Swarajes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The concept referring to self-rule or autonomy, particularly in a political context; the condition of having independent governance or sovereignty; a movement or ideology advocating for national or regional self-governance
2. An idea denoting the possession of self-government or freedom from external control; a status of political independence; a cause that promotes the ability of a people to govern themselves
3. A term describing the state of autonomous rule free from colonial or foreign domination; the principle of self-determination in government; a campaign or belief system supporting the right to self-administration

Etymology: The plural "swarajes" is simply the plural of "swaraj," so the story belongs to that root. "Swaraj" comes from Hindi "स्वराज" (svarāj), a word built from Sanskrit parts: "sva," meaning "self" or "one's own," and "rāj," meaning "rule" or "reign." Together they make a compound meaning self-rule. In English the word carries the political sense of a nation governing itself, which is why it is so closely tied to the Indian independence movement. Its origins sit in that Hindi-Sanskrit pairing rather than in the Latin or Greek roots that supply so many English political words, so the term reached English as a borrowed foreign word rather than through European inheritance.

Synonyms: self-governments, independences, autonomies

Antonyms: colonies, dependencies