Swadeshi movement was launched as a protest movement which also gave a lead to the Boycott movement in the country.⁣
⁣
After bengal partition, the movement had spread across the country and people had started anti-partition and anti-colonial movements. In Andhra Pradesh, the Swadeshi movement was also known as Vandemataram movement.⁣
⁣
The movements included using goods produced in India and burning British-made goods. Boycott of foreign goods was first suggested by Krishna kumar mitra through his journal ‘sanjivni’.⁣
⁣
Bal Gandadhar Tilak encouraged Swadeshi and Boycott movement after the British government decided the partition of Bengal.⁣
⁣
People fasted, bathed in the Ganga and walked barefoot in processions singing Bande Mataram (which spontaneously became the theme song of the movement). People tied rakhis on each other’s hands as a symbol of unity of the two halves of Bengal.⁣
⁣
The boycott had gone so deep into the Bengali society that pujaris refused to use imported sugar in pujas and cobblers refused to repair imported shoes.⁣ Women refused to wear foreign bangles. Washer man refused to wash foreign clothes.⁣
⁣
The import of cigarettes fell by 50% while that of shoes fell by 75%. Clearly, the unfair British trade, which had crushed native Indian industries using unfair competition laws, was badly hit by the Swadeshi movement. ⁣
⁣
Some of the Muslims participated—Barrister Abdul Rasul, Liaqat Hussain, Guznavi, Maulana Azad. But most of the upper and middle class Muslims stayed away or, led by Nawab Salimullah of Dacca.⁣
⁣
In respose to movements, the cry of Bande Mataram was forbidden by government. They put control on press through Newspaper act and extremist leaders Lal, Bal, Pal & Aurobindo Ghosh were imprisoned and deported.⁣