Friday

04


October , 2024
Global Human Welfare
00:29 am

Dr. Ravindra Kumar


In the struggle for the freedom of India from British slavery, especially in the first, second and third decade of the Twentieth Century, two words ‘Swarajya’ and ‘Swadeshi’ emerged prominently at the national level. These words in the form of forceful slogans touched the hearts of the countrymen with their basic spirit. Both these words inspired Indians immensely to continuously struggle for the freedom of the nation from foreign slavery.

Swarajya is a Sanskrit word. It is formed by the combination of स्व –Swa (self) and राज्य –Rajya (illuminating). Its objective is to take life to its goal by following indispensable moral values including self-control. Swarajya is in accordance with the basic spirit of the message given by Tathagata Gautama to man about two thousand five hundred years ago for making his life meaningful, “अप्प दीपो भवः –Appa Deepo Bhavah”, i.e., “Be a light unto yourself.”

Swadeshi is also a Sanskrit word. It is formed by the compounding of स्व –Swa (self) and देशी –Deshi, the adjective of देश –Desh. In simple words, it means, ‘of one’s own country’. Both the words –Swarajya and Swadeshi, as already mentioned, became a concrete source of inspiration for the countrymen during the struggle for the freedom of India from British slavery.

These powerful slogans connected millions of Indians with commitment in the national liberation movement under the leadership of Tilak, Gandhi and other prominent leaders of the time. The ideas of independence and self-reliance became deeply ingrained priorities, reflecting the collective sentiments of that time.

Despite this, the basic idea at the root of these words is not confined to India’s independence from imperialists and national prosperity. They are, in fact, rooted in the broader concept of human welfare, making them highly relevant on a global scale. How? This reality will automatically come to the fore in further discussion about the chief source of inspiration of the slogans of Swarajya and Swadeshi during India’s freedom struggle and the awakening that came among the people through them.

Swami Dayananda ‘Saraswati’ was the originator of these slogans, which emerged predominantly in the freedom struggle calling upon the countrymen to determine their own path for self-governance and nation building.

A firm believer in the Indivisible Whole –the Almighty, the All-Protecting and the All-Beneficent God, Swami Dayananda ‘Saraswati’ was a staunch supporter of self-rule, in which everyone was independent, and he could ultimately pave the way for his own progress equally through his own efforts. Swamiji believed that Parameshwara Himself had accorded the freedom to each and every one, man or woman, to make endeavours for his or her upliftment.

He also had a strong desire that the countrymen should work for the prosperity of the nation on the strength of their own resources and labour while preserving their values and culture and keep the pride of the country intact. Maharishi Dayananda ‘Saraswati’ worked till his last breath with the aim of awakening the countrymen for this purpose.

Here it should be understood that though Swami Dayananda ‘Saraswati’ talked about Swarajya and Swadeshi keeping India at the centre, but the basic spirit of his ideas related to Swarajya and Swadeshi was the freedom of all the people of the world. Everyone was to be uplifted equally. In Swamiji’s thoughts, there was no place for anyone’s dependency. No one was deprived of the opportunity for her or his self-illumination –self-upliftment. In the words of Maharishi Dayananda ‘Saraswati’ himself, “We treat the foreigners in the same way as we treat our own countrymen in recognition of our common humanity.” (The Satyarth Prakash: Introduction, Page 3)

It is because of his lofty ideas regarding Swarajya and Swadeshi, Swami Dayananda ‘Saraswati’ became the source of inspiration for national heroes like Dadabhai Naoroji, Ranade, Gokhale, Lajpat Rai, Aurobindo Ghosh, Tagore, Bipin Chandra Paul, Savarkar etc. Here the names of two more contemporaries of Swami Dayananda, Namdhari Sant Ram Singh Kuka and Bankim Chandra Chatterjee are worth mentioning who were the pioneers in inspiring people with the spirit of Swadeshi along with doing social reforms.

In this regard, the two great leaders who were most influenced by Swarajya and Swadeshi ideas of Swami Dayananda ‘Saraswati’ were, as I believe, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi. That is why; Swarajya and Swadeshi remained at the centre of the struggles of Tilak and Gandhi. Tilak struggled for the independence of the country with the call, “Swarajya is my birthright, I shall have it” and Gandhi fought for the freedom of Bharat with the ideological commitment, “Swadeshi is the soul of Swarajya.” Both of them did concrete work in this direction. The pages of the country’s history are a witness to it, and they settled in the hearts of millions of countrymen as the motivators of Swarajya and Swadeshi. Even today they are established as great motivators in this regard.

The basic spirit of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s ideas of Swarajya and Swadeshi, despite some ideological differences, which were natural, was not much different from the views of Swami Dayananda ‘Saraswati’. Lokmanya Tilak, a believer in the Vedanta philosophy and author of a great work like ‘Gita Rahasya’, was a committed supporter of equal progress, natural rights of living a happy life and freedom for all. He declared it to be a high morality. On one occasion he, therefore, said, “Since all living…objects have the same soul (Atman). It is everyone’s natural right to live happily. And, it is unethical if someone ignores this common natural right just because that person or society is superior to another person or society in terms of might, numbers, tools and technology.”

Especially about Swarajya, calling on the countrymen, the Lokamanya made it clear, “The science of political ethics is Swarajya. If political theory takes you back to slavery then we reject it. Politics is the country’s Vedanta. You all have the soul. I am just going to revitalize it.”

It does not matter how much the foreign rule claims for good governance in the name of reforms, it cannot be a substitute for Swarajya. Real progress is not possible without Swarajya. There is no possibility of self-reliance of the people anywhere without Swadeshi. Lokmanya Tilak kept awakening the people with this firm belief; for this, he struggled and worked throughout his life.   

In short, disciplined and self-controlled people should be free from external and internal control and they must be least dependent on the government, this is an idea at the centre of Mahatma Gandhi’s thought of Swarajya. At the same time, Swarajya should touch new dimensions as per the demand of time and space, but for this, the adopted way must be bound by indigenous values, culture and civilization. This was also the viewpoint of Mahatma Gandhi. There is no place for any kind of discrimination in Swarajya; welfare of one and all is its basic spirit and the physically disabled, handicapped and even the blind should have her or his say and participation in it.

According to Mahatma Gandhi, Swadeshi, as mentioned, is the soul of Swarajya. From an economic viewpoint, it includes priority to co-operation with the people (neighbours) in the nearest reach with regard to essential things, production or manufacture of indigenous goods from own resources in place of foreign ones and, along with this, their consumption. Education in one’s own (indigenous) language and by staying connected with national values is everyone’s right. Stepping forward on the strength of indigenous resources and values is, in fact, the best and fruitful path to progress. This is a principle dedicated to love and humanity. In the words of Gandhiji himself, “I would urge that Swadeshi is the only doctrine consistent with the law of humility and love.” It paves the way to equality and follows the principle of morality as well. 

Ultimately, the objective of Swadeshi is to make the countrymen self-reliant. For this, Mahatma Gandhi called on Indians to step forward on the path of Swadeshi so that a strong building of Swarajya could be erected. India could show the way as an ideal example to the whole world.

In essence, we can say with certainty that the thoughts and works related to Swarajya and Swadeshi, whether they are associated with Swami Dayananda ‘Sarswati’ or Lokamanya Tilak, or Mahatma Gandhi, despite being centred on India’s independence and prosperity, eventually remained dedicated to the welfare of one and all in their basic spirit. These thoughts are still relevant for the whole world and inspirational especially for crores of those who are deprived in various ways in both undemocratic and democratic countries –far from achieving equality, freedom, justice and rights.

—  The author is a Padma Shri and Sardar Patel National Awardee Indologist; Former Vice Chancellor of CCS University, Meerut; he is currently the Ombudsman of Swami Vivekananda Subharati University, Meerut (India)

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