Swadeshi Movement in Colonial Lahore: Education and Nationalism

Abstract

Although the Dayanand Anglo-Vedic (DAV) College, Lahore, was established primarily as an educational institution dedicated to the promotion of modern learning and Vedic ideals, the political climate of the early twentieth century gradually transformed its public role. This article examines how DAV College evolved from a centre of educational reform into one of the principal institutional bases of the Swadeshi movement in colonial Punjab. It argues that the college functioned as a critical intermediary through which Arya Samaj ideology was translated into political activism, enabling the spread of economic nationalism, anti-colonial sentiment, and public mobilization among the educated Hindu middle class. Using institutional records, contemporary newspapers, government intelligence reports, and Arya Samaj publications, the study explores the introduction of Swadeshi principles into the educational and cultural life of the college, the political leadership of figures such as Lala Lajpat Rai, and the growing participation of students in nationalist campaigns. The article further analyses the tensions that emerged between educational administrators, who sought to preserve the academic character of the institution, and nationalist leaders who regarded the college as an important platform for political mobilization. It also examines the increasing surveillance of the college by the colonial state, which came to view DAV College as a centre of nationalist agitation. The article argues that the history of DAV College demonstrates how educational institutions could become influential political spaces in colonial India, where religious reform, economic nationalism, and anti-colonial politics converged. By tracing this transformation, the study contributes to a broader understanding of the relationship between education, civil society, and nationalist politics in late colonial Punjab.