What was the swadeshi movement?

(4 marks)

How did the Hindus and the Muslims react to the parti ti on? (7)

1) The swadeshi movement was started by the offended Hindus of Bengal with the support of the
Indian Congress. It started on 7th of August in 1905. It was started because the Hindus reacted
furiously to the partition of Bengal and thought that their motherland had been divided and this
was a threat their nationalism, power, and unity. The Hindus started to boycott British goods,
held rallies and conferences against the British, held demonstrations and burned British cloth,
and the students also boycotted British colleges and universities. The Hindu newspapers were
also publishing their feelings of hatred towards the British government.

2) Bengal was partitioned in 1905 due to its huge size because of which it was unorganized and
difficult to administrate. It was also a heavily populated area and because of this strengthened
Hindu nationalism. The British wanted to stop this nationalism to remain under control and
prevent another war.

The Hindus were offended by the partition because they thought that the British were dividing
their motherland using their “divide and rule” policy. They thought that the British were
weakening them by making the Muslims a majority in East Bengal and felt like their power and
nationalism and feared that the British were trying to weaken the Hindus and create disunity
among them. They had started the Swadeshi movement (with the help of the congress) to
express their anger towards the partition. The Hindus were boycotting British goods and instead
buying only Indian manufactured goods. The Congress were organizing strikes and
demonstrations and holding rallies against the British. The students were boycotting their British
colleges and universities and newspapers were publishing their feelings of hatred to provoke the
Hindus so that they can all be a part of the swadeshi movement.

The Muslims were delighted with the partition because their position in Bengal was improved
overnight. The Muslims had finally had a majority as well as their own province in Bengal and no
longer felt oppressed and they had a say in their own province. The Muslims could now get
proper education and build mosques and madrassas and earn money from jobs and live a better
and more peaceful life.