Malfuzat - Volume VIII — Page 161
Undated 161 Undated (In Ludhiana) On the Swadeshi Movement 1 The Viewpoint of the Promised Messiah— the Promised Mahdi, Peace be on Him Nowadays, a zeal is developing, particularly among Bengalis, and in imitation, among Aryas and Hindus of other regions of India as well, that only Indian-made products should be used by totally boycotting European products. In Ludhiana, a Hindu gentleman appeared before the Promised Messiah as and touched upon this very topic, stating: ‘Our country [India] has become very poor. Try to remove their poverty and appeal to them to support Swadeshi. ’ In response to this, the Promised Messiah as said: Poverty and destitution are not unique to this country; there are poor people everywhere. I hear that in some very prosper- ous cities of England, many people die of starvation, but in our country, it has never been heard that a person has died of hunger. As regards Swadeshi, without a doubt, it is good to use the things of one’s homeland. The Government itself approves of Indians learning the skills to manufacture all needed things and making progress in craftsmanship and trade. However, the 1. Swadeshi—The Swadeshi Movement was an initiative that promoted Indian self-sufficiency through buying domestic product and boycotting foreign goods. It was a key element of the Indian freedom movement. [Publisher]