Bal Gangadhar Tilak

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Lore & Background

Keshav Gangadhar Tilak was born on 23 July 1856 in a Marathi Hindu Chitpavan Brahmin family in Ratnagiri, Bombay Presidency. The family moved to Poona in 1867. His father, Gangadhar Tilak, was a school teacher and a Sanskrit scholar who died when Tilak was sixteen. In 1871, Tilak was married to Tapibai (Née Bal) when he was sixteen, a few months before his father's death; after marriage, her name was changed to Satyabhamabai. Tilak obtained his B.A. in Mathematics from Deccan College of Poona in 1877. He left his M.A. course midway to join an L.L.B course, obtaining his L.L.B degree from Government Law College in 1879. After graduating, he taught mathematics at a private school in Pune, later becoming a journalist. Inspired by Vishnushastri Chiplunkar, he co-founded the New English school for secondary education in 1880 with Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, Mahadev Ballal Namjoshi, and Vishnushastri Chiplunkar. The success of the school led to the Deccan Education Society in 1884, which established Fergusson College in 1885. Tilak taught mathematics at Fergusson College. In 1890, he left the Deccan Education Society for more openly political work. He began a mass movement towards independence by an emphasis on a religious and cultural revival. Tilak joined the Indian National Congress in 1890. During late 1896, a bubonic plague spread from Bombay to Pune; British measures caused resentment. Tilak published inflammatory articles in his newspapers Kesari and Mahratta. Following the shooting of Commissioner Rand and Lt. Ayerst by the Chapekar brothers on 22 June 1897, Tilak was charged with incitement to murder and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. He was revered as a martyr and national hero. He adopted the slogan 'Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it.' Tilak supported self-rule but did not advocate a complete severance from the British Empire; in 1907 he stated that Swaraj would not entail a break with the empire, and he advocated loyalty to the British Crown. Following the Partition of Bengal, Tilak encouraged the Swadeshi and Boycott movements. He opposed the moderate views of Gopal Krishna Gokhale and was supported by Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai, forming the Lal-Bal-Pal triumvirate. In 1907, the Congress split into radicals (led by Tilak, Pal, Lajpat Rai) and moderates. Tilak was the first Congress leader to suggest Hindi written in Devanagari scr

Reader's Guide

Tilak’s political behaviour was defined by his use of religious and cultural revival to build a mass movement for self-rule, a strategy that set him apart from more moderate contemporaries. He co-founded educational institutions, including a secondary school and later a college, to instil nationalist ideas in young Indians through an emphasis on Indian culture. After leaving formal teaching, he turned to journalism, publishing inflammatory articles in Marathi and English newspapers that quoted Hindu scriptures to justify resistance against oppression. During a plague epidemic, when British authorities imposed harsh measures such as forced entry into homes and quarantine camps, Tilak’s writings were linked to the subsequent assassination of two British officers. Although he almost certainly concealed the perpetrators’ identities, he was convicted of incitement to murder and imprisoned for eighteen months, emerging as a revered martyr. His political significance lies in his role as one of the first and strongest advocates of Swaraj, coining the slogan that self-rule was a birthright. He formed a close alliance with other nationalist leaders in the Lal Bal Pal triumvirate and worked with figures such as V. O. Chidambaram Pillai and Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Despite his radical methods, Tilak did not call for a complete break with the British Empire and expressed loyalty to the Crown, advocating self-rule within that framework. He is considered a conservative reactionary who, according to one scholar, represented the interests of the colonial bourgeoisie.

Did You Know?

• Tilak was one of the first and strongest advocates of Swaraj, coining the slogan 'Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it!'
• He was tried for sedition three times by the British Indian government, in 1897, 1909, and 1916.
• Tilak co-founded the New English school in 1880 and later the Deccan Education Society, which established Fergusson College.
• He was the first Congress leader to suggest Hindi written in Devanagari script as the sole national language of India.