Life Sketch of Bal Gangadhar Tilak

BAL GANGADHAR TILAK

         For about three decades the liberals dominated political stage of India. They contributed in their own way in national struggle but were pushed in the background by the Extremists; in the forefront being Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak. 

          Bal Gangadhar Tilak has been characterized as not an individual but an institution in himself. Once Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru said about him that, "We have here in Lokmanya a symbol of India's struggle for freedom, and a man who was not only a brave soldier, but a great captain, not a captain of an organised government but a captain of un-organised masses of India, a captain who had to deal with India as it was, in his days, that it is to say, an India rather amorphous and not well organised, not even perhaps politically very conscious although, of course, among the youth of his those days there was the feeling of freedom". Tilak changed the very character of the Indian National Congress and gave that a different outlook and approach. He was a great journalist, and believer in Hindu traditions and way of life. Through his actions he tried to establish that the society had a right to control its leaders. He was a humanitarian and a great legislator. He was also a believer in violence but not in armed violence. He was a critic of the government and wanted to change the very method of demanding rights but at the same time he desired o accept what was given and to demand for more. He did not Wish that the arena should be left to be the misused by those who were tools in the hands of British imperialism. His ideas were more in the nature of assertions rather than philosophical aiscourse, appealing more to emotions than to reason. He was not inclined to analyse political principles but to proclaim a plan of action'. 

Life Sketch 

         Bal Gangadhar Tilak was born on 23rd July, 1856 in Chitpavan Brahmana family in Ratnagiri. His father Gandhar Pant though gifted with rare qualities of character and learning, started as a teacher and could not rise beyond the post of Deputy Education Inspector. But he decided to give the best possible education to his only son Bal. After initial education at home, Tilak was sent to school before he was 11. As a student he proved to be extraordinary in Mathematics and Sanskrit. He did his Matriculation in 1872. He solved problems of Mathematics orally. Once his teacher asked him, "Where is your method", Tilak replied, "It is here", Tilak pursued his further studies in the Deccan College and did his B.A. with first class in 1876 and his LL.B in 1879. 

        After passing the LL.B examination there were alluring prospects before Tilak of becoming a High Court Judge and a comfortable life. But, he was moved by three events;first, the trial of Malhar Rao Gaekwar by a special commission for alleged attempt to poison his resident Col. Phayre; second, an abortive attempt to overturn the British government in 1876 made by a band of fanatics under the leadership of Wasudeo Balwant Phadke, a clerk in the government service; and lastly, the terrible famine of 1877-78 with its toll of 50 lakhs of lives. Moved by these events Tilak decided to lead a life of total dedication to the cause of poor people and service to the country. 

 His Early Public Carrier 

             Tilak came to the front in 1880 when he associated himself with the new English school and due to his sacrifices along with Chiplunkar and Agarkar the school began to attract the attention of the educated Indians. In 1881 he started his famous paper Kesari and two days later Maratha also came into existence. By the end of 1884, Tilak thought of starting an educational society with the result that Deccan Education Society came into being. On 2nd January, 1885, Fergusson College came into being. The members of the Deccan Education Society were required to work with selfless service and to remain poor but some of them did not adhere to these basic principles and thus there were differences between Tilak and Agarkar. In October 1890, Tilak resigned from Deccan Education Society and wholeheartedly devoted himself to Kesari which became a forum for the expression of public opinion. D. P. Karmarkar says, "Tilak realized that in addition to other points of difference between him and his colleagues, his temperament was an additional reason. He confessed that he was blunt in his discussions and sometimes hard with his colleagues but he said he had done it in the best interest of the institution, and the cause" 

Tilak as a Journalist -

      As a journalist Tilak did his duty to the best of his capabilities and capacities. He raised his voice against every evil before the public and saw to it that the government did not play any mischief and even government action came to the notice of the people. In 1891 he raised his voice against the 'Age of Consent Bill' which the government wanted to introduce in the Legislative Assembly. Similarly in 1893 and 1894, when there were bitter riots between the Hindus and the Muslims in Bombay, Poona and elsewhere, he held government responsible for these and wanted that it should take serious action against the defaulters. In 1895 he actively participated in the 11th session of the Congress held at Poona. 

His attitude towards Congress 

Indian NationalCongress came into being in 1885 and he had privilege of associating with itself prominent persons like Hume, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, W. C. Bannerjee and many others. Tilak's name in the Congress appeared-for the first time in 1889 when he was elected to Subject Committee in that session. In the initial stages he was more interested in his Kesari and Social Conference rather than the Indian National Congress though he continued to take interest in Congress activities. 

Radical Political Activities 

Tilak actively participated in the famine and plague days of 1896-97. Tilak remained very active during the epidemic of plague which took a toll of one crore lives. Through Maratha and Kesari he constantly tried to arouse national awakening in the country. Not only this, but his pro-Hindu activities also were not tolerable for the government. One way or the other it tried to establish that his paper was violating the provisions of the Press Act and also trying to instigate Indian masses to rise against the British government and ultimately the government decided to charge him with-sedition. This was aggravated due to the murder of Plague Commissioner Rana in which the governments smelt Tilak's powerful hand) He was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for sedition. He spent his term of imprisonment in Vervada Jail doing research work on the Vedas. 

       When Tilak was released from the prison he decided to infuse vigour into the public mind. For this he organized Ganapati and Shivaji festivals and gradually converted these into a social and national force. Tilak thought of gathering patriotic and national forces round the personality of Shivaji. But unfortunately he could not convince the moderate leadership of the Congress about the validity of his actions, Between 1898 to 1904 Tilak remained preoccupied with ligitation. 

        In 1905, Lord Curzon declared partition of Bengal. Tilak, Sri Aurobindo, B. C. Pal, Lala Lajpat Rai and some other congressmen voiced their opposition to the policy of Congress leaders and threatened open revolt. Tilak emerged as an uncomprising champion of Swaraj. He asked the nation to get prepared for decisive struggle for freedom and reminded people that" the path of duty is never sprinkled with rose water nor do roses grow on it". Forging alliance with all radicals of the Congress, Tilak made a whirlwind tour of the country and asked people to support the extremists for liberation. 

        In 1907 an open clash took place between the moderates and the extremists at the Surat Session of the Congress. With the spirit of cooperation and for the sake of higher ideals Tilak offered to compromise if the Congress agreed to work for Swaraj, Swadeshi, boycott and national education. However, due to the obstinacy of the moderates the break of the Congress could not be averted. In 1908, Tilak was put to trail by the Bombay High Court for writing an article alleged to be seditious. He was sentenced to six years and was deported to Mandalay Jail where he was. kept in a solitary room. It was here in prison that he wrote his several philosophical works.

His Home Rule Compaign 

       On his return from Burma after completing the term of imprisonment Tilak thought of organizing people to demand Home Rule. As he was out of the Congress, he also thought over the question of re-entry of extremists into the Congress. The year 1916 was important in the political carrier of Tilak for two reasons; Firstly, he joined his old comrades at the Lucknow session of the Congress and secondly, he formed the Indian Home League with the object of attaining self government for Indian people within the British Empire by constitutional means. Tilak undertook an extensive tour of the country propagating in favour of Home Rule. By 1917 the extremists took complete control of the Indian National Congress. Tilak went to England in 1918 to represent the country demanding Home Rule. He made a great impact on English public opinion through his writings and speeches. In a letter to an English man Tilak wrote, "It is necessary for me to dwell upon the imperative importance of solving the Indian question for purposes of ensuring the future peace of the world and the progress of the people of India". The Home Rule movement launched by Tilak was the natural culmination of the nationalist movement. The call for swadeshi and the movement for swaraj had been gathering force since the partition of Bengal in 1905. The Home Rule movement marked a new important phase in the struggle for independence. During 1916-17 Tilak was admired by the whole country for his sincerity, unbending patriotism and fearlessness. 

         Amritsar Congress Session was held under the distinguished Presidentship of Motilal Nehru. The problem before the National Congress was whether to associate itself with the unsatisfactory reforms given under the Act of 1919 or to boycott the legislatures. Tilak was of the opinion that opportunity given should be fully availed; otherwise the platform might go in the hands of those who were not true to India and they might misuse it. He formed the Congress Democratic Party with a view to contesting the elections but unfortunately his last had come and he could not see the Reform Councils working in their proper sense of the term. He died on August, 1920 leaving a mourning nation behind.

       " Through out his life he worked, organised and suffered. His life was cast in the mould of a "hero" and conveys his conviction in a way more powerful than his own words ".