The Swadeshi Movement


 
 
Concept Explanation
 

The Swadeshi Movement

The SWADESHI MOVEMENT

The Swadeshi Movement in Bengal in the first decade of 20th century was centrally linked to the politics of clothing. The British first came to trade in Indian textiles that were in great demand all over the world. The Industrial Revolution in Britain which mechanized spinning and weaving and greatly increased the demand for raw materials such as cotton and indigo changed India's status in the world economy.

Political control of India helped the British in two ways. Indian peasants were forced to grow crops like indigo and cheap British manufacture easily replaced coarser Indian products. Large number of Indian weavers and spinners were left without work. Important textile weaving centers, like Murshidabad, Machilipatnam and Surat declined as demand fell.

EFFECTS OF PARTITION OF BENGAL ON SWADESHI MOVEMENT

In 1905, Lord Curzon decided to partition Bengal to control the growing opposition to British rule. The Swadeshi Movement developed in reaction to this measure.

People were urged to boycott British goods of all kinds and started their own industries for the manufacture of goods, such as match boxes and cigarettes. The use of khadi had become the patriotic symbol. Women were urged to throw away their silk saris, glass bangles and wear simple shell bangles.

Rough homespun was glorified by the patriotic poems and songs. The change of dress appealed largely to the upper class, rather than the poor. Actually, it was impossible to compete with the cheap machine-made products of Britain by 'Swadeshi' products. Despite its limitations, the experiment with Swadeshi gave Mahatma Gandhi important ideas about using cloth as a symbolic weapon against British rule.

 
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