Bal Gangadhar Tilak
“Swarajya is my birthright and I will get it,” roared Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak. He died on this very day, August 1, 1920. The ‘Tilak Yuga’ has come to an end. On the occasion of his Memorial Day … Lokmanya Tilak was born on 23rd July 1856 in Ratnagiri. Even before completing his college education, Tilak came in contact with scholars like Vishnushastri Chiplunkar. Until now, people had become accustomed to capitalism. Only when our society became well-educated and civilized would they know the value of freedom; Therefore, Tilak and Agarkar along with Chiplunkar decided to set up a national institute for national awareness.
The New English School was founded in 1880. There, too, he became the school’s managing teacher. Newspapers are a great medium for conveying national ideology to the masses. As it would be more effective, he started a Marathi newspaper ‘Kesari’ and an English newspaper ‘Maratha’. Agarkar was the editor of ‘Kesari’, while Tilak was the editor of the English magazine ‘Maratha’. Even then, Tilak’s headlines were being published in ‘Kesari’ even during this period. Later, the two had a theoretical disagreement and Tilak took over the editorship of ‘Kesari’ with a loan. Tilak’s headline was the soul of ‘Kesari’. Tilak asked, “Is the head of government still in place?”
Tilak was one of the leading manufacturers of modern India. In 1890, Tilak joined the Indian National Congress and spontaneously participated in the freedom struggle. “Swarajya is my birthright and I will get it,” he roared. This declaration was an inspiration to the revolutionaries during the freedom struggle. He got the title of Lokmanya. Before 1893, people used to celebrate Ganeshotsav in their homes. However, Tilak started the public Ganeshotsav with the intention of bringing people together. Tilak, who was involved in the freedom struggle and released the British as ‘Salo Ki Palo’, often had to go to jail. He was charged with treason. He spent 18 months in prison in 1897-98. He was taken to Mandalay prison in 1908-1914. He was in Mandalay for six years. Meanwhile, his wife also died. While in prison, he wrote the book ‘Gita Rahasya’.
Tremendous retention, keen memory, noble thought, diligence, determination, and erudition; But Lokmanya Tilak, who was united with the masses and was a source of inspiration to thousands of youth in the freedom struggle, passed away on August 1, 1920. He was cremated in Mumbai. More than 2 lakh people had attended Tilak’s funeral procession at that time.