• The Swadeshi Movement had its genesis, in the anti-partition movement which was started to oppose the British decision to partition Bengal.
• The Indian National Congress, meeting in 1905 under the presidency of Gokhale, resolved to condemn partition and protest reactionary policies of Curzon and support the swadeshi movement of Bengal

• The militant nationalists led by Tilak, Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal and Aurobindo Ghosh wanted the movement to be taken outside Bengal to other parts of the country and go beyond a boycott of foreign goods to become a full-fledged political mass struggle with the goal of attaining swaraj. But the Moderates, dominating the Congress at that time, were not willing to go that far.

• However, aggressive nationalists forced Dadabhai Naoroji to speak of Swaraj (which was not a Moderate demand) in the Calcutta Session of Congress in 1906
• The Extremist emboldened by Dadabhai Naoroji’s declaration gave a call for passive resistance in addition to swadeshi and boycott of foreign goods
• This included boycott of government schools and colleges, government service, courts, legislative councils, municipalities, government titles, etc.

Swadeshi Movement:

• It was both a political and economic movement
• Involved programmes like the boycott of government service, courts, schools and colleges and of foreign goods
• Promotion of Swadeshi goods
• Promotion of National Education through the establishment of national schools and colleges
• Landlords, Women and students actively participated & Students refused using books made of foreign paper
•  Absence of participation of Peasants as well as industrialists

Government Response:

• The cry of Bande Mataram was forbidden by government
• Restriction on public meetings & suppression of freedom of the press
• Schools & colleges were warned not to allow their students to take part in the movement or else their aid would be stopped
• Students who were found guilty of participation were to be disqualified for government jobs or for government scholarships, and disciplinary action— fine, expulsion, arrest, beating, etc. —was to be taken against them.
• Extremist leaders Lal, Bal, Pal & Aurobindo Ghosh were imprisoned and deported.

Decline of Movement:

• There was severe government repression.
• The movement failed to create an effective organisation or a party structure.
• The movement was rendered leaderless with most of the leaders either arrested or deported by 1908
• The movement largely remained confined to the upper and middle classes and zamindars, and failed to reach the masses—especially the peasantry.