The Swadeshi and Boycott Movement: The Rise of Indian Nationalism and Opposition to Bengal Partition

The Swadeshi and Boycott Movement: Genesis

• The Swadeshi Movement originated from the anti-partition movement, which opposed the British decision to partition Bengal.

Partition of Bengal to Divide People

• 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.

Anti-Partition Campaign Under Moderates (1903-05)

• 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.

Era of Militant Nationalism (1905-1909)

• 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).

The Congress’s Position

• 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

• 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

• 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.

Stand of Muslims

• 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.

Labour Unrest and Trade Unions

• 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.

All India Aspect

• 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.