Describe the main contribution of Bal Gangadhar Tilapia
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Swaraj is my birthright, and I shall have it - words declared by one of the stalwarts of India's freedom movement, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, capture perfectly the Indian social reformer and freedom activist’s philosophy. Tilak was a brilliant politician as well as a profound scholar who believed that independence is the foremost necessity for the wellbeing of a nation.
One of the prime architects of the modern Indian freedom movement and probably the strongest advocates of Swaraj or Self-Rule for India, Tilak’s words served as an inspiration for future revolutionaries during India’s struggle for freedom.
The British Government termed him as the "Father of Indian Unrest" and his followers bequeathed upon him the title of ‘Lokmanya’, meaning he who is revered by the people.
Gangadhar Tilak joined the Indian National Congress in 1890. He soon started vocalizing his strong opposition to the moderate views of the party on self-rule. He maintained that simple constitutional agitation in itself was futile against the British. This subsequently made him stand against the prominent Congress leader, Gopal Krishna Gokhale. He wanted an armed revolt to broom-away the British. Following the partition of Bengal by Lord Curzon, Tilak wholeheartedly supported the Swadeshi (Indigenous) movement and Boycott of British goods. But his methods also raised bitter controversies within the Indian National Congress (INC) and the movement itself.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak founded the Indian Home Rule League and served as its president and in 1916 he concluded the Lucknow Pact with Mohammed Ali Jinnah, which provided for Hindu-Muslim unity in the nationalist struggle. A coin was launched by the Government of India to commemorate his 150th birth anniversary.