Bal Gangadhar Tilak

The 10-day Ganesh festival will be celebrated beginning September 6 (Ganesh Chaturthi) in 2024.

• Freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak was the man who turned the private, household Ganesh Chathurthi celebration into the present day carnival.

About Bal Gangadhar Tilak

• Journalism: Tilak used the power of the press effectively. 
  • His newspapers, the ‘Kesari’ (in Marathi) and the ‘Mahratta’ (in English), became the voice of nationalist sentiments, criticizing the British and enlightening the masses about their rights.
• Education:  Recognizing the power of education in creating a new generation of leaders, Tilak established institutions like the Fergusson College in Pune.
• He co-founded institutions like the ‘New English School’, the ‘Deccan Society for Education’, and ‘Fergusson College’, and presented a comprehensive educational blueprint to the Hunter Commission (1882 & 1919). 
• Bal Gangadhar Tilak also leveraged his paper ‘Mahratha’to Advocate for the People, drawing upon Hindu scriptures and the Bhagavad Gita to support his arguments.
• Bal Gangadhar Tilak, colloquially known as “Lokmanya”, was a stalwart of the Indian Independence Movement. 

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Role in the Indian Independence Movement

• Swaraj & Self-rule: Tilak’s clarion call “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it” encapsulated the aspirations of millions of Indians. 
  • He was among the first to demand complete independence (Purna Swaraj) from the British, marking a shift from the early moderate demands of dominion status.
• Home Rule Movement:  Drawing inspiration from the Irish Home Rule movement, Tilak, along with Annie Besant, initiated the Indian Home Rule Movement in 1916.
  • This was a significant step, as it sought to achieve self-rule for India within the British Empire, setting the ground for the larger demand for complete independence.
• Use of Festivals:  Tilak reinvigorated traditional Indian festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi and Shivaji Jayanti to mobilize people across the socio-economic spectrum.
  • Ganesh Chaturthi processions became a platform for political discourse and unity.

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