Swaraj

Common card · No. 397489

Swarāj (IAST: svarāja, lit. 'self-rule') can mean, generally self-governance or self-rule. The earliest use of the term is attributed to Shivaji in the context of Hindavi Swarajya and the phrase lies at the heart of his legacy. However, scholars are divided on the authenticity of the specific document recording Shivaji's use of the phrase. Regardless of such controversies, the document was widely used to construct a cohesive narrative of Maharashtrian and Indian nationalism, framing Shivaji not just as a Maharashtrian hero, but as a visionary builder of a sovereign nation state. Swarajya was used, in its modern political sense, as early as 1852. A mention of that term appears in the Anglo-Marathi journal or the periodical Dnyanodaya (The Dnyanodaya, Bombay, 1852, vol. xi, pp. 154–155). Swaraj was also used synonymously with home rule. Mahatma Gandhi's 1909 book Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule, which describes Gandhi's views about Indian independence, uses swaraj as an Indian equivalent...

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