The pre-Gandhian era of freedom fighters witnessed only a few in number but the greatest of all time. Bal Gangadhar Tilak, or "Lokmanya Tilak" was one of the eminent stalwarts of that phase who stood out for his supreme courage, selflessness, and sacrifice during the initial phase of the freedom struggle. He was one of the strongest proponents of 'total self rule' or 'Swarajya' from the colonial British government and worked tirelessly to help the nation break from its imperialist claws. Being a part of the famous trio- Lal (Lala Lajpat Rai), Bal ( Bal Gangadhar Tilak), and Pal (Bipin Chandra Pal) , he is credited with reawakening the Indians and igniting in them the fire of independence. His portrait at the Parliament, unveiled by then-Prime Minister of India on July 28th, 1956, Jawaharlal Nehru, speaks of the grandiosity, and his endeavour and tribute to his great life who prepared the nation for the upcoming struggle to get freedom.
Early Life
Tilak was born as Keshav Gangadhar Tilak in a cultured middle class Kokanastha Chitpavan Maratha family with a strong religious atmosphere to Gangadhar Tilak, a Sanskrit scholar and school teacher on 23rd July 1856. He was born in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, and his ancestral village was at Chikhali and moved to Pune for his education at Deccan College of Pune to obtain a bachelor of Arts in Mathematics. Tilak had got married to Tapibai at the early age of sixteen, a few months before he lost his father.
He had enrolled in an M.A. course but left it midway and joined LLB instead at Government Law College, University of Bombay, and completed it in 1879. Tilak started his career as a mathematics teacher at Poona in a private school but left it soon due to ideological differences with his colleagues. Later, he shifted towards journalism but his restless mind wandered about making a change in society and he developed a serious concern for the ongoing political and social problems around him. He wanted to reform the education system in India brought in by the British and took the responsibility of spreading education in Maharashtra.
Tilak's Political Career
Establishment Of Deccan Education Society And Fergusson College, Pune
Though Bal Gangadhar Tilak left the private school at Poona due to ideological conflicts with his colleagues, it became the base of his political career. He made some friends over there who shared the same views and perspective as his which was to change the education reforms imposed by the British and educate the deserving masses. He along with associates considered the English language to be a powerful weapon to promulgate democratic and liberal ideals and objectives. Tilak was greatly inspired by the Marathi writer, Vishnushastri Chiplunkar, and founded an English school for secondary education with some of his friends in 1880.
The establishment of this school was a great success which they got inspired to set up the Deccan Education Society whose purpose was to educate Indian youth, emphasising the Indian culture. The society including Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Vishnushastri Chiplunkar, Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, and Mahadev Ballal Namjoshi went to establish Fergusson College in 1885, aiming at providing post-secondary education. Tilak taught mathematics at the Fergusson and later left the Deccan Education Society after 5 years in 1890, to continue his contribution towards independence and cultural revival.
Unlike Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Tilak was considered a radical nationalist and was termed as, "the father of Indian unrest" by author Sir Valentine Chirol and was one of the most eminent radicals of his time and opposed the moderate attitude of members of Congress when he joined the party in 1890. In fact, the split of moderates and extremists within the Indian National Congress (INC) is credited to him after the Swadeshi movement of 1905-07.
Tilak’s First Arrest And His Onset Into The Freedom Struggle
During the Bombay Plague Epidemic episode in the late nineteenth century spread from Bombay to Pune in epidemic proportions, strict measures were imposed on people by the British authority. Brigadier General William Gatacre of the Indian Army was given martial authority in the city and employed harsh measures such as evacuation of houses to hospitals and quarantine camps, destroying personal possessions, and not allowing people to leave the city or enter into the city.
Though these measures were helpful in curbing the plague to a great extent, it invited a great deal of resentment among the general public. But there was no way to voice their opinions to which Tilak published and edited inflammatory articles in "Kesari '', which was founded by him in 1881 to take up the issue and act as a mouthpiece for the oppressed people. Following the publishing of the newspaper, the Chapekar brothers killed Commissioner Rand and Lt.
Ayerst to which Tilak was charged with the case of '' incitement of murder" of the two British officials. He was sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment and when released after serving his term, he adopted the slogan of Swarajya by Kaka Baptista, " Swarajya is my birth right and I shall have it". The public revered him as a national hero and saw in him a great leader, and termed him" Lokmanya" meaning Beloved leader of the people.
Tilak's Rise To National Prominence
Bal Gangadhar Tilak envisioned a genuine federal government system for Free India which he believed only a Maratha-type government could achieve, which dominated in the 17th-18th century and outmoded in the later 20th century. He invoked popular Maratha struggles against Muslim rule and introduced Hindu religious symbolism in his nationalist movement. Tilak was the first Congress Indian leader who proposed the idea of accepting Hindi as the sole national language of India and also organised Ganesha festival and Shivaji festival in 1893 and 1895 respectively, making the movement more communal and alarming the Muslim community.
He was prosecuted and jailed on the charges of sedition, intensifying racial animosity among British and Indians, lectures on self rule, and preaching dissatisfaction by the colonial rule among other charges by the British government thrice in 1897, 1909 and 1916. In 1905 when the viceroy, Lord Curzon partitioned Bengal, Tilak showed support to the demands of the people of Bengal by boycotting British goods and setting forth a passive resistance, known as Tenants of the New Party, which soon became the methodology for Gandhi's Satyagraha movement, that received huge support from the people.
Tilak attempted to persuade the members of Congress to side by and adopt his militant program,Tilak was imprisoned in Mandalay in 1909 for defending Prafulla Chaki and Khudiram Bose, two Bengali youths who planned the Alipore Bombing case to kill the Chief Magistrate Douglas Kingsford, but mistakenly killed two women travelling in the carriage on the way to Muzaffarpur. Tilak, defending these two revolutionaries, one who committed suicide and the other who was hanged, asked for Swarajya or self rule government system, to which he was convicted of sedition and terrorism by a 7:2 majority. He was sentenced to jail for six years in Mandalay, Burma along with a fine of Rs. 1000.
After Getting Released From Mandalay Jail, Burma
Upon his release from Mandalay jail, Burma in 1914, during the First World War, Tilak got involved in politics once again and launched the Home Rule league, which is considered to be his crowning achievement in his entire political career. Activist Annie Besant had also established a league in support of self rule with the same name at Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Tilak, for his Home Rule League to spread widely, travelled from village to village to seek support from locals and farmers to join for the cause of Swarajya. The league that started with 1400 members in 1916 saw an increase of 32,000 members by the end of 1917, which had spread to Maharashtra, Central Provinces, Berar region and Karnataka.
He welcomed the Minto-Morley Reforms, or the Indian Councils Act that allowed for a limited increase in the involvement of Indians in the governance of British India. According to Tilak's biographer, D. V. Tamhankar, The year 1916 was the most eventful in Tilak's career as he rejoined Congress in 1916 during the Lucknow Pact and visited England as the President of Home Rule League in 1918. He believed that the Labor Party was a prominent force in British politics through which India could gain independence and his foresight was justified when India was freed from British governance in 1947.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak tried to convince Gandhiji to leave the ideology of total ahimsa and move towards self rule by any means, to which he did not entirely concur. However, Gandhiji was impressed by his honesty efforts and courage of conviction. He even persuaded people to contribute towards the Tilak Purse Fund with the objective to provide for the pecuniary losses incurred by Tilak after he lost a civil suit against Valentine Chirol.
Tilak's Social Views
Bal Gangadhar Tilak was a firm believer in pro-Hindu activism and sought to unite the Indian population with this ideology. He preached that the purpose of nationalist activism is given in the Bhagwat Gita, in which Krishna advises Arjuna to fight his enemies. On the other hand, he strongly opposed the liberal trends among women regarding the emerging social reforms. He opposed inter caste marriages and the establishment of First Native Girls School. He did not have a progressive view regarding gender relations and believed that a true Hindu woman should not be exposed to modern education. Even though he had spoken against untouchability in a few instances but refused to sign a petition that was in support of the abolition of untouchability.
Tilak's Contribution To Society
Bal Gangadhar was recognized as the 'awakener of Indian society' who transformed the household worshipping of Lord Ganesha into a public event that has become a major Indian festival in the current times. It began with several days of procession, celebration, food, and music and also became a hub for youth to accumulate and address political issues. Tilak established the Shri Shivaji Fund Committee in 1895, for the celebration of the great Maratha ruler and fighter, Shivaji. Tilak's efforts brought about a building of a national spirit and fervour among the unconnected Indians.
His establishment of the Deccan Education Society in the 1880s with the help of his associates has been instrumental in running intuitions like Fergusson College in Pune which is one of the most popular colleges in India imparting world class education. Their initial efforts at establishing schools and educational institutes to impart education to Indian youth were commendable.
Tilak's constant efforts in boycotting British goods and opting for Indian/Swadeshi ones not only was the basis of the Swadeshi movement led by Gandhiji but also holds its relevance in the current times. It advocates not depending too much on foreign goods but to support the local artisans and businesses.
During his stint at Mandalay Jail in Burma, Tilak took to writing his magnum opus, Śrīmad Bhagavadgitā Rahasya, in which he discards the orthodox interpretation of the Bhagavad Gita's ideals on renunciation and gives an analysis on Karma Yoga. In 1893, he published The Orion in which he had tried to calculate the time by Nakshatra's different positions. His other book, The Arctic Home in the Vedas is intended to promote Hindu culture.
Death
Bal Gangadhar Tilak breathed his last on 1st August 1920 due to cardiac arrest at Sardar Griha in Bombay. A large number of people amounting to 2 lakhs had gathered at his funeral which extended from Crawford Market to Dhobi Talab and had taken their permission before shifting the great freedom fighter's body to Poona for cremation.
However, he was cremated on the Chowpatty sands instead of a crematorium, seeing the people accumulating in great numbers. He was addressed as a "lion", by Gandhiji who did not concur entirely with his beliefs but appreciated his courage and immense dedication to making India a free country. He might not have lived to see his beloved country free but his intellect, ideas, sense of justice, selflessness, courage, and fight for Swaraj continue to inspire generations.
Note for UPSC Aspirants: For UPSC aspirants interested in exploring further, here are some keywords to guide your research:Bal Gangadhar Tilak, freedom fighter, Swarajya, independence struggle, India, pre-Gandhian era, courage, sacrifice, legacy, nationalism, political activism, social reform, Deccan Education Society, Fergusson College, British colonialism.
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