Swadeshi
Topic: Schools of Economic Thought and Economic Laws · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Swadeshi means "of one's own country". It is the principle of using goods made at home and supporting local industry. During the freedom struggle it became a weapon of economic protest. People boycotted British goods and turned to Indian ones. It was part of wider economic nationalism, and it fed into the planning goal of self-reliance after independence.
Example
The Swadeshi movement of 1905 opposed the partition of Bengal by boycotting British cloth and other goods and promoting Indian products. Gandhi's later promotion of khadi (hand-spun cloth) carried the same idea. Today, the "vocal for local" campaign under Atmanirbhar Bharat (2020) echoes it.
Don't confuse with
- Economic nationalism: this is the broader policy approach, covering tariffs, protection of infant industries and domestic control of capital. Swadeshi is mainly about what consumers choose to buy.