 "The Swadeshi Movement was launched at the Town Hall in Calcutta (now Kolkata, West Bengal), India, on August 7, 1905. File Image")
As part of Firstpost’s History Today series, we take a look at a few events of August 7 focusing on the formal inauguration of the Swadeshi Movement in Calcutta.
We also take a brief look at Philippe Petit’s iconic tightrope walk in New York, George Washington establishing the predecessor to the Purple Heart, and Côte d’Ivoire gaining independence from France.
Launch of the Swadeshi Movement
On August 7, 1905, the Swadeshi Movement was formally proclaimed at a massive meeting held at Calcutta Town Hall.
At this historic gathering, delegates passed a landmark Boycott Resolution calling for the rejection of British goods — especially Manchester cloth and Liverpool salt — and the revival of domestic manufacture.
Swadeshi (“own-country”) represented not just a boycott, but a clarion call for economic self-sufficiency (Atma‑shakti) — a concept later heralded by Mahatma Gandhi as the very “soul of Swaraj”.
In July 1905, the British announced the Partition of Bengal, citing administrative difficulty. In practice, it was aimed at splitting Bengali unity along communal lines — an explicit “Divide and Rule” strategy.
Nationalists, outraged, responded with petitions, press campaigns and protest meetings. But it soon became clear that symbolic opposition was insufficient.
Leaders like Krishnakumar Mitra, through his journal Sanjivani, first proposed a boycott in July; that call gained traction and culminated in the August 7 Town Hall declaration.
At the Town Hall meeting, Mitra’s proposal was formalised: a mass ban on British goods together with pledges to support Indian industry.
The resolution, backed by leading moderates — Surendranath Banerjee, Ananda Mohan Bose, and others — was momentous in shifting the movement from agitation to action.
Immediately after the meeting, leaders travelled across Bengal forming samitis (volunteer associations) to publicise boycott pledges. In small towns and villages, community gatherings became platforms for mass resistance.
Initially, Swadeshi was led by Moderates, who hoped economic pressure might persuade Britain to repeal the partition.
Their tools: petitions, constitutional appeals, press campaigns via Hitabadi, Sanjibani, and Bengalee newspapers, and formal resolutions in local Congress branches.
But as repression intensified — arrests, press bans, and bans on public gatherings — the Extremist wing (the “Garam Dal”) rose in influence.
Patriotic leaders like Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal, Aurobindo Ghosh, and Madan Mohan Malaviya advocated passive resistance, university boycotts, and strong organisational discipline.
The movement became more confrontational and expansive after the Calcutta Congress session of 1906 declared Swaraj (self-rule) as its formal goal.
Examples of methods and mobilisation included:
Picketing shops selling British cloth, public bonfires of imported textiles.
Promotion of Khadi (homespun cotton) and Gramodyog (village industries) as patriotic duty.
Rakhi Bandhan unity rituals (August 16, 1905) symbolising Hindu-Muslim solidarity undermining partition lines.
Mass processions singing “Vande Mataram”, bathing in the Ganges, fasting — public expressions of defiance.
Formation of the National Council of Education (1906), Bengal National College and Technical Institute under Satish Chandra Mukherjee and Aurobindo Ghosh to counter British curriculum reliance.
Indian entrepreneurs started businesses like Bengal Chemicals, Banga Lakshmi Mills, Margo soap factory to provide Swadeshi alternatives to British products.
Swadeshi resonated beyond economics — fostering literary, artistic, and spiritual nationalism.
Rabindranath Tagore composed “Amar Sonar Bangla” in response to partition.
Poet Rajanikanta Sen wrote songs urging Bengalis to accept “coarse cloth offered by your mother” as a symbol of national pride and sacrifice — lyrics that became galvanising.
Universities, clubs like Dawn Society, and cultural forums became centres of nationalist education.
Beyond Bengal, the movement reached other provinces:
Maharashtra: Tilak used Ganapati and Shivaji festivals to mobilise masses.
Punjab: led by Lala Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh.
Madras: under VO Chidambaram Pillai.
Delhi: via Syed Haider Raza.
The British government responded with force as the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 1908, and press censorship (Newspaper Act) suppressed dissent.
As well as violent crackdown on students, arrests of leaders, and bans on singing Vande Mataram under police and Seditious Meetings Act regulations.
Swadeshi shifted Indian National Congress rhetoric from consent-based moderation to demand-led assertion of self-rule.
By 1908, the movement had subsided amid Congress factionalism (Surat Split of 1907), but it laid groundwork for mass movements under Gandhi’s later leadership.
The movement’s core principle — economic self-sufficiency — lives on in modern initiatives such as Khadi festivals, village co-operatives, and the recent Make in India campaign launched on August 7, 2015 — the anniversary of the Swadeshi launch.
Gandhi incorporated Swadeshi into his Satyagraha campaigns; the spinning wheel became symbolic of Indian independence.
Today, August 7 is observed in India as National Handloom Day, celebrating the indigenous textile heritage and honouring the pioneering spirit of the original Swadeshi activists.
Philippe Petit walks between Twin Towers
On August 7, 1974, French high-wire artist Philippe Petit executed one of history’s most audacious performances.
Without authorisation or safety equipment, he walked on a tightrope stretched between the roofs of the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center, roughly 1,350 feet above Manhattan.
For 45 minutes, Petit crossed eight times, danced, knelt, and lay on the wire — captivating a crowd below and cementing the event in performance lore.
Petit planned the stunt over six years — building models, scouting towers, smuggling equipment — and evaded authorities until after completion.
While arrested, he was released after agreeing to perform for children in Central Park. His 1974 walk inspired films like Man on Wire and remains celebrated as “the artistic crime of the century”.
George Washington establishes Badge of Military Merit (Purple Heart)
On August 7, 1782, General George Washington, commanding the Continental Army at Newburgh, New York, established the Badge of Military Merit, an honour worn over the left breast — a purple, heart‑shaped cloth edged in silver.
It recognised “instances of unusual gallantry…extraordinary fidelity…essential service” by enlisted soldiers and non-commissioned officers — a radical departure from tradition where only officers received battlefield recognition.
Only three soldiers received the honor during the US Revolution.
The award was largely forgotten until revived in 1932 as the modern Purple Heart, now the US military’s oldest decoration, awarded to those wounded or killed in service
Côte d’Ivoire Gains independence
On August 7, 1960, Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) officially declared independence from France, ending nearly 67 years of colonial rule.
Under leader Félix Houphouët-Boigny, who had earlier served in the French Parliament, the country transitioned from a French Overseas Territory (from 1958) to full sovereign republic within two years — achieved with minimal conflict relative to its neighbours.
Celebrated annually as national independence day, Côte d’Ivoire observes military parades, flag ceremonies in Yamoussoukro, and cultural festivals across its major city Abidjan.
Since independence, the country has become a major cocoa exporter and maintained relative political stability under Houphouët-Boigny’s long presidency (1960-1993).
With inputs from agencies