Top 10 Sensational Facts about Bal Gangadhar Tilak

In 1894, Tilak transformed the household worshipping of Ganesha into a grand public event, Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav.

However, the celebrations consisted of several days of processions, music, and food. They were organized by the means of subscriptions by neighborhood, caste, or occupation.

In 1895, Tilak founded the Shri Shivaji Fund Committee for the celebration of Shiv Jayanti, hence, the birth anniversary of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire. 

The project also had the objective of funding the reconstruction of the tomb Samadhi of  Shivaji at Raigad Fort.  

For this second objective, he established the Shri Shivaji Raigad Smarak Mandal along with Senapati Khanderao Dabhade II of Talegaon Dabhade, who became the founder President of the Mandal.

1. He Formed the Indian Home Rule League

 

His most famous claim to fame is that he was the first nationalist liberation warrior to introduce the concept of ‘Swaraj.’

 

However, he opposed the moderate attitude towards the fight for self-government. In actual fact, he was one of the most eminent radicals of the time.

 

In India, he started the Swadeshi movement. Together with Jamshed Tata, they established Bombay Swadeshi Stores to promote the national movement.

The most interesting thing about Tilak is that together with Bipin Chandra Pal, and Lala Lajpat Rai are known as ‘Lal-Bal-Pal’. He was against the Age of Consent Act of 1891.

5. Suggested the Hindi Written in Devanagari Script

 

The question in Calcutta whether he envisioned a Maratha-type of government for independent India, he quickly answered that the Maratha-dominated governments of 17th and 18th centuries were outmoded in the 20th century.

 

His opinion was a genuine federal system for Free India where everyone was an equal partner. Additionally, he said that only such a form of government would be able to safeguard India’s freedom.

 

This qualified him to become the first Congress leader to suggest that Hindi written in the Devanagari script be accepted as the sole national language of India.

 

During his lifetime among other political cases, Tilak had been tried for sedition charges in three times by British India Government in 1897, 1909 and 1916.

 

In 1897, Tilak was sentenced to 18 months in prison for preaching disaffection against the Raj. In 1909, he was again charged with sedition and intensifying racial animosity between Indians and the British.

 

The Bombay lawyer Muhammad Ali Jinnah appeared in Tilak’s defense but he was sentenced to six years in prison in Burma in a controversial judgement. 

 

In 1916 when for the third time Tilak was charged for sedition over his lectures on self-rule, Jinnah again was his lawyer and this time led him to acquittal in the case.

Strongly, he opposed to liberal trends emerging in Pune such as women’s rights and social reforms against untouchability. Vehemently, he opposed the establishment of the first Native girls High school, currently known as Huzurpaga.

This happened in Pune in 1885 and its curriculum using his newspapers, the Mahratta and Kesari. Tilak was also opposed to intercaste marriage, particularly the match where an upper caste woman married a lower caste man

In particular, the case of Deshasthas, Chitpawans and Karhades, he encouraged these three Maharashtrian Brahmin groups to give up “caste exclusiveness” and intermarry.

8. He was Against Age of Consent Bill

Clearly, Tilak officially opposed the age of consent bill which raised the age of marriage from ten to twelve for girls. However, it was interesting how he was willing to sign a circular that increased age of marriage for girls to sixteen and twenty for boys.

9. His Best Friend Swami Vivekananda

While travelling by train in 1892, Tilak and Swami Vivekananda met and surprisingly to Vivekananda, Tilak hosted him in his guest house. 

From then, they had a mutual respect and esteem for each other. Of importance to note is the discussion about working together towards nationalism in the political arena while Vivekananda would work for nationalism in the religious arena. 

10. He Started two weeklies

Tilak began publishing two weekly newspapers, Kesari in Marathi and Mahratta in English. In 1880 and 1881, he founded The Maratha Academic Study Books, with Gopal Ganesh Agarkar as the first editor.

This was his watershed moment! It was because of these publications that he was dubbed the “awakener of India,” as Kesari later became a daily and is still published today.