explain the contribution of Bal Gangadhar Tilak to freedom movement in India
Answers
Tilak was born as Keshav Gangadhar Tilak in a Brahmin family
in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. Due to his
leadership capabilities and contribution to the Indian freedom struggle, he was
later conferred the title of Lokmanya, which means “accepted by all people (as
their leader)”.
Tilak could in fact be said to be the first freedom fighter.
Due to his radical approach to the freedom struggle and encouragement of violent
means to achieve freedom, he was called by the British authorities as the “Father
of the Indian unrest”.
Possibly, Tilak’s greatest contribution to the freedom fight
was the unification of members in the Indian National Congress and rallying
them behind him. Of course, he was
always at loggerheads with the moderate faction of the Congress. He organized this trio called Lal-Bal-Pal,
comprising of Bipin Chandra Pal in Bengal, himself Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Lala
Lajpat Rai (famous as the Guru of the legendary Bhagat Singh) in Punjab.
Tilak is most famous for his quote on Swarajya (self-rule).
He said, “Swarajya is my birthright and I shall have it.”
Tilak was a staunch supporter of the Swadeshi and the Boycott movement.
The Boycott movement comprised of the boycott of foreign made goods as well as
the social boycott of any Indian who bought foreign goods.
During his entire life, Tilak was tried for sedition thrice. He
was imprisoned on charges of sedition and sent to Mandalay in Burma from 1908
to 1914. Once he emerged from jail, Tilak became more moderate in his views. He
realized that violence instead of furthering the cause of self-rule was
diminishing the pace of political reforms in India. As a result, Tilak re-joined
the Indian National Congress in 1916. He also helped found the All India Home
Rule League in 1916–18, with other notable freedom fighters such as
Muhammad Ali Jinnah (founder of the Muslim League) and Annie Besant.
Tilak also had another major contributor to the freedom
struggle. Gandhi, Father of the Nation, regarded Tilak as his guru. However, Tilak
could not convince him to give up Ahimsa in the fight for India’s freedom.
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