Bal Gangadhar Tilak's Contribution in the Freedom Struggle
Bal Gangadhar Tilak (popularly known as Lokmanya Tilak), was born as Keshav
Gangadhar Tilak in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra in 1856. Tilak was one of the first and strongest
advocates of Swaraj ("self-rule") and a strong radical in Indian culture.
Tilak joined the Indian National Congress in 1890. He was also conferred with the honorary
title of "Lokmanya", which literally means "accepted as leader by all".
After his graduation from Deccan College Pune, Tilak used to write articles in his
newspaper Kesari which the British thought were inciting unrest. He defended the
revolutionaries and called for immediate Swaraj or self-rule. Due to this, Tilak was sent to
Mandalay prison in Burma from 1908 to 1914. While imprisoned, he continued to read and
write, further developing his ideas on the Indian nationalist movement.
While in the prison he wrote the Gita Rahasya a book that gained huge popularity. He was
the first Congress leader to suggest that Hindi written in the Devanagari script be accepted
as the sole national language of India.
Tilak encouraged the Swadeshi movement and the Boycott movement. The movement
consisted of the boycott of foreign goods and also the social boycott of any Indian who used
foreign goods. His famous quote that "Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it" was
the mass slogan for youth during our freedom struggle.
The Swadeshi movement consisted of the usage of natively produced goods. The Swadeshi
movement started by Tilak became part of the Independence movement until that goal was
achieved in 1947. One can even say Swadeshi remained part of Indian Government policy
until the 1990s when the Congress Government liberalised the economy.
After his release from Mandalay prison, Tilak re-united with his fellow nationalists and re-
joined the Indian National Congress in 1916. He also helped found the All India Home Rule
League in 1916–18, with Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Annie Besant. Tilak travelled from
village to village for support from farmers and locals to join the movement towards self-
rule.The league had 1400 members in April 1916, and by 1917 membership had grown to
approximately 32,000.
His contribution to social reforms is also worth noting. In 1894, Tilak transformed the
household worshipping of Ganesha into a grand public event (Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav). The
celebrations consisted of several days of processions, music and food.
In 1895, Tilak founded the Shri Shivaji Fund Committee for celebration of "Shiv Jayanti",
the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire. The events
like the Ganapati festival and Shiv Jayanti were used by Tilak to build a national spirit
beyond the circle of educated elite in opposition to colonial rule.The Deccan Education
Society that Tilak founded with others in the 1880s still runs Institutions in Pune like the
Fergusson College.
Tilak tried to convince Mohandas Gandhi to leave the idea of Total non-violence ("Total
Ahimsa") and try to get self-rule ("Swarajya") by all means.
Lokmanya Tilak's contribution to Indian Freedom Struggle is historic and we are grateful to
his immense contributions. Tilak died on 1 August 1920. The Tilak Smarak Ranga Mandir, a
theatre auditorium here in Pune is dedicated to him. In 2007, the Government of India
released a coin to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Tilak.
