‘Swarajya’ is a originally Sanskrit word. The word Swarajya means ‘own kingdom’ i.e. ‘Self-Government’. Another meaning of Swarajya is ‘Motherland’. Swarajya means ‘independent power’, ‘sovereignty’, ‘freedom’. Swarajya itself is known as ‘Hindavi Swarajya’. Swaraj means getting freedom from the shackles of foreigners.
Some nativists interpret ‘Hindavi Swarajya’ as ‘Kingdom of Hindus’. But the true meaning of ‘Hindavi Swarajya’ is ‘a kingdom of the citizens’. Here Hindavi does not mean Hindu but ‘Hindavi’ means ‘Indian’. So Hindu Swarajya is not for any one religion but for all religions whether it is Hindu religion or Muslim religion. But some swaraj drohi propagate the wrong meaning of the word Hindavi and create conflict between the people of two religions, Hindus and Muslims.
When we think of any religion or state, if we add the letter ‘self’ before that religion and state, it becomes Swadharma and not Swarajya, and then that religion and state become more important to us than our life and death. Our kings knew exactly that and therefore vowed to create their ‘Hindavi Swarajya’.
Swarajya was not automatically created or we did not automatically get Swarajya. It is an aggressive weapon and attitude prepared by the Maharaj to liberate the motherland from rulers with a very thoughtful and proper plan and planning keeping only the focus of freedom in mind with very few mavalas / warriers and no means at hand. Some historians say that Maharaj called his Jahangir Pune as his own state and Swarajya was limited only to his state i.e. Pune or Maharashtra. Not so, Swarajya is the biggest dream of Maharaj. Swarajya had no geographical boundaries for them. Swarajya for the Maharaja means only that the kingdom of the peoples should come and there should be happiness and peace everywhere.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj always said, “स्वराज्य व्हावे हि तर श्रींची ईच्छा”. It means Swarajya is the wish of God. If you compare Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and all the kings of the world and their kingdoms, you will understand why our king is superior to all the kings of the world and you will also know the real reason why we all regard him as our idol.
Swarajya is for public-interest and not for selfishness. Swarajya is for the end the suffering of the poor, oppressed and victimized peoples. It is for the protection of the peoples who are suffering from aggressive and evil rulers. Swarajya is the best example of social cause. Swarajya is to tie the knots of those foreigners who want to rule over us, to silence them, for the unity of the nation. It is believed that the term Swarajya or Hindavi Swarajya was first used by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in a letter dated April 17, 1645 to Dadaji Naras Prabhu Deshpande from Rohid Khore. It is written in that letter, ‘It is by the grace of Rohireshwar (God) that we have won and the Lord Himself is always standing with us to create Hindu Swarajya. It is Shri’s (God’s) wish that public rule should be created. Not only this, Chhatrapati’s term of service and prowess tells the meaning of Swarajya.
The term Swarajya later inspired many revolutionaries who fought against the British for India’s independence. The term Swarajya was coined by Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak. He always said “Swaraj is my birthright and I will get it!”
