What is Swadeshi?

THE only feature of the Tilak Chirol case that partially relived the monotony of questions and answers, many of which had no bearing on the case, was the interchange of amenities, sometimes between counsel on both sides, and sometimes between Sir Edward Carson and Mr Tilak, in which the Court itself joined. One notable instance occurred in the course of the proceedings when Sir Carson asked what was meant by being swadeshi in thought, to which Mr Tilak gave the opposite answer that it meant that you ought not to have to be reminded of it:  you should have it in your thoughts. Thereupon the Court remarked:- “It means that you ought not to eat swadeshi sugar on Monday and British sugar for the rest of the week. I don’t know how it is with the jury, but I begin to think that I know what swadeshi is.” To which we need only say that his lordship certainly does, so far as English swadeshi is concerned, as all his countrymen do. England would not be the great nation that she is if she did not practise swadeshi to the utmost extent possible. The only difficulty is about other people’s swadeshi.