Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak was a key figure in India’s national movement. Bestowed with titles like “The Lion of Maharashtra” and “Father of Indian Unrest,” he Indianized the national movement, by mobilizing the masses. A Sanskrit scholar, writer, and statesman, Tilak guided the Indian National Congress toward self-respect and discipline. Beyond politics, he was an accomplished scholar, contributing to education and establishing institutions. Tilak’s strategic contributions, such as Swadeshi and Boycott, decentralization, and global outreach, shaped the movement.

Also read: Lala Lajpat Rai and Bal Gangadhar Tilak  and Bipin Chandra Pal of ‘Lal-Bal-Pal’ triumvirate

Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak: Early Life and Education

Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak was born on July 23, 1856, in Chikhalgaon, Maharashtra, to a middle-class family. He played a crucial role in India’s independence movement. His father, Gangadhar Shastri, was a government teacher who instilled in him a love for learning. After facing some early family tragedies, Tilak’s education was taken over by his uncle and aunt. At the age of 15, he got married to Satyabhama Bai (Tapi Bai). In 1876 Tilak graduated from Deccan College, Pune, Maharashtra, with a first-class degree in Mathematics. Later in 1879 he obtained an LLB degree. These college years were crucial in shaping his non-conformist attitude. He took up teaching as his profession.

Cofounded The New English School, Poona, January 1880

Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Vishnushastri Chiplunkar cofounded the New English School on January 1, 1880, in Poona. L they were joined by G.G. Agarkar, Mahadeo Ballal Namjoshi, and Vaman Shivram Apte. The school started with just 35 students in January 1880, but its success was so great that by December of the same year, the student enrollment had increased to 336. Dr. W.W Hunter, British civil servant, and publisher of The Imperial Gazetteer of India, praised the institution, stating that it could compete with other government high schools both domestically and abroad, and was operating well even without government support. James Fergusson, the governor of Bombay, also congratulated the school on its accomplishments.

Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak Newspapers – ‘Maratha’ and ‘Kesari’ Newspapers, January 1881

Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak established the Arya Bhushan Press to promote nationalism and raise public awareness against colonial tyranny.

To promote nationalism, Bal Gangadhar Tilak founded two newspapers.  On January 2, 1881, Bal Gangadhar Tilak along with Vishnushastri Chiplunkar, M.B. Namjoshi, Vamanrao Apte, and Gopal Ganesh Agarkar founded the weekly English newspaper ‘Mahratta’ or ‘Maratha’ at Pune, Maharashtra.

Two days later, on January 4, 1881, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak  founded another newspaper, ‘Kesari’ which was published in Marathi from Pune, Maharashtra. The Marathi newspaper, Kesari recorded the social history of pre-independence Bharat and its struggle for independence. Kesari also played a significant role in triggering and driving the socio-political movement in pre-independence times.

The Mahratta or the Maratha newspaper along with Kesari were aimed at stirring the national conscience of the people and succeeded in their motive of awakening the people to the real evils of British rule. These publications fearlessly exposed the shortcomings of British rule, including burdensome taxes and the suppression of regional businesses.

Deccan Education Society, 1884 and Fergusson College, 1885

Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak and other compatriots were of the vision to create an education system that would empower individuals and contribute to the nation’s progress. With the same vision, in 1884 Bal Gangadhar Tilak along with Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, and Vishnushastri Chiplunkar, founded the Deccan Education Society (DES) in Pune, Maharashtra. Over the years, DES has established a network of esteemed institutions that have become pillars of excellence in various fields.

A year later, in 1885, Fergusson College in Pune was established under the Deccan Education Society (DES). The college was named after James Fergusson, the then Governor of Bombay. Sanskrit Professor Vaman Shivram Apte was its first principal. Tilak taught mathematics at the college. However, in 1890, he left the college to engage in wider political work and joined the Indian National Congress.

Tilak and Age of Consent Act, 1891

The Age of Consent Act, 1891 was enacted on March 19, 1891, which raised the age of consent for sexual intercourse for all girls, married or unmarried, from ten to twelve years in all jurisdictions, its violation subject to criminal prosecution as rape. Bal Gangadhar Tilak opposed the act saying that this interference in the Hindu religion.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak met Swami Vivekananda, 1892

Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Swami Vivekananda had great mutual respect and esteem for each other. They met for the first time in 1892. It was agreed between Vivekananda and Tilak that Tilak would work towards nationalism in the “political” arena, while Vivekananda would work for nationalism in the “religious” arena. When Vivekananda died at a young age, Tilak expressed great sorrow and paid tributes to him in the Kesari.

Initiation of Community Festivals like Ganesha or Ganapati Festival in 1893, and Shivaji Festival in 1894

Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak was a devout nationalist. He was looking for ways to infuse a sense of nationalism amongst the masses so that they could unite and mobilize against colonial rule. He sought to leverage practices rooted in Indian culture and suffused with Hindu symbolism.

Prior to 1893, Lord Ganesha was worshipped at home by individuals in a single day of the Hindu calendar. In 1893, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak started the new tradition of worshiping Lord Ganesha or Ganpati as a community festival where patriotic songs would be sung, and nationalist ideas would be propagated. Through his writings, fiery speeches, and organizational intellect, he encouraged and advocated bringing the Ganesh festival into the public sphere. During the festival deeds of self-denial and valor were put forth for chasing before the young by fiery speakers and priests.

A year later, in 1894, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak started the Shivaji festival as a community festival from the Raigadh Fort. The Shivaji festival was inspired by the Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (1674-80).

Also read: Religious Policy of Shivaji Maharaj and Linguistic Policy of Shivaji Maharaj

Politics of Radical Nationalism (1895-1914)

In 1895, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak shifted towards political activism, which was a significant turning point in his life. The same year, Tilak began his political journey by joining the Pune municipality after the passing of his close associate G.G. Agarkar. Tilak had already joined the Indian National Congress in 1889, but he found their old methods ineffective. He advocated for mass mobilization and cultural nationalism, placing emphasis on serving the poor instead of the educated class. Tilak proposed celebrating festivals like Shivaji and Ganesh to foster cultural unity.

Sedition Charge against Tilak and Imprisonment, 1897-98

In 1896-97, a bubonic plague spread from Bombay to Pune, killing thousands. The British government with the help of the army took strict and coercive measures to curb the plague. Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak published articles in Maharatta and Kesari criticizing these efforts and wrote quoting the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita, that no blame could be attached to anyone who killed an oppressor without any thought of reward.

Though there was no direct association with Tilak, the Chapekar brothers, Damodar Hari, Balkrishna Hari, and Vasudeo Hari, were inspired by the article. On June 22, 1897, the three Chapekar brothers attacked and killed W.C. Rand, the British Plague Commissioner of Pune, and another British official.

Tilak was arrested in July 1897 and charged with sedition and incitement to murder. Lawyer M.A. Jinnah and Dinshaw D. Davar defended his case, but the jury sentenced him to 18 months imprisonment. He was lodged in Yerwada Jail in Pune. However, he was released on September 6, 1898, after Frederick Max Mueller, the German scholar appealed to the British government.

Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak Slogan “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it”

Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak after being released from jail was given a heroic welcome. During this welcome, Tilak gave the famous slogan,

“Swaraj (self-rule) is my birthright and I shall have it.”

Bal Gangadhar Tilak  Book – ‘The Arctic Home in the Vedas’

In 1903, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak wrote the book ‘The Arctic Home in the Vedas.’ Based on his analysis of Vedic hymns, Avestic passages, Vedic chronology and Vedic calendars, Tilak argued that the North Pole was the original home of Aryans during the pre-glacial period, which they left due to climate changes around 8000 B.C., migrating to the Northern parts of Europe and Asia.

Partition of Bengal, 1905 and Swadeshi and Boycott Movements, 1905-06

On July 20, 1905, the Viceroy Lord Curzon announced the partition of Bengal which came into effect on October 16, 1905. Immediately after the announcement, there were widespread protests against the partition. The partition was seen as a ‘divide and rule’ policy of the Viceroy Lord Curzon.

Congress opposed the partition. It organized protest marches, launched a boycott of British goods, and adoption of homemade or swadeshi goods. Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak and others supported the Swadeshi and Boycott Movements.

The Triumvirate of Lal-Bal-Pal

Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak formed a triumvirate of Lal-Bal-Pal consisting of Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal. The three were moderates and have very similar thinking and approach towards the Indian national movement.

Also read: Lala Lajpat Rai

Split in the Congress Party, at Surat, 1907 also known as Surat Split

The Indian National Congress was founded in December 1885 with the objective of a political association of Indians with the British government. For about the first 20 years, it believed in the use of moderate methods like petitions, prayers, meetings, leaflets, pamphlets, memorandums, and delegations to present their demands to the British government. They came to be known as the ‘Moderates’ and were mainly led by Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Ras Behari Ghosh, and others.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak and others like Bipin Chandra Pal, and Lala Lajpat Rai opposed the methods of Moderates and advocated for the use of some rational extremist methods to voice their demands. The group came to be known as the ‘Extremists’.

In 1907, the annual session of Congress was proposed to be held in Nagpur, Maharashtra. However, the Moderate group felt that in Nagpur, Tilak would contest for the president and would win, therefore they changed the venue from Nagpur to Surat. Surat fell under the Bombay presidency and was the home state of Tilak. As per the rules for president, when the session is held in a particular province, a person whose home state is in that province cannot contest for the post of president.

In the Surat session of the Congress, Tilak was not even allowed to give a speech. Moderate leader, Ras Behari Ghosh was elected as president against the ruckus created by Extremists. This infuriated the Moderates, and they expelled the Extremists faction from Congress.

Thus, the Congress was officially split into two factions, the Moderates led by Rash Behari Ghosh, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Surendranath Banerjee, Pherozeshah Mehta, etc. Extremists were led by the triumvirate, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, and others.

Soon after, the British government saw this as an opportunity to divide the two factions of the Congress and took coercive measures against various leaders of the Extremists group.

2nd Sedition Charge against Tilak and Imprisonment, 1908-14

On April 30, 1908, two Bengali youths, Prafulla Chaki and Khudiram Bose, threw a bomb on a carriage at Muzzafarpur, to kill the Chief Presidency Magistrate Douglas Kingsford of Calcutta fame, but erroneously killed two women traveling in it. Chaki committed suicide when caught, and Bose was hanged.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak, in his newspaper Kesari, defended the revolutionaries and called for immediate Swaraj or self-rule. The British government, which was looking to curb the Extremists, swiftly charged him with sedition.

M.A. Jinnah, who defended Tilak in the first sedition case in 1897, again represented Tilak. Dinshaw D. Davar, who also represented Tilak in 1897 was the judge during this hearing. The judge, Dinshaw D. Davar gave him a six-year jail sentence to be served in Mandalay, Burma. Tilak was released from Mandalay jail on June 16, 1914.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak Book – ‘Gita Rahasya’, 1914-15

While in Mandalay Jail, Bal Gangadhar Tilak wrote the book Shrimad Bhagvad Gita Rahasya, popularly also known as Gita Rahasya or Karmayog Shastra in Marathi. The book consists of two parts. The first part is the philosophical exposition, and the second part consists of the Gita, its translation, and the commentary. The book was published in 1915 at Pune after Tilak returned from Mandalay jail.

Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak as a National Leader, 1914-1920

After spending six years in Mandalay Jail, Tilak was released to a different political landscape. The extremist politics had died down, and moderate leaders had taken control of Congress. There were significant changes on the national front, with the introduction of communal representation and separate electorates through the Government of India Act 1909. Tilak acknowledged the altered circumstances and pledged to resume his political service. With nationalist leaders, such as Sri Aurobindo, distancing themselves, Tilak aimed at political realignment.

After the deaths of Gokhale and Phirozshah Mehta in 1915, Tilak became the primary national leader. His immediate goals were to compromise within Congress factions, reorganize the nationalist party, and launch a strong Home Rule agitation using the changed international context amid the First World War.

Tilak for Lucknow Pact, 1916

Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak wanted to unite the Congress so that the nationalists could fight against the British in a united way rather than be engulfed in a three-way battle amongst themselves and then fight with the British.
At the annual session of the Congress held on December 16, 196 at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, he not only rejoined the Congress but also brought Moderates and Extremists in one single platform.

With his strategic statesmanship, he also brought Congress and Muslim League together. The 1916 annual sessions of both of them were held at Lucknow and a pact was signed to work for the common cause. This became famous as the Lucknow Pact.

All India Home Rule League, 1916-18

Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak tried to get the Moderates on the lines of Swaraj or self-rule. However, he could not bring them together. Tilak was impressed by the Russian Revolution and expressed his admiration for Vladimir Lenin. Therefore, with an objective of self-rule or Swaraj, in April 1916 Tilak founded the first home-rule league at the Bombay Provincial Congress at Belgaum, Karnataka. Tilak traveled from village to village for support from farmers and locals to join the movement towards self-rule.

In September 1916, Annie Besant founded the Hime Rule League at Adyar in Madras. Annie Besant, who was Irish by birth, got inspiration from the Irish Home Rule Movement that started in 1870.

Tilak’s Home Rule League was focused on Maharashtra, Central Provinces, and Karnataka and Berar region. Besant’s Home Rule League was focused on other provinces. Tilak emphasized transforming the relationship between India and England into a friendship between equals and advocated for Swaraj as a natural right. Unlike Annie Besant’s program, which had multiple elements, Tilak’s primary goal was Swaraj.

By 1917, the Home Rule Movement spread to major parts. The movement started to decline when in June 1917, Annie Beasant was arrested, and Tilak got engaged in a legal battle with Valentine Chirol, British journalist and author.

The Book ‘Indian Unrest’ by Valentine Chirol

In 1910, Valentine Chirol, the British journalist, editor of ‘The Times’ newspaper, and author of the book ‘Indian Unrest’. Chirol made derogatory statements about Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak through his book.

In the book, Chirol wrote about Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak,

“…a man of a very different stamp, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, who was destined to become one of the most dangerous pioneers of disaffection.”

“…if any one can claim to be truly the father of Indian unrest, it is Bal Gangadhar Tilak”

Upon release from the prison in Mandalay despite his dire circumstances Tilak decided to file a suit for libel against Chirol. In September 1918, Tilak traveled to London and filed a defamation case against Valentine Chirol. Tilak spent 11 months in the UK. Although he lost the case, he won the admiration of the people in London as well as back home in India.

Various Congress leaders and Mahatma Gandhi called upon Indians to contribute to the ‘Tilak Purse Fund’ which was started to defray the expenses incurred by Tilak.

Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak Death

On August 1, 1920, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a prominent figure in India’s independence movement, passed away at the age of 64. On this day, August 1, 1920, Mahatma Gandhi had planned to launch the Non-Cooperation Movement. However, with the death of Tilak the Non-Cooperation was officially launched later on.

In Young India, Mahatma Gandhi wrote a moving obituary for Tilak, recognizing his unparalleled influence on the masses. Gandhi highlighted Tilak’s exceptional dedication and the profound impact he had on thousands of his countrymen. He described Tilak as undoubtedly the idol of his people and lamented the death of a great man, saying,

“The voice of the lion is hushed.”

Even after his death, Tilak’s legacy continued to shape India’s struggle for freedom.

Title of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Lokmanya literally means approved and loved by the people. India’s first Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore gave this coveted title to the legendary freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak, one of the few leaders who appealed to the entire Indian subcontinent.

Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak “The Maker of Modern India”

Mahatma Gandhi called Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak as

“The Maker of Modern India”.

Also read: Book Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, by Publications Division, Government of India.