FROM REVOLT TO AGITATION 41 299,000 in 1885 to 817,000 in 1905. This did not denote any substantial change in the social base of the movement, except its horizontal spread among the petty-bourgeosie which combined with the resentment against the repressive policies of the government made a change in the nature of politics possible and necessary. The emergence of extremism which promoted popular agitation heralded a qualitative change in the anti-colonial struggle. The partition of Bengal in 1905 and the Swadeshi movement which ensued marked this transition by renouncing 'mendicancy' in favour of agitational mass politics. The Swadeshi movement shifted the focus of politics from concessions to self-reliance. Bal Gangadhar Tilak, the most prominent of the extremist leaders underlined this change when he claimed that "Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it". The Swadeshi programme was therefore, not confined to the more popular boycott of foreign goods in which people participated all over the country. More importantly, it undertook constructive work and institution building, which made the period of Swadeshi movement one of the most creative epochs in modern Indian history. It promoted national education, stimulated national culture and encouraged national industries. Rabindranath Tagore's Shanti Niketan, Abhanindranath Tagore's paintings and Prafulla Chandra Ray's Bengal Chemicals Factory were the most representative of the Swadeshi enterprise.19 Swadeshi movement, however, could not sustain for long, given the limitations of its social base and the collective participatory nature of its mobilisation. Yet, it launched the national movement on the path of mass politics. And perhaps, more importantly, tried to impart to it a holistic character - political, economic and cultural. NOTES 1. Rammohun Roy, Tinal Appeal to the Christian Public' in J.C. Ghose (ed) The English Works ofRammohun Roy, Allahabad, 1906, p.874. 2. It is necessary to make a distinction between the intelligentsia and intellectuals. While the intelligentsia was subject of the ideological influence and material interests, the intellectuals constantly tried to overcome them. 3. The memorandum was signed by Chunder Kumar Tagore, Dwarakanath Tagore, Rammohun Roy, Hurchunder Ghose, Gowree Churun Banerjee and Prossunno Coomar Tagore. The English Works of Rammohun Royy p.442. 4. "The capabilities of India" by A Friend to Improvement, Calcutta Monthly Journal, Feb. 1813., in Goutam Chattopadhyaya (ed), Awakening in Bengal, Calcutta, 1965, p.XIV. 5. Bombay Gazette, 30 July, 1841.