1st August 2020

 Musings.......

Freedom Fighters - Part 1 

Bal Gangadhar Tilak 

When I decided to write about one freedom fighter every day until Independence Day, little did I need to think before deciding who to write on first.  That it is ‘Lokmanya’ Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s 100th death anniversary was a curious surprise.  

Tilak was the first leader of the Indian Independence Movement. Mahatma Gandhi called him ‘The Maker of Modern India’.  He is known for his famous quote in Marathi which translates into ‘Swarajya is my birthright and I shall have it’.  

Along with Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai he formed a triumvirate. 

Tilak was a devout Hindu and used Hindu scriptures to rouse people to fight oppression. He always stressed on the need for ‘Swarajya’- Self Rule and believed that without Swarajya, no progress was possible. 

Tilak emphasised the importance of cultural and religious revival to go with the political movements. He popularised the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Maharashtra. 

Tilak joined the Indian National Congress in 1890 and along with his triumvirate ( Lal-Bal-Pal ) formed part of the Extremists in the National Congress. 

While the extremists within the Congress wanted to end the tyranny of British rule through protests, the Moderates of the time led by Gopal Krishna Gokhle aimed at constitutional and administrative reforms. This led to the historic Surat split of the Indian National Congress of 1907. 

Tilak propagated the Swadeshi movement and boycott of foreign goods. 

Along with Annie Besant, Tilak started the All Indian Home Rule League in 1916. This Home rule league is credited to have set the stage for the Independence movement among the educated English speaking Indians. 

The Home Rule League led by Tilak worked in Maharashtra ( except Bombay ), the Central Provinces, Karnataka and Berar. 

Tilak was Congress president when the historic Lucknow Pact (1916) for Hindu- Muslim unity in the Nationalist struggle between Congress and Muslim League ( led by Mohammad Ali Jinnah ) was made. 

Tilak received his law degree in 1879 and though received modern college education, he strongly criticised the educational system followed by the British in India. He started the “ Deccan Educational Society “ with his college batchmates, Vishnu Shastry Chiplunkar and Gopal Ganesh Agarkar. 

He also started two newspapers “Kesari” in Marathi and “Mahratta” in English. 

Tilak protested against the oppressive nature of the British efforts and wrote provacative articles on it in his newspapers. One such article inspired the Chapaker brothers to assassinate Plague Commissioner Rand and Lt. Ayrest in 1897. 

Tilak was imprisoned for 18 months on Sedition charges for inciting murder. 

He openly supported the revolutionaries Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chakki in their effort to assassinate Magistrate Douglas Kingsford in 1908. Tilak was sent to jail in Mandalay (Burma) for 6 years for the same. 

He wrote the famous Gita Rahasya during his time in prison. This was an analysis of the ‘Karma Yoga’ in the Bhagavad Gita which is known to be a gift of the Vedas and the Upanishads. 

In 1903 he wrote the book “The Arctic Home in the Vedas”. It is argued that the Vedas could only have been composed in the Arctics, and the Aryan bards brought them south after the onset of the last Ice Age. He also proposed a new way to determine the exact time of the Vedas. 

In “The Orion” he tried to calculate the time of the Vedas by using position of different stars. 

Like I mentioned Tilak was a devout Hindu. He used the scriptures to give examples in real life which was then used to fight the British. Tilak was a radical nationalist but a social conservative, a great orator and a strong leader who inspired millions to his cause. 

There is a lot to learn from a great personality like Tilak. You can learn to be a devout Hindu and be a secular Congressman at the same time. By propagating Ganesh Chaturthi and Shiva Festivals ( commemorating Chhatrapati Shivaji ), Tilak brought the masses to the political mainstream. 

His political ideas of “ Swarajya “ or self rule was a novel concept at the time which inspired millions to join the National movement and fight the British. 

Tilak used his Religio-Political views to unite the Indian Population for mass political action throughout his life. 

He remained an active member of the National Movement and Congress for life. He was the most prominent political leader in India until Gandhi arrived and will always be remembered for his great contributions to the Indian National Movement.

RC

Food for Thought.......