Sh. Bal Gangadhar Tilak said, “Swaraj is my birth right and I shall have it.”
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‘Swaraj is my birth right and I shall have it.’ The slogan popularised by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, the fiery freedom fighter of India, is one of the most potent war cries of the pre-independence days. This simple sentence is loaded with meaning, emotion, conviction and a strong sense of action. To him, it was but obvious that he had a complete right to Swaraj, a right that could not possibly have been denied under any circumstances. It was a politically charged statement, proclaiming an individual’s basic human rights. Though Tilak remained largely confined to the Indian subcontinent, his thoughts were of an extremely modern nature. This slogan is directly in line with the ideology that triggered the French Revolution- ‘Liberty, Equality and Fraternity’ in the 18th century, a slogan that is now the motto of France.
Politically speaking, Swaraj according to Tilak meant ‘self-rule’, meaning establishing an Indian rule. The first word itself was anti-establishment as was Tilak’s contention of having a right to it. He was very clear in setting the right expectations. No amount of compromise would suffice. He would settle for nothing short of complete self-rule. The last part of the slogan ‘…I shall have it.’ showcases his sense of determination. There are no clauses, excuses or any scope for reaching a compromise. It is a brave effort to openly take on the British forces, for he asserts that he ‘will have it’ irrespective of how the government feel about it. He was arrested many times for his patriotic activities, but each time he emerged a stronger leader.
Tilak enjoyed tremendous popularity as a leader of the masses. Therefore, when he uttered this sentence with conviction, he managed to trigger a strong wave of patriotism across the masses. They now had a clear picture of the goals. Prior to this, no leader had attempted a stronger definition of what independence actually meant to them. With Tilak’s slogan, people and the freedom movement found a direction with refreshed vigour.
Though the slogan was adopted much later in his life, he had already been working towards achieving Swaraj. Realising that effective governance was possible only when educated Indians were at the helm of affairs, he worked towards the spread of education. He was of the view that society, education and efficiency went hand in hand.
As suggested by the slogan, despite having joined the Indian National Congress to help free India, he did not agree with the moderate faction of the party. While the moderates advocated more peaceful methods of communication, Tilak strongly opposed their stance. He was more in favour of using force if necessary. His radical thoughts were responsible for the formation of the radical wing of the Congress. Though many of his party members denounced him, it did not deter him. He found support from Lala Lajpat Rai and Bipin Chandra Pal. Together they were known as Lal-Bal-Pal. His ideology was in keeping with the times, for the nation needed a strong leader with clear ideals.
Tilak is famous for this slogan on Swarajya (self-rule) – “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it.” What very few people know is that while he was the one who pronounced it, it was coined by his associate Kaka Baptista.
Tilak could be regarded as the Father of the Indian Independence Movement or the first leader of the Indian Independence Movement. He was quite violent in his approach to the Indian freedom struggle and therefore the British Government called him the "Father of the Indian unrest", primarily due to his fiery writings in the weeklies that he started – Kesari in Marathi and Mahratta in English. He was also given the title of "Lokmanya", which literally means "accepted by all people (as their leader)".
Tilak was one of the first and staunchest advocates of “Swaraj” or self-rule. 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. In the continued usage of foreign made goods, he saw economic slavery. Therefore, he supported the Swadeshi Movement, which promoted the use of Indian goods over foreign made goods.
As mentioned above, Tilak was quite violent in his approach to Swaraj. He regularly published inflammatory articles in the Kesari and the Mahratta, the 2 weeklies that he founded. Quoting the Bhagavad Gita, he was of the view that no blame could be attached to anyone who killed an oppressor without any thought of reward. Owing to these views, 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.
Later in his life, 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.