Summary: beech to the neglect of our banyan, our mango grove,” as Tagore lamented. The Humanities were now to incorporate “the best oriental ideals of life and thought with the best available ideals of the West.” Swadeshi and boycott were means to the end of Swaraj, the central focus of Extremist thought. While the movement began with economic and industrial regeneration, it evolved into a spiritual quest for national liberation, inspired by a messianic vision of India’s destiny as the world-saviour. The Extremists drew upon Puranic Hinduism, seeing in it a symbolic contest between good and evil forces. Despite their noble aspirations, the movement's romanticism and reliance on individual terror tactics proved to be its downfall, eventually facing a tide of repression and internal discord. The Extremist challenge, though short-lived and marked by internal contradictions, left a lasting impact on Indian politics, preparing the ground for Gandhian non-violent resistance and shaping the evolution of the country's struggle for independence.