Road To Freedom

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• For God and Country
• The Empire Builders
• Tribal Uprisings
• Sepoys on the Move
• British Authority Collapses
• The Empire Strikes Back
• Roll of Honour
• The Trial of the Last Emperor
• English Education
• The Blue Mutiny
• Perishing in Peace
• ‘Rani Ka Hookum’
• Barbarous Britannia
• Return to Swadeshi
• The Delhi Durbar
• Hunger Deaths
• The One-Man Army
• Mamool Raj
• The British Raj in Black and White
• Europeans Take To The Street!
• Pressing On !
• The Battle For A Free Press
• The Battle Lines are Drawn
• Women : Crossing the Threshold
• An Old Man's Dream
• Father of Indian Unrest
• The Monk Who Shook The Nation
• The Battle is Taken to the Legislature!
• Partition of Bengal
• The Great Divide
• The New Spirit of India
• Swadeshi Enterprise
• From Swadeshi to Swaraj
• Gandhi in South Africa
• Heroes and Martyrs
• Revolutionaries Outside India
• Carrot and Stick
• Gandhi in Champaran
• The Gentle Satyagrahi
• Massacre at Jallianwala Bagh
• Jallianwala — The Aftermath
• A People Reject Their Rulers
• The Himalayan Blunder
• Gandhiji Withdraws from Political Activities
• Bardoli
• Saga of Indian Revolutionaries
• A Pinch of Salt!
• Gandhi and Ambedkar
• Leave India to God… or to Anarchy
• Quit India
• The Last War of Independence
• Apostle of Peace
• India Wins Freedom
• The Light Has Gone Out
• Under One Flag

Father of Indian Unrest

Father of Indian Unrest

In one of his circular letters Hume had asked: "…Is it quite impossible for you to open the eyes of your own country-men?' Bal Gangadhar Tilak did just that. When a terrible famine broke out in Bombay Presidency in 1896, Tilak asked the people to demand the benefits offered by the Famine Relief Code. "When the Queen desires that none should die, when the Governor declares that all should live…" Tilak wrote in his Marathi paper, Kesari, "will you kill yourself by timidity and starvation? If you have money to pay Government dues, pay them by all means. But if you have not, will you sell your things away only to avoid the supposed wrath of subordinate Government officers? Can you not be bold, even when in the grip of death?" Condemning the food riots, Tilak said, "Why loot the bazaars, go to the collector and tell him to give you work and food. That is his duty." The rent campaign launched by Tilak emboldened the farmers who waved printed copies of the Marathi version of the Famine Relief Code in the faces of the revenue officials who came to collect rents. The days of petitions were over. The days of agitation had begun. Tilak started Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav or Ganapati festivals in public places in 1893. People who otherwise would not have stepped out of their houses came out into the streets to sing and dance in praise of the god of wisdom and to listen to what their leaders had to say. Tilak was perhaps the first national leader to realise that the slogan of 'Liberty and Equality' borrowed from the west made no sense to the common man in India. It became clear to him that the concept of freedom had to be linked to a symbol that was understood by all. Reaching back into history he drew from it a hero revered by the masses — the great Shivaji. Shivaji stood for unity and courage and he was synonymous with 'Swaraj'. Tilak started the practice of holding festivals in Shivaji's honour with the intention of arousing patriotic fervour in the people and succeeded to a great extent.

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Both the nationalistic movement and the revolutionary movement which shook the country out of its centuries-old slumber drew inspiration from Tilak's writings and utterances. Aurobindo Ghosh and Bipin Chandra Pal in Bengal, Lala Lajpat Rai in Punjab, Chidambaram Pillai and Subramania Bharati in the South, instituted nationalistic movements in their provinces.
Aurobindo described Nationalism as immortal. "Nationalism is not a trick of intellect," said Aurobindo." It is an attitude of the heart, of the soul. What intellect could not do, this mighty force of passionate conviction born out of the very depth of the national consciousness, will be able to accomplish."
The Nationalists distanced themselves from European liberals. Wrote Bipin Chandra Pal : "The time has come when in the interests of truth and civic advancement and freedom of the people, our British friends should be distinctly told that while we are thankful to them for all the kind things they have said all these years for us, and the ready sacrifices they have made to make our lot easy and their yoke light, we cannot any longer suffice to be guided by them in our efforts for political progress and emancipation. Their view-point is not ours." With this statement the nationalists cut the umbilical cord which connected the Indian political movement with the European liberals.
The Revolutionaries comprising young Indians also drew inspiration from Tilak. In 1897, when Rand, the plague commissioner of Pune was killed by the Chaphekar brothers, the Anglo-Indian press screamed for Tilak's blood and Tilak was arrested on charges of sedition. While the judge agreed that there was no connection between Rand's killing and Tilak's writings, he ruled that Tilak's writings showed absence of affection for the government. The judge concluded that the absence of affection meant hatred against the government.
The whole country followed Tilak's trial with bated breath. The Hindu reported: "From the early hours of the morning to late in the evening, crowds of people stood outside the offices of the Hindu, anxiously awaiting the latest news about Tilak. And when the telegram that he had been sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment was read out, oh, what grief, what anguish was seen on the faces around."
In a spontaneous reaction, mill workers struck work, shops downed shutters, students walked out of classrooms and the country saluted the man who had refused to apologize to the government, hailing him as "Lokamanya".
R.C. Majumdar sums up the mood of the time in this passage:
"The trial and conviction of Tilak may be regarded as a landmark in the history of nationalism. Henceforth, sacrifice and sufferings in the cause of the country, rather than eloquence and debating skill, came to be regarded as the badge of honour and distinction. The martyrs replaced mere orators as acknowledged champions of Liberty".