Bal Gangadhar Tilak
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The Inspirational Story of "Bal Gangadhar Tilak"
From childhood, Tilak followed the path of honesty. He is one of the main Indian independence activists and social reformers. Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak was the first leader of the Indian Independence Movement.
Birth: He was born on 23rd July 1856 in Ratnagiri. His father was a school teacher named Gangadhar Tilak and his mother Paravti Bai Gangadhar.
Childhood: Bal began his Sanskrit studies alongside his father. He was a bright student who attended a primary school in Ratnagiri.
Adult Life: Tilak did his college in Pune and studied law in Bombay(now Mumbai). Tilak began teaching mathematics at a private school in Pune after graduation. Later in life, he worked as a journalist. Tilak was involved in politics actively.
Trigger point in his life: Later in his life, he became a Mathematics teacher in a school which was a turning point in his political career. He converted the school into an institution that promoted self-service and self-empowerment. Tilak identified education and the English language as the important tools to reach the Britishers.
Indian Independence Movement: Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and Vipin Chandra Pal were the three most popular people of that time and the trio was known as Lal Bal Pal. In 1890 Tilak joined Indian National Congress and took forward the Indian Independence movement along with the other leaders. In 1905 when the Divide & Rule Policy came to be for the Partition of Bengal, Tilak raised an appeal to take the policy back and boycott foreign goods.
The Indian National Congress had two groups. One that supported moderate means and social reforms known as the moderates, the other who just wanted independence. Lal Bal Pal followed the extremist ideology. In 1907 Tilak was sent to jail on sedition charges where he preached the slogan, “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it.”
His Works: He established the Deccan Education Society in Pune, New English School for Primary Studies, and Fergusson College for Higher Education. In parallel, he edited and published the Marathi newspaper “Keshri” and English newspaper, “The Maratha” where he openly criticized the Britishers. Bal Gangadhar Tilak was called “The Father of Indian unrest”.
In 1914, he created Home Rule League formed on his slogan. In 1916 he was given the title of “Lokmanya”. Mahatma Gandhi called him “The Maker of Modern India” and Nehru called him “The Father of the Indian Revolution”. Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak was one of the strongest advocates of Indian Independence.
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