Swadeshi Movement in India

Introduction:

`Swadeshi Movement’ was complementary to ‘Boycott Movement’. With the boycott of foreign goods the use of `Swadeshi’ or indigenous goods increased. `Swadeshi’ was not altogether a novel idea. In India some eminent personalities preached the idea in the 19th Century. The idea of Swadeshi got a new meaning and a new impetus during the anti-partition movement of 1905.

Swadeshi Industries:

The Swadeshi Movement is considered to be one of the most important movement in India. Under the inspiration of Swadeshi a large number of indigenous industries were set up.

The Banga Laksmi Mill and Mohini Mill, the two textile mills of the Swadeshi era met the demands of Swadeshi cloth in Bengal. The mills of Bombay and Ahmedabad gained an impetus from the Swadeshi movement. Banks, Insurance Companies, ship-building industries, soap industries, sugar mills, match factories, tanaries and pharmaceutical companies were set up in different parts of the country by native industrialists. ‘The Bengal Chemical and Pharmaceutical Company’ was set up under the initiative of Sir P.C. Ray, Dr. Nilratan Sarkar set up the National Soap factory, Jamshedji Tata founded the Tata Iron and Steel Company at Jamshedpur. For the sale of Swadeshi goods many Swadeshi stores were set up in villages and towns. As demand for Swadeshi articles increased the Dawn Society and the Anti-circular Society undertook the voluntary responsibility to supply Swadeshi articles at cost price. Volunteers sold Swadeshi goods, especially cloth, from door to door.Sarala Devi Chaudhurani setup `Lakshmir Bhandar’.The students and youths played an active role to make the Swadeshi movement a success.

Literature and Art:

The Swadeshi movement ushered in a new era in Bengali literature. Poets, dramatists and essayists like Rabindranath Tagore, Rajani Kanta Sen, Dwijendralal Ray, Atulprasad Sen, Kaliprasanna Kavya Visharad, Kshirod Prasad Vidyavinode, Girish Chandra Ghosh, Akshay Kumar Moitra gave a new impetus to nationalist sentiment. Under the inspiration of Sister Nivedita great artists like Abanindranath Tagore, Nandalal Basu and Asit Haldar produced Fine Arts glowing with Nationalist spirit.