Keshav
Gangadhar Tilak or Bal Gangadhar Tilak or more popularly known as Lokmanya
(means accepted by the people as their leader) Tilak is also famous as the
Father of Indian National Movement. Tilak was born on 23rd July,
1856 in Chikhalgaon of Ratnagiri district. His father, Gangadhar Ramchandra
Tilak was a school teacher and a renowned scholar of Sanskrit. Tilak lost his
mother, Parvatibai at the age of nine and his father when he was only sixteen.
Notwithstanding these huge emotional shocks, young Tilak continued his studies
with full dedication and sincerity. His life was a true example of struggle and
success which is still very relevant and inspiring for everybody, particularly
for today’s young people.
Passion
for learning: Despite the
severe setback of losing both his mother and father during his school days,
young Tilak struggled hard to pursue his educational journey and secured first
class in the bachelor’s degree examination in mathematics and Sanskrit from the
famous Deccan College of Poona (now Pune). Later Tilak earned the bachelor’s
degree in law from University of Bombay (now Mumbai). Tilak did not stop there
and moved forward to become a well-known scholar of Mathematics, Sanskrit,
Marathi, History, Astronomy and Hinduism. He used to say, “The problem is not
the lack of resources or capability, but the lack of will.”
Feeling
of patriotism: Tilak was a
true patriot and was against British Rule and its oppressive way of governance.
Initially, he tried to organise the people by making them aware and strong
especially through the education route. He started teaching mathematics in a
school in Poona. In 1880, Tilak with a few of his college friends started the
New English School with an aim to improve the quality of education for the good
of the students. The determination and dedication of Team Tilak resulted well
which encouraged them to establish the Deccan Education Society in 1884. The
focus of this initiative was to teach the students about patriotic and cultural
values so that they can very well understand the importance of fighting against
colonial rule to attain independence at the earliest. In 1885 this Deccan
Education Society set up the Fergusson College in Poona where Tilak taught
mathematics for a few years.
Idea
of Swaraj: Bal Gangadhar Tilak
joined the Indian National Congress in 1890. He was the first nationalist
leader who advocated the idea of ‘Swaraj’ and also coined the famous slogan,
“Swaraj is my birth right and I shall have it” which became the talking point
and the ultimate goal of our independence movement. That is the reason Tilak is
also known as the ‘Father of Swaraj.’ Tilak opposed the decision of partition
of Bengal by Viceroy Curzon in 1905 and advocated for the boycott of British
goods and for the support of the Swadeshi Movement. The triumvirate of Lala
Lajpat Rai (Lal) of Punjab, Bal Gangadhar Tilak (Bal) of Maharashtra and Bipin
Chandra Pal (Pal) of Bengal was very famous as ‘Lal-Bal-Pal’ who transformed
the political discourse of our freedom struggle. He founded the Indian Home
Rule League in 1916 and served as its president. Tilak used to tell his friends
and supporters, “Life is all about a card game. Selecting the right card is not
in our hand. But playing well with the cards in hand determines our success.”
Undoubtedly, Tilak played his cards in hand very wisely particularly against
the British Rule in India and enjoyed a massive following. That’s why the
British Colonial Authorities used to call him “The Father of Indian Unrest.”
Cultural
and democratic values: Tilak
had high regards for our cultural and democratic values. Accordingly, he tried
hard to reinforce these values in our society by his consistent actions on the
ground. The public celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi and Shivaji Jayanti started
by Tilak in 1893 and 1895 respectively was based on his grand vision of uniting
the people through social and cultural initiatives. In order to strengthen the
cord of national unity, he suggested that Hindi written in Devanagari script should
be accepted as the national language of the country. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
called him ‘The Maker of Modern India.’
Communication
Skill: Tilak had great communication
skills, both oral and written. He had mastery over Marathi, Sanskrit, Hindi and
English. He was an acclaimed orator and used this skill as a teacher and more
so as a freedom fighter to impress and influence people to engage in good work
including fighting for the end of colonial rule to achieve independence. In
order to awaken the masses for achieving the cherished goal of independence, he
started two newspapers namely ‘Kesari’ in Marathi and ‘The Mahratta’ in
English. Through the increasing reach of these papers, he was very successful
in conveying the feelings of the masses in support of the freedom struggle and
against the oppressive British Rule to one and all. Tilak was jailed several
times by British Authorities, but he spent his time in the prison too very
purposefully. In 1908 when he was arrested and sent to the infamous Mandalay
prison in Burma (now Myanmar) for six years, he wrote the book titled “The Gita
Rahashya” there.
In nutshell, Lokmanya Tilak was a great nationalist, freedom fighter, mathematician, lawyer, philosopher, educator, journalist and social reformer whose life and works will continue to inspire millions of countrymen, especially the youth.
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