Hindavi Swarajya


Hindavi Swarajya is a term for socio-political movements seeking to remove foreign military and political influences from the Indian subcontinent. The term was first used in a 1645 CE letter by Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire. The term Swarajya was later adopted by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, one of the early leaders of the Indian independence movement against the British Empire.

Shivaji's use

Early modern Maratha warrior Shivaji is believed to have used the phrase Hindavi Swarajya in a letter to Dadaji Naras Prabhu Deshpande of Rohidkhore on 17 April 1645. The letter, in Marathi, states:
Scholars do not agree on the authenticitiy of the letter. Historian Setumadhavarao Pagadi states that a lot of the historical source material on Shivaji is spurious, contributed by various influential families of Maharashtra to show how close their ancestors were to Shivaji. J. V. Naik states that, irrespective of the authenticity of the letter, Shivaji's career itself amply demonstrates his conception of Swarajya.

Interpretation

Scholar Wilfred Cantwell Smith interprets Shivaji's Hindavi Swarajya to mean "Indian independence from foreign rule". Historian Pagadi also interprets it as "Indian rule". Religious studies scholar William Jackson, while agreeing that it means independence from foreign rule, thinks its literal meaning is "self-rule of Hindu people".
The term Hindavi has been in use since the 14th century with the meaning of "Indian". Poet Amir Khusro listed various "Hindavi languages" in use in his time. These were distinguished from Persian, the court language in most Muslim states. Historian Irfan Habib states that, as the term "Hindu" had acquired a religious sense by this time, other terms such as Hindi, Hindustani and Hindavi began to be employed to mean "Indian", spanning both Hindus and Muslims. According to Pagadi, Hindavi had the sense of "the sons of the soil" in this context.
Swarajya is a Sanskrit term, whose meaning is "independent dominion or sovereignty" according to the Monier Williams dictionary. Pagadi notes that Shivaji had referred to his jagir in Pune as a rajya. He takes Swarajya to have meant a "homeland", and Hindavi Swarajya a "state of the sons of the soil".