Bal Gangadhar Tilak: He held high the torch of Swaraj

Born on July 23, 1856, Tilak was raised in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. He was just 16 when he got married to Tapibai.

In 1877, Tilak received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the Deccan College in Pune. In 1879, he completed LLB from the Government Law College, Bombay. After studies, Tilak took up teaching in a school and then went on to become a journalist.

With the goal of improving the quality of education, Tilak, along with friends, co-founded the New English school in 1880. In 1884, Tilak and his associates established the Deccan Education Society to spread nationalistic ideas and to protect Indian culture. In 1885, the society started the Fergusson College. In 1890, he left the education society in the quest for concrete political work.

First step into politics

Tilak’s political career began even before Mahatma Gandhi arrived in India from South Africa. In 1890, he became a member of the Indian National Congress. He, however, was a staunch critic of the party’s moderate approach towards fighting British colonial rule.

Fearless Writer

Tilak was also among the founders of the weekly newspapers Kesari and Mahratta, that was published in Marathi and English, respectively. He wrote several articles in which he strongly criticised the policies undertaken by the British government and urged people to rise against the tyranny and oppression associated with the colonial rule. After the killing of two British officers in 1897, purportedly by the Chapekar brothers, Tilak was charged with having incited murder and was sentenced to imprisonment for 18 months. When he was released from jail after the stipulated jail term, Tilak began to be regarded by the masses as a national hero.

‘Self-Rule is my birthright’

Soon after he was released from jail, Tilak adopted the clarion call, “Self-rule is my birthright and I shall have it.” The movement was aimed at boycotting foreign products and social boycott of those Indians who used foreign goods. The initiative was prompted by the desire to promote goods produced indigenously.

The movement was supported by other Congress leaders like Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai. These two leaders, along with Tilak, were popularly referred to as Lal, Bal and Pal.

In 1907, at the annual session of the INC in Gujarat, the party bifurcated while selecting a new president. The party’s radical leaders wanted Tilak, Lajpat Rai and Pal to assume charge while their moderate counterparts favoured the choice of Rashbehari Ghosh as the party president. The incident eventually led Tilak to quit the Congress.

In 1908, Tilak, through his newspaper articles strongly defended two youngsters who had killed a senior British official. He was charged with sedition and was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment in a jail in Mandalay, Burma.

Release from Mandalay Jail

During his stint at the Mandalay prison, Tilak was diagnosed with diabetes. He was released on June 16, 1914, when World War I was about to begin. He then sought reconciliation with the Congress and tried to convince Mahatma Gandhi of the futility of using non-violence as a weapon to fight such a giant empire.

Return to Congress

In 1916, Tilak re-joined the Congress. Working together with British rights activist , educationist and philanthropist Annie Besant he helped found the All India Home Rule League to step up the campaign for Swaraj or self-rule. He travelled to villages to mobilise farmers. Even as Tilak grew in stature as a national leader, the Home Rule movement forced the British to draft the Montagu declaration in 1917.

Interesting facts

1. In 1880, Tilak and his associates established the New English School in Pune (erstwhile Poona). The development held significance as it marked the beginning of an effort to not only to break the British hold on education, but also one that used English language to spread nationalist spirit among Indians. Tilak himself taught mathematics and English at the school.

2. During the early 1900s, Tilak and Ratanji Jamshedji Tata opened the Bombay Swadeshi Co-operative Stores Co. in order to promote products that were made in India. Today, the establishment bears the name The Bombay Store.

3. It was Tilak who was instrumental in transforming Ganesh Chaturthi, that was earlier was a private event mostly observed in households, into a resplendent, public celebration for which it is famous today. He also promoted Shivaji Jayanti in a big way.

4. Tilak was jailed for 18 months for defending the Chapekar brothers. After he was released, the freedom fighter was warmly welcomed in Bombay. Soon he was given the moniker Lokmanya, which means ‘Beloved leader of the people.’

5. Tilak had declared that “I regard India as my Motherland and my Goddess, the people in India are my kith and kin, and loyal and steadfast work for their political and social emancipation is my highest religion and duty”.

Sources: Lokmanya Tilak: A Biography, Wikipedia, news reports