Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Bal Gangadhar Tilak, commonly known as Lokmanya Tilak (23 July 1856 – 1 August 1920), was an Indian nationalist, teacher, and an independence activist. Tilak was one of the first and strongest advocates of Swaraj (“self-rule”) and was quite radical in his views.

Tilak joined the Indian National Congress (INC) in 1890 and was among the earliest leaders of the Indian Independence Movement. However, he opposed the moderate attitude of the INC, especially towards the fight for self-government. He was one of the most-eminent radicals at that time.

In 1997, the British used oppressive tactics to control the spread of bubonic plague. Tilak took up this issue by publishing inflammatory articles in his paper Kesari (Kesari was written in Marathi, and “Maratha” was written in English), quoting the Bhagavad Gita, to say that no blame could be attached to anyone who killed an oppressor without any thought of reward.

Following this, on 22 June 1897, Commissioner Rand and another British officer, Lt. Ayerst were shot and killed by the Chapekar brothers and their associates. Tilak was charged with incitement to murder and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. When he emerged from prison in present-day Mumbai, he was revered as a martyr and a national hero.

Tilak was conferred with the title of “Lokmanya”, which means “accepted by the people; he is popularly known for his quote in Marathi: “Swarajya is my birthright and I shall have it!”. Tilak’s messages were protest, boycott and agitation; he was a radical and who would not resist using force for the attainment of freedom. He was imprisoned on a number of occasions that included a long stint at Mandalay.

At one time, the British colonial authorities even referred to him as “The father of the Indian unrest.” Mahatma Gandhi called Tilak “The Maker of Modern India”.

Following the Partition of Bengal in 1905, Tilak encouraged the Swadeshi movement and the Boycott movement that consisted of the boycott of foreign goods and also the social boycott of any Indian who used foreign goods. The Swadeshi movement consisted of the usage of natively produced goods. Once foreign goods were boycotted, there was a gap which had to be filled by the production of those goods in India itself. Tilak said that the Swadeshi and Boycott movements are two sides of the same coin.

Many other leaders in the INC found Tilak’s views to be too radical. In fact, it was the Swadeshi movement of 1905–1907 that resulted in the split within the Indian National Congress into the Moderates and the Extremists.

In 1907, the annual session of the Congress Party was held at Surat, Gujarat. Trouble broke out over the selection of the new president of the Congress between the moderate and the radical sections of the party. The party split into the radicals faction, led by Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai (referred to as the “Lal-Bal-Pal triumvirate), and the moderate faction.