In 1906 with a strike of Eastern Railways clerks the Railwaymen’s Union was founded and Swadeshi leaders Bipin
Chandra Pal, Liakat Hussain etc, addressed coolies to draw them in.

• Jute strikes peaked between 1905-8 and in 1906 the labour movement was formidable.

• Yet the main limitation of labour movement Sarkar says was that there were no real political strikes as plantation and
mine labourers did not participate and Swadeshi contacts were mainly with white collar clerks or at best jute workers.

These methods were not exclusive to one group- either Moderates, constructive Swadeshi men or political extremists.
However, the aforementioned methods of revolutionary terrorism were used mainly by radical political extremists.

DEVELOPMENT OF SWADESHI MOVEMENT ACROSS THE COUNTRY –

One also saw Swadeshi movement develop in other parts of India especially amongst educated Indians as Curzon’s
repressive measures aroused anger. The shape of the movement differed in various regions-

• Punjab- Swadeshi took the form of Constructive Swadeshi- in banking, education, insurance and some effort at boycott of
foreign cloth led by The College Faction of the Arya Samaj and Brahmo Samaj. Among the Arya Samaj, Swadeshi got
mixed with Hindu revivalism. Between 1904-7 Political Extremism developed under the likes of Lala lajpat Rai, but this
was short-lived and milder than Bengal. Ajit singh was another political extremist who later became a revolutionary terrorist.
Yet by 1907 May in the face of government repression and some political concessions, Swadeshi died down in Punjab.

• Maharashtra- Political Extremism with a dominant Hindu revivalist streak was led by B.G. Tilak he preached Swaraj,
boycott and passive resistance. Two main initiatives of Tilak were mass picketing of liquor shops and development of
contacts with Marathi working class-thus one saw huge militant labour strikes especially when Tilak was put on trial e.g.
Mujli Jatha Market hartal. Police and army fried on labour strikes. Post Tilak’s imprisonment Extremism changed to
revolutionary terrorism with Abhinav Bharat Society, Nav Bharat Society, etc coming up. However, terrorism was never as
formidable as in Bengal.

• Madras Presidency- Political Extremism emerged for a short period in the Andhra delta- M Krisna Rao invited Bipin
Chandra Pal, which excited students and led to start of national schools and one saw cultural developments-new interest in
Telegu language and history. In Tirunelveli district- Chidambram Pillai was the main leader and one saw capitalist funding
Swadeshi ventures which were unique. S. Siva preached Swaraj and botcott. But after the imprisonment of these leaders
Swadeshi declined.

REASONS FOR DECLINE/ANTI CLIMAX -

The Swadeshi Movement peaked around 1906 yet by 1908 most historians agree that it petered out especially in its mass
mobilization, Boycott and Swadeshi aspects. Sumit Sarkar holds the various internal limitations of the primary aspects of
Swadeshi, as mentioned earlier, were responsible for the anti-climax of Swadeshi not being able to develop into a larger
mass movement post 1908. The Gandhian methods it anticipated failed to convert into a sustained mass political struggle.
This was coupled with ineffective centralized leadership.

General Reasons – Nationalist historian Bipan Chandra gives other general reasons for this anti-climax:
1. Firstly government repression began by 1907as the government feared the revolutionary potential of the movements.
Repression included bans on public meeting, Swadeshi students being expelled from government institutions, police
beatings.

2. Due to internal squabbles and especially the Surat Split-1907, the movement’s political leadership was weakened.

3. Because Swadeshi had spread outside Bengal to other areas like Punjab, Maharashtra, Madras yet these regions were not
prepared to adopt new style/stage of politics.

4. Between 1907-08 the Split in Congress and the inability of Swadeshi to take deep roots elsewhere strengthened the
Government and nine prominent Swadeshi leaders from across India were arrested-Bengal- Ashwinikumar Dutt and KK
Mitra, Maharashtra- Tilak, Punjab- Ajit Singh and Lajpat Rai, Madras- Chidambram Pillai. Other prominent leaders like
Bipin Chandra Pal and Aurobindo Ghosh retired from active politics.

5. Swadeshi movement lacked organized leadership despite having most features of Gandhian struggle later to come.

6. The Movement was unable to garner the support of mass of Muslims especially the peasantry- while government
policy was responsible for this so was the use of Hindu revivalism as a method of mass mobilization by certain Extremists.

7. The movement declined due to the very logic of mass movements-i.e. that they can’t be sustained at the same pitch of
militancy/self-sacrifice for long.

LEGACY OF THE SWADESHI MOVEMENT:

Despite the movement ending in a political anti-climax, Sumit Sarkar and Bipan Chandra say it made some important
contributions –

1. It led to various cultural achievements- numerous songs in vernacular were composed by Rabindranath Tagore, Rajat
Kanta Sen etc which inspired later nationalists-e.g. Amar Sonar Bangla. New interest in local history and folk traditions
with Bengali folk music being popularized. In art, Abindranath Tagore founded the Bengal school of Painting shedding off
Victorian art. The scientific work of P.C. Ray was laudable.

2. Revolutionary terrorism was the most substantial legacy of Swadeshi in Bengal which inspired the youth for a
generation after Swadeshi and contributed to the annulment of Partition in 1911.

4. Social base of the movement was broadened-extending to zamindars, lower middle class in cities/small towns and
students. Chandra says that even though Sarkar says peasant participation was negligible, in areas like Barisal, Samitis did
reached the peasants and exposed them to new ideas, even if peasant demands weren’t championed by leaders or peasant
participation wasn’t high

6. It also led to several new techniques of political mass mobilization to be put into use later.Thus, for Chandra, the
movement made a major contribution to the idea of nationalism and he saw it as ‘the first round of the nationalist popular
struggle’.