Correct Option
The 'Swadeshi' and 'Boycott' were adopted as methods of struggle for the first time during the agitation against the Partition of Bengal. The partition, announced in 1903 and implemented on October 16, 1905, was officially justified as an administrative measure. However, it was widely perceived as a British strategy to weaken the burgeoning nationalist movement and divide the Hindu and Muslim populations.
The Swadeshi movement aimed at promoting indigenous industries and goods, fostering economic self-reliance, and establishing national institutions like schools and banks. Concurrently, the Boycott movement involved the rejection of British goods, services, and institutions as a direct form of protest against colonial rule. These methods marked a significant shift in nationalist strategy from petitions to direct action and mass mobilization.
Incorrect Options
The Home Rule Movement (1916-1918), led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Annie Besant, primarily sought self-government within the British Empire, not the initial adoption of Swadeshi and Boycott as core methods of struggle.
While the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-1922), led by Mahatma Gandhi, extensively utilized Swadeshi principles and boycott of foreign goods and institutions, it was not the first instance of these methods being employed in the Indian nationalist movement.
The protests during the visit of the Simon Commission to India in 1928 involved boycotting the commission itself due to its all-white composition and lack of Indian representation. However, these methods had been employed much earlier during the anti-Partition agitation.