Great nationalist, social reformer and mass leader Keshav Gangadhar Tilak, popularly known as Bal Gangadhar Tilak, was born on July 23, 1856. A strong advocate of Swaraj or self-rule, Tilak played a pioneering role in building a mass political consciousness towards the Indian independence movement. His call for self-rule with the slogan "Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it" inspired millions during the freedom struggle. He was conferred the title of Lokmanya, meaning "accepted by the people as a leader."
Tilak was born in Ratnagiri in Maharashtra. His father, Gangadhar Ramchandra Tilak, was a Sanskrit scholar. Tilak was himself a mathematician, philosopher and scholar. Tilak was well read in Hindu scriptures, and also he was influenced by Western thoughts of metaphysics and politics. He had read Voltaire, Rousseau, Hegel and Kant. He graduated from Deccan College, Pune, in 1877, with a first class in Mathematics. He also obtained a law degree.
After his graduation, Tilak with his friends GG Agarkar, MA Chiplunkar and Mahadev B Namjoshi, started the New English School in Pune in 1880 and later founded the Deccan Education Society in 1884 and the Fergusson College in 1885.
He also launched two weeklies, Kesari (in Marathi) and Mahratta (in English), which criticised British policies of the time. In 1890, Tilak joined the Congress.
The political discourse of the Indian freedom movement significantly changed during the period between 1900 and 1908. It was under the leadership of political triumvirate, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal and Bal Gangadhar Tilak, popularly known as Lal-Bal- Pal, Swadeshi movement gained momentum across the country. The trio also mobilised Indians against the Bengal partition. It was during this period that the trio proposed the Swadeshi movement and boycott of foreign goods.
Tilak was arrested by the British on the charges of sedition in 1908 and sentenced to six years of imprisonment in Mandalay (Burma). Inside jail, Tilak composed a monumental philosophical treatise titled the ‘Gita Rahasya’.
After returning from Burma, Tilak was involved in the Home Rule Movement and joined Anne Besant’s Home Rule League. In 1918, he visited England to popularise the Home Rule Movement.
He passed away on August 1, 1920.
(Edited by : Priyanka Deshpande)
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