‘LOKMANYA’ – I am pretty sure that, it’s because of ‘BAL GANGADHAR TILAK’ written ahead, you must have got to know this term for the first time! Very few people can influence the mindset of an entire state, rather, that of an entire nation. Very few were the people during the times of our independence struggle that every single man, irrespective of his /her caste/religion/creed/gender was eternally respected. Today, Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s influence can be felt strongly in the pulse of India, especially in Maharashtra, where the sarvajanik (public) Ganeshotsav and Shivajayanti festivities are wholeheartedly celebrated and mark a symbol of an ever-evolving communal harmony.
Keshav Gangadhar Tilak, also known as Bal Gangadhar Tilak, was an Indian independence activist, educator, and journalist. Bal Gangadhar Tilak served as the first leader of the Indian Independence Movement. He was one of the Lal Bal Pal trio, which consisted of the other two. He was referred to as “The Father of Indian Unrest” by British colonial officials.
Birth and Rise of Lokmanya
Long before Tilak became revered as a national hero, founded the Home Rule League, published scathing criticisms of British rule in two prestigious newspapers, “Kesari” and “Mahratta”, or wrote the “Gita Rahasya” while imprisoned at Mandalay, his upbringing and education shaped his character and revealed the man he would grow to be. Although he is well-known for his political activities, it is his early experiences that have shaped his legacy and given colour to the image we have of him.
The birth of Bal Gangadhar Tilak took place on July 23, 1856. He was born to a Marathi Hindu Chitpavan Brahmin family in the Ratnagiri area of Bombay State, British India, which is now Maharashtra, India. Bal Gangadhar Tilak was born to Shri Gangadhar Tilak and Paravti Bai Gangadhar. Chikhali served as the ancestral residence of Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Tilak relocated to Pune as his father was assigned to the area. When he was ten years old, his father taught him Sanskrit and mathematics.
Tilak would eventually become quite proficient in both of these fields, graduate and then teach them in a neighbourhood school in Pune. He reportedly could solve lengthy mathematical problems and intricate equations without the use of a pen and paper. He would frequently debate with his teachers over the value of mental maths, refusing to write down tables for homework since, in his opinion, tables should be memorised rather than written down.
The “step-wise” approach of computing sums, in which students list each step of the calculation, was also harshly criticised by him. When Tilak was sixteen years old, his father, Gangadhar Tilak, a Sanskrit and Mathematics expert and teacher, passed away.
Tilak was a compassionate and rebellious pupil who frequently incurred the displeasure of his professors by standing up for what he believed in. A well-known anecdote describes how some of his classmates once left groundnut peels all over the classroom floor while he was at school and then refused to take responsibility when the crime was discovered. The teacher gave the kids the order to clean up the mess after becoming enraged with the entire class. Tilak, however, adamantly declined. I didn’t eat the groundnuts, and I won’t pick up the peels, he said, adding, “Me shenga khallya nahit, me tarfala uchalnar nahi”.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak married Satyabhama Tilak in 1871 when he was just 16 years old. He had three sons: Rambhau Balwant Tilak, Vishwanath Balwant Tilak, and Sridhar Balwant Tilak.
In 1877, he graduated with honours with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Deccan College in Pune. He switched to the L.L.B programme in the middle of the semester, leaving his M.A. programme. In 1879, he graduated with his L.L.B. from Government Law College.
Tilak spent a large portion of his life in Pune. He attended Deccan College while pursuing his education, founding the Fergusson College, one of Pune’s most prestigious educational institutions, as well as schools run by the Deccan Education Society.
He organised celebrations such as the Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav and Shivajayanti to foster intercommunal harmony, and his home, Kesari Wada, is located in the centre of the city. Today, his influence can still be felt strongly in the pulse of Pune. In Pune, he is renowned for his speeches, the Swadeshi and Boycott movements he started after the Bengal Partition, and also for the boyhood antics and tales of his quick wit and mischief.
He stood out from the crowd because of his brilliance, tenacity, and propensity for dispute, yet he never gave in to peer pressure. He was adamantly committed to his extreme political views, and the Lal-Bal-Pal triad, of which he was a member, did not hesitate to create a different party after the Indian National Congress broke apart following the 1907 annual convention held in Surat.
Beginning of the Political Career and Entry into the Swadeshi Movement
Bal Gangadhar Tilak joined the Indian National Congress (INC) in the year 1890. He immediately started expressing his ferocious opposition to the party’s moderate self-rule aspirations. He asserted that even the most fundamental constitutional upheaval could not defeat the British. He decided to run against well-liked Congressman Gopal Krishna Gokhale as a result.
He wanted to expel the British by an armed insurrection. After Lord Curzon split Bengal, Bal Gangadhar Tilak actively supported the Swadeshi (Indigenous) movement and the boycott of British goods. His tactics, meanwhile, led to bitter disputes both inside the Indian National Congress (INC) and the movement itself. This fundamental conceptual difference led to the perception of Tilak and his supporters as the radical side of the Indian National Congress Party.
Both Bengal’s Bipin Chandra Pal and Punjab’s Lala Lajpat Rai supported Tilak’s nationalist ambitions. The group as a whole was referred to as the Lal-Bal-Pal. During the party’s 1907 national convention, the moderate and radical Indian National Congress Party factions engaged in fierce strife. As a result, there were two chambers in Congress.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak returned home from the Mandalay prison in 1915 as the political landscape in India was quickly changing under the shadow of World War I. There was unseen delight upon Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s release. He returned to politics after that with a more responsible approach. The All India Home Rule League was founded in 1916 by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Joseph Baptista, Annie Besant, and other nationalists. By April 1916, the league had 1400 members, and by 1917, it had 32,000.
The Rock-Solid Ideals and the Legacy!
After completing his education, Bal Gangadhar Tilak made the decision not to accept the lucrative offers of a government job and instead dedicate himself to the greater cause of national awakening. He was a brilliant reformer who dedicated his entire life to advancing women’s rights to empowerment and education. Bal Gangadhar Tilak had educated all of his daughters, and he did not wed them until they were older than 16 years old.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak proposed large-scale celebrations for Shivaji Jayanti and Ganesh Chaturthi. He thought that by commemorating these events, Indians would grow closer and more nationalistic. Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s involvement with radicalism and support of it did not receive the recognition it deserved, which is a tremendous loss.
Tilak’s views on wellness and health are noteworthy. He once said, “One can endure any amount of difficult intellectual work until old age if one attends to one’s body as one does to one’s mind from the age of 16 to that of 25, and if the physical strength thus stored up is not dissipated by gluttony or vice.” He reportedly had a weak immune system as a child and would get sick frequently.
He once went with his companions on a challenging walk up Fort Sinhagad while still in college. He just about made it to the top and quickly turned into a class joke. He failed that specific school year because he lacked the motivation to read about colonial poets like PB Shelley and John Keats.
During this time, he focused on being stronger and fitter. He was convinced – or at least that’s what our grandparents would have us believe – that to serve his country, he had to first focus on maintaining his physical and mental health. Through his punishing imprisonments, he would continue to benefit much from this viewpoint. The years he spent in Mandalay after being accused of sedition for supporting Prafulla Chaki and Khudiram Bose in his newspaper took a toll.
Food supplied to prisoners was filthy and gritty, and his mouth started to develop ulcers. But he persisted in his labour, and it was here that he completed his greatest work, the Gita Rahasya, which was a Marathi translation of the entire Bhagavad Gita and an understanding of its Karma Yoga!
Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s famous declaration that “Swaraj ha maza janmasiddha adhikaar ahe aani mi toh milavnarch” (Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it) inspired a whole people to rise against the colonial government and fight for the ultimate prize: freedom from imperial domination. This is how great people earn respect – leading by example, positioning strong morals & ideas into the minds of the common folklore and making everyone realise that not raising a roaring voice against injustice & tyranny is itself an injustice in its way! 1st August marks the death anniversary of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak and this article, thus, tries to do justice to all ethos he had strived and lived for!