Swadeshi in the Diamond Jubilee Year of India's Freedom

'Swadeshi' is an ancient concept of India, roots of which could be found in the mentions of ancient scriptures and even ideas of sages, saints and great men of the Vedic age.

- Dr. Ravindra Kumar

On the basis of indigenous ideas and policies, sources-resources, with the purpose of greater welfare and pride of the people, production and manufacturing of goods in the country and their use by the countrymen, is the basic spirit of Swadeshi.

Swami Dayanand 'Saraswati', one of the leading fathers of India's renaissance era, put forward before compatriots his clear and concrete views regarding the importance of Swadeshi and the respectful reconstruction of the country on its strength while rejecting the use of foreign goods. For this, along with awakening the national consciousness, he wished for Swarajya in accordance with the basic spirit of Indian philosophy; the basis of Swarajya should be indigenous resources and the countrymen its maker'. Swami Dayanand Saraswati' also worked throughout his life in this direction. Thoughts and actions related to his socio-religious reforms, cultural renaissance, ideas, and works in the field of education, and economic prosperity of India through indigenous sources were purely related to his vision of Swadeshi. Accordingly, similar thoughts and actions of Swami Vivekananda and other contemporary social reformers, thinkers, and nationalists can be seen and understood very well even today.

After the partition of Bengal by Curzon in the year 1905 AD, a nationwide effective Swadeshi Movement was started under the front-ranking leaders and nationalists like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lajpat Rai, Aurobindo Ghosh, and Rabindranath Tagore between the years 1905 and 1911 AD. The purpose of the Swadeshi Movement was to awaken the spirit of Swadeshi among the countrymen. On the basis of nationalist ideas, Indians were to be prepared for the production-manufacturing and use of goods in the country itself, so that the dependence on foreign goods could be minimised. At the same time, increasing self-reliance through this could also pave the way for the freedom of the nation from colonial rule.