The Swadeshi and Boycott Movement emerged from the opposition to the 1905 partition of Bengal. This movement fostered Indian nationalism by advocating the boycott of British goods and promoting self-reliance. It marked the beginning of militant nationalism in India, with leaders like Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai playing key roles. The movement spread across India, influencing the Indian National Congress's position and intensifying the struggle for self-governance, ultimately leading to a significant phase in India's independence movement.
British Decision: Announced in December 1903, the partition aimed to create two provinces: Bengal (Western Bengal with Bihar and Orissa) and Eastern Bengal with Assam. Calcutta remained the capital of Bengal, while Dacca became the capital of Eastern Bengal.
Official Reasons: The official reason was the administrative difficulty of managing a large Bengal population (78 million). Another reason was the development of Assam under direct government jurisdiction.
Real Motive: The actual motive was to weaken Bengal, a center of Indian nationalism, by dividing Bengalis:
Linguistic Basis: Reducing Bengalis to a minority within Bengal itself.
Religious Basis: Creating a Hindu majority in Western Bengal and a Muslim majority in Eastern Bengal.
Attempt to Woo Muslims: Viceroy Curzon suggested that Dacca could be the capital of a new Muslim-majority province, appealing to Muslim communalists to counter the Congress and the national movement.
Leadership: Key leaders included Surendranath Banerjea, K.K. Mitra, and Prithwishchandra Ray.
Methods: Petitions to the government, public meetings, memoranda, and propaganda through pamphlets and newspapers (Hitabadi, Sanjibani, Bengalee).
Objective: The aim was to prevent the partition through pressure from educated public opinion in India and England.
Protests: Despite public opposition, the government announced the partition in July 1905. Protests erupted in Bengal, where the boycott of foreign goods was first pledged.
Swadeshi Movement Proclamation: On August 7, 1905, the formal proclamation of the Swadeshi Movement occurred during a massive meeting in Calcutta Townhall. The boycott of Manchester cloth and Liverpool salt was propagated.
October 16, 1905: The day the partition was enforced, observed as a day of mourning. People fasted, bathed in the Ganga, and marched barefoot singing "Bande Mataram". Rabindranath Tagore's "Amar Sonar Bangla" was sung by crowds.
Spread of the Movement: The movement spread to other parts of India: Poona and Bombay (under Tilak), Punjab (under Lala Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh), Delhi (under Syed Haider Raza), and Madras (under Chidambaram Pillai).
Indian National Congress (1905): Under Gokhale’s leadership, Congress condemned the partition and supported the anti-partition and Swadeshi Movement.
Militant Nationalists' Views: Led by Tilak, Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal, and Aurobindo Ghosh, they wanted the movement to extend beyond Bengal and escalate into a mass political struggle for swaraj.
Moderates' Resistance: The Moderates, dominating Congress, were reluctant to expand the movement.
Calcutta Congress Session (1906): Under Dadabhai Naoroji, Congress declared its goal as "self-government or swaraj" similar to the United Kingdom, Australia, or Canada.
Surat Session (1907): The dispute between Moderates and Extremists led to a split in Congress, affecting the Swadeshi Movement.
Students participated in large numbers to promote and practice swadeshi, leading efforts in organizing picketing of shops selling foreign goods.
The participation was especially notable in Bengal, Maharashtra (particularly in Poona), and several parts of South India including Guntur, Madras, and Salem.
Repression by the police was common, with schools and colleges facing penalties such as disaffiliation or loss of grants if their students participated in the movement.
Students involved in the movement faced consequences such as disqualification from government jobs or scholarships, and disciplinary actions including fines, expulsion, arrests, and beatings.
Women, traditionally focused on home, especially those from the urban middle classes, actively participated in processions and picketing during the movement.
This marked the beginning of a significant role for women in the Indian national movement, which continued in subsequent years.
Some Muslims, such as Barrister Abdul Rasul, Liaqat Hussain, Guznavi, and Maulana Azad (who joined a revolutionary terrorist group), participated in the movement.
However, most upper and middle-class Muslims stayed away or supported the partition, led by Nawab Salimullah of Dacca, believing it would benefit them by creating a Muslim-majority East Bengal.
The British government encouraged the formation of the All India Muslim League on December 30, 1905, as an anti-Congress front, with reactionary leaders like Nawab Salimullah of Dacca.
The nature of the Swadeshi Movement, with leaders evoking Hindu festivals and goddesses for inspiration, tended to exclude Muslims from the movement.
Early strikes were organized on issues such as rising prices and racial insults, primarily in foreign-owned companies.
In September 1905, over 250 Bengali clerks of the Burn Company in Howrah went on strike to protest against derogatory work regulations.
In July 1906, a strike by workers in the East Indian Railway led to the formation of a Railwaymen’s Union.
Between 1906 and 1908, strikes in the jute mills were frequent, sometimes involving all 18 mills.
Subramania Siva and Chidambaram Pillai led strikes in a foreign-owned cotton mill in Tuticorin and Tirunelveli. Lala Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh led strikes by arsenal and railway workers in Rawalpindi (Punjab).
By the summer of 1908, labour unrest had subsided due to strict government action.
Movements in support of Bengal’s unity and the Swadeshi and boycott agitation were organized in many parts of the country.
Tilak played a leading role in spreading the movement outside Bengal, viewing it as a new chapter in the history of the national movement.
He saw this as an opportunity to organize popular mass struggle against British rule and unite the country in a bond of common sympathy.
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