The word ‘swadesi’ conjunction of two Sanskrit words.

‘Swa’ means ‘self’ or ‘own’ and ‘desa’ means

country, so ‘swadesa’ means ‘own country’, and ‘swadesi’, the adjectival form, means ‘of one’s own
country’. The opposite of ‘swadesi’ in Sanskrit is ‘videsi’ or ‘not of one’s country’.

The word Swadeshi had many connotations in Gandhi’s thought : economic, political, cultural and
philosophical. It is central to Gandhi’s philosophy, which in effect, means self-sufficiency.

Swadeshi was one of the most important pillars of Gandhi’s movement against the British in India. He
propagated that economic Swaraj is essential for political Swaraj. Gandhi believed that India had lost
political control due to losing the control over its economy. In his exhaustive treatise ‘Hind Swaraj’ he
devotes acomplete chapter ‘Why was India lost?’. This chapter gives an economic argument for the
enslavement of India by the British. It further goes on to give Gandhi’s vision for a good economic
system. Gandhi’s concept of Swaraj included economic Swaraj which was not separated from human
condition in its totality.

For Gandhi political Swaraj would not work without bringing about an economic Swaraj. For Gandhi
economic development was related to the concept of Swaraj. Economic dependence does not allow
individuals or nations to formulate and take decisions for themselves (Swaraj).

Swadeshi as a movement encouraged domestic production of commodities and boycott of foreign

goods. In a political sense it defended indigenous institutions. In religion it meant protection of one’s
ancestral religion and traditions. Gandhi was in favour of keeping all the good from these spheres and
keeping away the defects. The revitalization of the spirit and soul of India was essential to promote
national unity. In this Gandhi was wholly inspired by the thoughts of Swami Vivekananda and Swami
Dayananda.

Gandhi considered that much of the deep poverty of the masses was due to the ruinous departure from
Swadeshi in the economic and industrial life. In the spirit of Swadeshi, Gandhi’s idea of economy is self-
supportive and self-contained. Swadeshi, as a strategy, was a key focus of Gandhi and he described it as
the soul of Swaraj (self-rule). Swadeshi was a concept formulated in search of making a nation against
the colonial British India. Swadeshi assigned national meaning to territory, economy and culture.

During the freedom struggle Swadeshi movement swept through India and it was a common sight in
cities and villages to see women burning their sarees made out of imported material and breaking their
beloved glass bangles as theywere manufactured in Britain. These raging bonfires heralded the
beginning of the end of the British Empire in India. Swadeshi movement aimed to achieve Swaraj by
establishing India’s economic self-sufficiency from Britain.

SWADESHI: SELF-RELIANCE

Generally, the idea of Swadeshi in Gandhian philosophy means local self-reliance and use of local
knowledge and abilities. Swadeshi (Self-reliance) is mainly understood to mean a protectionist
technique that Gandhi employed against the mercantile policies of the British, whereby the masses were
urged to abstain from cloth manufactured outside India, and instead to use cotton, silk, or wool cloth
made in India. But Gandhi gives it a broader meaning: Swadeshi carries a great and profound meaning. It
does not mean merely the use of what is produced in one’s own country. That meaning is certainly there
in Swadeshi, but there is another meaning implied in it which is far greater and much more important.
Swadeshi means reliance on our own strength. Reliance on our own strength means the strength of our
body, our mind, and our soul.

Gandhi believed that alienation and exploitation often occur when production and consumption are far
removed from their social and cultural context, and that local enterprise is a way to avoid these
problems. To renew India’s vitality and regenerate its culture, Gandhi had a vision of free India that was
not a nation-state but a confederation of self-governing, self-reliant, self-employed people living in
village communities, deriving their right livelihood from the products of their homesteads. Maximum
economic and political power-including the power to decide what could be imported into or exported
from the village-would remain in the hands of the village assemblies. Gandhi believed that in India,
people have lived for thousands of years in relative harmony with their surroundings: living in their
homesteads, weaving homespun clothes, eating homegrown food, using home-made goods; caring for
their animals, forests, and lands; celebrating the fertility of the soil with feasts; performing the stories of
great epics, and building temples.

In defense of the concept of Swadeshi Gandhi said that, “although it is inclusive and appears to serve
India to the exclusion of every other country, it is certainly not competitive or antagonist in nature.”

SWADESHI: AN ECONOMIC PHILOSOPHY

Gandhi’s Swadeshi is an economic doctrine. It proposes not only self-reliance and usage of indigenous
skills and knowledge systems, but also propagates simple living and one’s own dignity. In the times of
globalization, market-oriented and commercialized life, Swadeshi has its contemporary relevance.

Gandhi believed that Swadeshi is in realizing self-reliance and self-governance (Swaraj). In that sense his
politics of spirituality has not only internalized the essence of material production and labour, but also
proves that he is a pragmatic philosopher. The practice of economic philosophy of Swadeshi had direct
hit on British Empire and its economy.

Gandhi did not stop at just proposing the ideas of the Swadeshi movement but gave practical ideas to be
followed in day to day living-khadi, village decentralization, trusteeship, bread and labour etc. It is not as
if Gandhi was against science and technology. He accepted that the use of articles manufacturedonly in
India could have limitations. He was of the view that exclusion of foreign goods did not mean forsaking
everything essential. He himself admitted that he bought useful items. He agreed that surgical
instruments made in England were required, similarly, pins and pencils from Austria and watches from
Switzerland. Yet, he would never buy cotton fabric from England or Japan. Anything which is produced in
India and consumed by Indians benefits the masses of India.

Gandhi said, “A certain degree of physical comfort is necessary but above a certain level it becomes a
hindrance instead of a help; therefore the ideal of creating an unlimited number of wants and satisfying
them, seems to be a delusion and a trap. The satisfaction of one’s physical needs must come at a certain
point to a dead stop before it degenerates into physical decadence.”

The British believed in centralized, industrialized, and mechanized modes of production. Gandhi on the
other hand believed in a decentralized, homegrown, hand-crafted mode of production. He said, “Not
mass production, but production by the masses.” Mass production is only concerned with the product,
whereas production by the masses is concerned with the product, the producers, and the process.

In Gandhi’s Swadeshi economy, village economy and local industry (cottage industries) played an
important role. He aimed at self-sufficiency of the village community. According to his principle of
Swadeshi, whatever is made or produced in the village must be used first and foremost by the members
of the village.

Swadeshi meant avoiding economic dependence on external market forces that would make the village
community vulnerable. It also meant avoiding unnecessary, unhealthy, wasteful, and therefore
environmentally destructive production methods. The village must build a strong economic base to
satisfy most of its needs, and all members of the village community should give priority to local goods
and services. Every village community of free India should have its own carpenters, shoemakers, potters,
builders, mechanics, farmers, engineers, weavers, teachers, bankers, merchants, traders, musicians,
artists, and priests. In other words, each village should be a microcosm of India-a web of loosely inter-
connected communities. Gandhi considered these villages so important that he thought they should be
called village republics. The village community according to him should be an extension of the family
rather than a group of competing individuals.

Gandhi’s dream was not of personal self-sufficiency, not even family self-sufficiency, but the self-
sufficiency of the village community. Gandhi saw each village as a self-reliant unit. He was more inclined
towards development of cottage industries and not large-scale industrialization. He felt a decentralized
economy would negate exploitation of labour and corruption. He always espoused that there are
abundant resources in nature for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed. Gandhi believed that
decentralisation was essential for the survival of democracy.

Gandhi preferred the decentralisation of small units of production as compared to the setting up of
large scale units in few places. He wanted to carry the production units to the homes of the masses,
particularly in villages. Cottage and village industries help increasing employment. Commodities can be
produced cheaply as there is no need for a separate establishment; very few resources are needed.
There is no problem of storage. Transport cost is negligible. Integration of cottage industries with
agriculture provides work to the farmers in the off season time. This helped in utilizing all their energies
which would have otherwise have been wasted. In fact, these industries are best suited for a rural life.
These industries increase the income of the villages and satisfy their basic needs. According to Gandhi
this would help in the removal of poverty and unemployment from the villages and also make them self-
sufficient economic units.

Gandhi wanted the people to adopt the principle of production by the masses, as through this method
village communities would be able to restore dignity to the work done by human hands. There is an
intrinsic value in anything we do with our hands, and in handing over work to machines we lose not only
the material benefits but also the spiritual benefits, for work by hand brings with it a meditative mind
and self-fulfillment. Gandhi believed that with the continuous use of artificial machinery people will
forget the use of their hands. They will become weak and dependent on these machines and it would be
a grave tragedy.

Gandhi strongly believed that a locally based economy would enhance community spirit, community
relationships, and community well-being. Such an economy would encourage mutual cooperation. Mass
production leads people to leave their villages, their land, their crafts, and their homesteads and go to
work in the factories. Instead of become self-sufficient, dignified human beings and members of a self-
respecting village community, people become cogs in the machine, standing at the conveyor belt, living
in shanty towns, and depending on the mercy of their rich employers.

According to Gandhi, when every individual becomes an integral part of the community; when the
production of goods is on a small scale; when the economy is local; and when homemade handicrafts
are given preference, it is the real Swadeshi. These conditions are conducive to a holistic, spiritual,
ecological, and communitarian pattern of society.

“My idea of village swaraj (self-rule) is that it is a complete republic, independent of its neighbours for
its own vital wants, andyet interdependent for many others in which dependence is a necessity.”

SWADESHI MOVEMENT

Initially the idea of Swadeshi was reflected in the writings of early nationalists such as Dadabhai Naoroji,
Mahadev Govind Ranade and Bipin Chandra Pal, who stood up in defense of the national economy
against the colonial economy.

The Swadeshi movement assumed its radical and mass form after 1905 following the partition of Bengal.
In 1907, Swadeshi was officially incorporated within the conceptual and ideological framework of the
Indian National Congress as the avowed objective of Swadeshi and Swaraj. The partition of Bengal
created widespread resentment all over the country. In this tense atmosphere people started boycotting
foreign made goods and British institutions, and thus began the Swadeshi movement.

Historically Swadeshi was linked to the other categoriessuch as national economy, territory and culture.
Swadeshi literally meaning one’s own country, aimed at the promotion of indigenous industries. Along
with Swadeshi, the boycott of British goods was organized.

The Swadeshi and boycottwere powerful instruments directed against foreign rule. The nationalists
alongmeith the masses wanted to attack the British rule where it would hurt them the most. About
Swadeshi, Lajpat Rai said, “I regard it as a salvation of my country. The Swadeshi movement ought to
teach us how to organize our capital, resources, labour, energies, talents for the greatest good of all
Indians irrespective of creed, colour or caste. It ought to unite us, our religious and denominational
differences notwithstanding. In my opinion, Swadeshi ought to be the common religion of united India.”
He explained that boycott struck at the prestige of the British government.
In Gandhi’s ‘Hind Swaraj’ of 1909 Swaraj, Satyagraha and Swadeshi are key principles. To realize the
Swaraj, Gandhi believed that the ideal of Swadeshi was necessary in every sense. Gandhi took Swadeshi
to another level by making it a powerful political movement with mobilization of masses. Gandhi
created a new form of Swadeshi politics that encouraged the production and exclusiveconsumption of
‘Khadi’.

Gandhi’s Swadeshi is a call to the consumers to be aware of the destruction he/she is causing by
supporting those industries that are forerunners in causing poverty, harm to workers and to humans
and other creatures. Indian nationalists believed that the cause of their economic woes were wholly due
to the British colonization of India. Swadeshi was a nationalist movement to boycott British goods and to
buy Indian goods.

Historically, the Indian local economy was dependent upon the most productive and sustainable
agriculture and horticulture and on pottery, furniture making,metal work, jewellery, leather work, and
many other economic activities. But its base had traditionally been in textiles. Each village had its
spinners, carders,dyers, and weavers who were the heart of the village economy. However, when India
was flooded with machine-made, inexpensive, mass-produced textiles from Lancashire (England), the
local textile artists were rapidly put out of business, and the village economy suffered terribly. Gandhi
thought it essential that the cloth. Due to his efforts, hundreds of thousands of untouchables and caste
Hindus Swadeshi joined together to discard the mill-made clothes imported from England or fromcity
factories and learned to spin their own yarn and weave their own cloth. The spinning wheel became the
symbol of economic freedom, political independence, and cohesive and classless communities. The
weaving and wearing of homespun cloth became a mark of distinction for all social groups.

KHADI: A SYMBOL OF ECONOMIC

SUFFICIENCY

The term Swadeshi had both economic and political dimensions in India’s struggle against British
colonialism. For Gandhi, it was centered on handspun khaddar and extended to everything that could be
produced indigenously by rural masses.

‘Khadi’ emerged as a symbol of Swadeshi. The Swadeshi workers explained the significance of khadi to
the people of nation through various forms. Khadi was portrayed as the material artifact of the nation,
which is a traditional product and produced by traditional means. Gandhi’s nationalist movement made
khadi an exhaustive concept by defining its significance in terms of contemporary politics and economics
of Swadeshi.

The propagators of Swadeshi effectively transformed a common object of everyday life, homespun,
home-woven cloth, into the absolute symbol of the Indian community. Khadi become a visual symbol as
it marked individual bodies as distinctly Indian in relation to visual symbols of regional, religious, caste
and class identification. Khadi became both a symbol of India’s potential economic self-sufficiency and
an effective medium for communicating to the British the dignity of the Indians and the unity among
them.
The concept of Gandhi’s Swadeshi gave preference to local products even if, they are of inferior grade or
expensive than things manufactured elsewhere and tried to resolve the problems of local
manufacturers. Gandhi’s Swadeshi did not imply rejection of all foreign goods just because they are
foreign, and to go on wasting national time and money in the promotion of manufactures of
one’scountry for which it is not suited. This would be wrong and against the Swadeshi spirit. In the
Swadeshi economic order there will be healthy exchange of products and not cut-throat competition
through the play of market forces. The guiding principle that he laid down in respect of all foreign goods
was that those things should not be imported which were likely to prove harmful to the interests of the
indigenous industry.

Gandhi found khadi as the necessary and most important corollary of the principle of Swadeshi in its
practical application to society. Gandhi stressed the importance of the development of Khadi industry.
For Gandhi, khadi was the symbol of unity of Indian humanity of its economic freedom and equality and
Swaraj. He believed that the development of Khadi industry would save millions of people from hunger
and poverty. Gandhi advocated the use of charkha and the ‘Charkha’ was considered to be the symbol
of non-violence. His slogan was ‘Swaraj through spinning’.

SWADESHI: A RELIGIOUS IDEA

Gandhi linked up his idea of Swadeshi to religion. Swadeshi according to him was not an isolated
economic and political principle of his philosophy. It was very much connected to his philosophy of
spiritualism and religion. Gandhi considered economic Swadeshi not as a boycott movement undertaken
because of revenge, but as a religious principle to be followed by all. Swadeshi, he believed was a
religious principle to be undertaken with complete disregard to the physical discomfort caused to
individuals. A person conforming to the ideas of Swadeshi will learn to do without a hundred things
which today he considers necessary.

According to Gandhi, Swadeshi in religion teaches one to measure the glorious past and re-enact it in
the present generation. He explained that the chaos that was going on in Europe at the time showed
that modern civilization represented forces of evil and darkness, whereas the ancient, i.e., the Indian
civilization,represented in its essence, the divine force. Modern civilization was chiefly materialistic,
destructive, as compared to the Indian civilization which was chiefly spiritual. Swadeshi is intimately
related to Hindu religion. For Gandhi, Hindu religion was inclusive, tolerant and reformative. In that
sense Gandhi’s Swadeshi withholds the tradition of Hindu religion.

The broad meaning of Swadeshi is ‘the use of all homemade things to the exclusion of foreign things’.
But, this is too broad a definition of Swadeshi as the use of homemade things to the exclusion of foreign
things is recommended only under one condition, only when such a use is necessary for the protection
and growth of home industry. If the use of foreign things is beneficial, and does not adversely affect the
cottage industry, then, Swadeshi will not be insisted upon. Gandhi was aware that even Swadeshi, like
any other good thing, ‘can be ridden to death if it is made a fetish’. That is a danger that must be
avoided. To reject foreign manufacturers merely because they are foreign and to go on wasting national
time and money in trying to promote such manufactures for which the country is not suited would be a
folly and a negation of the spirit of Swadeshi.

Swadeshi, therefore, is not a narrow parochial doctrine, on the other hand, it is based on the recognition
of human limitations and capacity for work and service. We have to provide food, work and employment
to our immediate neighbours, and therefore, we shall have to work for what can guarantee these to all
of us.

The doctrine of Swadeshi, therefore, is a doctrine employed for the protection of indigenous industries.
It, in no way, suggests that the use of foreign goods must be discarded at all cost.

Swadeshi is one of the central principles of Gandhi’s philosophy. Gandhi realized Swaraj through
Swadeshi. Swadeshi was an ideal concept of totalizing territorial nativism by connecting national
economy, territory and culture. Gandhi’s Swadeshi is always in defense of indigenous skills, local
knowledge systems, Swadeshi cultural traditions and village economy. Swadeshi meant self-sufficiency
of the home through revitalization in all its aspects.

Through Swadeshi, Gandhi was successful in uniting the economic struggles with nationalist movement.
Gandhienvisaged an organic and political society characterized by economic self-sufficiency and social
harmony. The Swadeshi worker not only symbolizes charkha and khadi but also lives in simplicity and
spirituality. In Gandhi’s Swadeshi, economics would have a place but would not dominate society. The
Swadeshi economics is based on the principle of non-possessiveness, whereas capitalism is based on
possessiveness. It is believed that beyond a certain limit,economic growth becomes detrimental to
human well-being. Gandhi’s principle of Swadeshi has much relevance in the contemporary times of
globalization.