Published: 10th Aug, 2020
One of the firebrand freedom fighters and the strongest proponent of 'purnaswaraj' or 'total self-rule', Lokmanya Bal GangadharTilak's 100th death anniversary was observed on August 1, 2020.
Context
One of the firebrand freedom fighters and the strongest proponent of 'purnaswaraj' or 'total self-rule', Lokmanya Bal GangadharTilak's 100th death anniversary was observed on August 1, 2020.
About
- Bal GangadharTilak was a scholar, a writer, mathematician and a philosopher. He was given the title, 'Lokmanya', which means 'beloved leader' by his followers.
- LokmanyaTilak received his education at the Deccan College in Pune and he earned his Bachelor's degree in 1876, in mathematics and Sanskrit. Later he also studied law at the University of Bombay.
- He founded the Deccan Education Society in 1884 with an aim to educate common people in English.
- LokmanyaTilak founded and edited two newspapers - Kesari in Marathi and The Mahratta in English. He used his pen as a weapon to criticise the colonial rulers.
- Bal GangadharTilak tirelessly contributed to help the country break free from the British rule.
- Part of the Lal-Bal-Pal (LalaLajpat Rai, Bal GangadharTilak and Bipin Chandra Pal) troika, Bal GangadharTilak was called 'father of the Indian unrest" by British colonial rulers.
- He was imprisoned a number of times including a long stint at Mandalay in Myanmar. During his years in prison, he spent his time reading and writing. He wrote the famous 'Gita Rahasya' - an analysis of the Karma Yoga which finds its source in The Bhagavad Gita.
- While Jawaharlal Nehru called him the 'father of Indian revolution', Mahatma Gandhi described LokmanyaBalGangadharTilak as 'the maker of modern India'.
Poorna Swaraj
- Bal GangadharTilak, often referred to as the ‘father of the Indian unrest’, was one of the first revolutionists who not only raised their voice against the British Raj in India but also channelised the patriotism and anguish of the general public towards the unsettling oppression, tyranny and injustice inflicted on Indians under the colonial rule, to the attainment of poornaswaraj(complete independence).
- On 26 January 1930, the Indian National Congress, in an electrifying resolution, declared Purna Swaraj - complete freedom from the British Raj.
- The Indian National Congress met in Lahore in December 1929. In December 1929, after Jawaharlal Nehru was elected the party president, the Indian National Congress passed a resolution for 'purnaswaraj' or complete independence from the British.
- One option before the Congress was to demand Dominion Status, under which India would have still remained at least nominally under British rule.
- The Congress rejected this option, and instead asked for Purna Swaraj, which means Full Independence.
Swaraj is my birth right and I shall have it-LokmanyaTilak
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