Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak was born on 23rd July, 1856 in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra to a Chitpavan Brahmin family.   He was a scholar, mathematician, philosopher, and ardent nationalist who helped lay the foundation for Indian independence by building his defiance of the British rule into a national movement. In 1914 he founded and served as president of the Indian Home Rule League. In 1916 he concluded the Lucknow Pact with Mohammed Ali Jinnah, which provided for Hindu-Muslim unity in the nationalist struggle. He was also the editor of Kesari and Maharatta newspaper. 

Early Life

Tilak's father was Government servant and at the time of his death in 1872 was Assistant Deputy Educational Inspector. Tilak was educated in the Poona High School ; took his B.A. degree with honours from the Deccan College, Poona, in 1876, and three years later obtained his LL.B. degree from the Bombay University. It is said that, while in college, he and Gopal Ganesh Agarkar made a mutual resolution never to take Government Service and to devote their lives and talents to the education of their countrymen. In pursuance of this object they, with Vishnu Krishna Chiplunkar, opened the New English School, Poona, on the 2nd January. 1880, and a little later started the Mahratta and Kesari newspapers.

The success of their Educational institution induced Tilak and Agarkar to formulate a scheme for an Education Society, the life-members of which were to undertake to work in the Society for 20 years. The idea took, and in 1884, the Deccan Education Society came into existence with Tilak, Agarkar and others as life-members. A year later the Society opened its own College. Shortly after the establishment of the Deccan Education Society, in 1886, the separation of society from press and newspaper was announced.

Thus, Tilak and two others became owners of the papers and press. In 1890, Tilak severed his connection with the Deccan Education Society. Shortly after, he quarrelled with his partners in the newspapers and became sole proprietor of both. He thus became master of his own time and with his wonted energy and zeal threw himself into the stream of politics. His attitude towards Government has always been that of an irreconcilable opponent and on each successive occasion he has, from the platform and through his organs, opposed the establishment. His political creed may be defined as a determined and persistent effort to obtain "Self-Government" for the natives and in preaching it he advocates even rebellion provided it holds out a prospect of success. Personally he was of small stature and poor appearance and by disposition self-willed and impatient of control. Amongst Natives he is considered to be moral and strictly honest man.  The success of their Educational institution induced Tilak and Agarkar to formulate a scheme for an Education Society, the life-members of which were to undertake to work in the Society for 20 years. The idea took, and in 1884, the Deccan Education Society came into existence with Tilak, Agarkar and others as life-members. A year later the Society opened its own College. Shortly after the establishment of the Deccan Education Society, in 1886, the separation of society from press and newspaper was announced. [ref]

Political Cult

Ganpati Utsav 

In 1894, one of the most genius invention of Lokmanya was to popularise the festival of Ganpati Puja. The celebrations were initiated to unite Indians against the Western influence and colonial powers.

Tilak had openly advocated the use of force, and knowing that without unity nothing could be accomplished, he set to work to inaugurate the Sarvajanik Ganpatis. His ideas in this respect soon caught fire among the people and the Hindus gathered in such numbers as must have pleased even Tilak. He advocated each Ganpati having a mela and each mela being composed of as many gymnasts as possible. All melawallhas were to acquire familiarity in the use of weapons. In this movement Tilak had the assitance of Namjoshi, Bhau Laxman Jaola alias Bhau Rangari, Balasaheb Natu, Tatiasaheb Natu, Wassudeo Ganesh Joshi, Dagdu Halwai and a number of malcontents. With a view to inculcating the necessity of unity at Poona  and all places where the Ganpati movement had been established Tilak's emissaries produced and distributed among the people shloks (verses) which set forth the advantages of unity.  Once, in an editorial of Kesari he wrote, “This (Ganesh) festival is both age old and universal; but this time the new thing about it was that all castes — and not just Brahmins — came together and made it a festival of all Hindus, a thing we must take pride in.” [ref]

Shivaji Jayanti

Tilak also initiated a movement to collect funds for the maintenance of Shivaji's Tomb at Raigadh. Tilak undertook to plead the cause in his papers and to receive subscriptions for the purpose. The object of these celebrations was to sow the seeds of patriotism in the rising generation and to incite Hindus to emulate the deeds of Shivaji. The deeds and legends of Shivaji were popularised to craft a nationalist Maratha front against  Colonial powers. [ref]

Swadeshi & Tilak 

Swadeshi was the other important cause espoused by Tilak. Both Lala Lajpat Rai and Bipin Chandra Pal joined him in popularising the call of swadeshi nationally, which saw the emergence of the famous triumvirate of those days, popularly known as Lal, Bal and Pal. However, his swadeshi was not just about boycotting British goods. Although he used the tools of boycott and bonfire of British goods to provide a window for popular participation, his larger objective was promoting indigenous entrepreneurship. Tilak wanted to promote manufacturing in India. It was the same zeal for promoting swadeshi manufacturing that led to Tilak and Ratanji Jamshedji Tata coming together to open the Bombay Swadeshi Co-operative Stores Co. in order to promote products that were made in India. [ref]

Legacy

Historians usually credit Gandhi with transforming the Congress into a mass movement. No doubt, he did it. And he did it on a nationwide scale. But none can deny that Gandhi followed up, and greatly expanded, on mass-oriented political work that Tilak had begun. Tilak’s two arrests by the British – first in 1897 for 18 months, which earned him the title “lokamanya” or “beloved leader of the people”, and later in 1908, for six years of rigorous imprisonment in Mandalay in Burma – galvanised workers, peasants, professionals and youth in an unprecedented manner. Tilak’s banishment to Burma witnessed the first ever political strike by the working class; the textile workers of Bombay, Hindus of all castes as well as Muslims, struck work for six days, one day for every year of the sentence.

Roaring like a lion in the Bombay High Court, where he was being tried on a sedition charge in 1908 – the charge of “sedition”, Tilak had asserted, “Swaraj is my birth right, and I shall have it.” When the judge, Justice Davar, asked him if he had anything to say before the sentence was pronounced, he audaciously replied: “All I wish to say is that in spite of the verdict of the jury, I maintain my innocence. There are higher powers that rule the destiny of men and nations. It may be the will of Providence that the cause I represent may prosper by suffering than by remaining free".

On Tilak’s imprisonment, Vladimir Lenin, who would lead the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917, wrote: “The infamous sentence pronounced by the British jackals on the Indian democrat Tilak…this revenge against a democrat by the lackeys of the money-bags evoked street demonstrations and a strike in Bombay. In India, too, the proletariat has already developed to conscious political mass struggle – and, that being the case, the Russian-style British regime in India is doomed!”[ref]