Swadeshi Movement in Bengal

The Swadeshi Movement was a successful movement during the Pre-Gandhian era that emerged as an outcome of the Partition of Bengal, which was opposed by the Moderates. It started in 1905 when a formal proclamation was made at Calcutta Townhall to boycott goods such as Manchester cloth and Liverpool salt. The movement spread from Bengal to other parts of India like Poona, Bombay, Punjab, Delhi, and Madras. The Indian National Congress (INC) supported the Swadeshi Movement, but the radical nationalists wanted the movement to go beyond just the boycott of foreign goods. The Extremists or the Garam Dal gained a dominant influence over the Swadeshi Movement from 1905 to 1908, and important leaders of this Radical group were Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and Bipin Chandra Pal (Lal-Bal-Pal). The movement resulted in a significant decline in foreign imports, and the growth of extreme nationalism, and forced the British dispensation to offer some concessions to Indians in the form of Morley-Minto reforms in 1909. The movement also led to the establishment of Swadeshi institutions, including the Bengal National College and a number of national schools and colleges in various parts of the country.