Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Swadeshi and Boycott

The most important propagators of Swadeshi and Boycott movement were the young men of Bengal coming vastly from the student community. It was they who, working under the banner of Bande Mataram. After the publication of the Government proclamation on Partition on 1 Sept., to be effective on 16 October , the Boycott-Swadeshi Movement gained a renewed zeal and fervour. The Samitis and their branches at various mofussil centres such as Bandhab Samity of Barisal, Surhid Samity of Mymensingh etc.and numerous volunteer organisations newly formed devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the task of propagation and implementation of of Swadeshi "even at a sacrifice". The members of the Dawn society (1902-1907)and those of the Bande matarram Sampradaya (1905-1907)were zealous prechears so far as Calcutta concerned. The Sampradaya formed for this very purpose strolled the streets of Calcutta and the suberbs every Sunday singing Bande Mataram in which many patrons, patriots, and poets also joined including Dwijendralal Roy and Rabindranath Tagore. Both Calcutta and Mofussils observed 16 October, the day of bengal Partition, as a daay of national mourning, wearing black badges  and performing A-Randhan ( no cooking)and Rakhi-bandhan, symbol for women participation and national unity. In the evening a solemn Proclamation, prepared by the aged and ailing leader Ananda Mohan  Bose, was adopted at a huge gathering on the of the present Federation hall, calcutta.    
A landmark in the march of the movement was reachesd in October , 1905 when the repressive Carlyle Circular (10 October)was issued threatening students with expulsionfrom schools and stoppage of scholarships or concessions for participation in swadeshi meetings and processions.As the mofussils students in  defiance of the Carlyle Circular joined inlarge numbers in meetings on 1 November to read the proclamation they stood face to face with expulsions and other punishments.To fight against the Carlyle Circular, a National School at Rangpuron 8th November, 1905 and formed a national Council of Education, Bengal (11 march 1906). A large number of schools were also established. A National College was established at 166 Bowbazar Street with Aurobindo Ghose as its Principal and Satish Chandra Mukherjee as Superintendant.  This was expressed in Jatiya Vidyalaya written by Rabindranath.