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  LOKMANYA

  TILAK A BIOGRAPHY

  LOKMANYA

  TILAK A BIOGRAPHY

  A.K. B HAGWAT

  G.P. PRADHAN

  Foreword by

  DR. S. RADHAKRISHNAN

  Former President of India

  JAICO PUBLISHING HOUSE

  Ahmedabad Bangalore Bhopal Bhubaneswar Chennai

  Delhi Hyderabad Kolkata Lucknow Mumbai

  Published by Jaico Publishing House

  A-2 Jash Chambers, 7-A Sir Phirozshah Mehta Road

  Fort, Mumbai - 400 001

  [email protected]

  www.jaicobooks.com

  © A.K. Bhagwat & G.P. Pradhan

  LOKMANYA TILAK - A BIOGRAPHY

  ISBN 978-81-7992-846-2

  First Jaico Impression: 2008

  Fourth Jaico Impression: 2011

  No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in

  any form or by any means, electronic or

  mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any

  information storage and retrieval system,

  without permission in writing from the publishers.

  Printed by

  Kaveri Printer, Delhi -92

  CONTENTS

  FOREWORD

  PREFACE

  1

  THE COMMON PLATFORM

  2

  SCHOOL AND COLLEGE, PRESS AND PRISON

  3

  THE PARTING OF WAYS

  4

  THE END OF AN EPOCH

  5

  FROM LIBERALISM TO NATIONALISM

  6

  STORM AND STRESS

  7

  WIDENING HORIZONS

  8

  A PERSONAL INTERLUDE

  9

  THE FOUR PILLARS

  10

  GOKHALE-TILAK-AUROBINDO

  11

  FROM A LARGER TO A SMALLER PRISON

  12

  AWAY FROM THE PUBLIC GAZE

  13

  TOWARDS COMPROMISE AND CONSOLIDATION

  14

  THE GOSPEL OF SWARAJ

  15

  THE ACCREDITED LEADERS

  16

  IN ENGLAND

  17

  ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE

  18

  THE SCHOLAR AND THE’SADHAKA’

  19

  A SUMMING UP

  FOREWORD

  This biography of Lokmanya Tilak by Shri A. K. Bhagwat and Shri G. P. Pradhan is a valuable addition to the literature on this subject available in English.

  There are different sides to Tilak’s life of which the most prominent is his political contribution. He gave the dynamic message to us that” Swaraj is my birth right and I shall have it”. His force of character, moral conviction and the courage to stand up and suffer for the cause of India’s freedom are brought out vividly in this volume. Tilak’s patriotism was a blend of political, moral and religious strands.

  Tilak was not only a political leader but also a great scholar and journalist. His mind had a comprehensive sweep embracing ancient literature and modern science. He illuminated every subject he took up.

  Tilak had faith in the validity and relevance of the ancient ideals of this country to modern life. His monumental work, the Gita Rahasya is a testimony to it. At a time when there is a great deal of insecurity and aimless drift in spite of frantic activity, he speaks to us of the need for inward discipline and compassion for man.

  I have no doubt that this book will reveal to the readers the universality of Tilak’s mind and essential faith in what one may call the ‘family of man’.

  Dr. S. Radhakrishnan

  PREFACE

  It is sometimes disturbing to think afresh of the idols of one’s early years. A discovery of the unknown facets of their personalities and also of their limitations make one doubt the validity of every judgment of one’s past. We began studying Lokmanya Tilak’s life and work with a similar misgiving. However, the multi-splendoured personality of Tilak, both as an individual and as a leader, was so absorbing that till the end we were oblivious of our initial apprehensions. During the days of our work we could recreate for ourselves the intellectual and political climate of the age of Tilak. We would cherish the memory of these days as one of the most exhilarating in our lives.

  The competition sponsored by the All-India Congress Committee on the occasion of Lokmanya Tilak’s birth centenary celebrations prompted us to undertake the writing of this book. We were singularly fortunate in having the guidance of the late Acharya S. D. Javadekar, a political philosopher of modern Maharashtra. He stimulated our minds, corrected some of our judgments, and helped us evolve a perspective on Tilak and his times.

  The writing of this book was a labour, of love, which was made lighter and sweeter through the help of a number of persons. Of these we can only mention the following few to whom our grateful thanks are due:

  Professors S. S. Murdeshwar, M. D. Hatkanaglekar, A. B. Shah and Shri G. M. Karmarkar helped us to finalize the manuscript. Shrimati Malavika Pradhan and Shrimati Meera Bhagwat stood by us throughout the strenuous period of our work. Shri J. H. Shah of Jaico Publishing House undertook the printing of the book and brought it out on time. We are indebted to the University of Poona for the grant-in-aid of Rs. 500 towards the cost of this book.

  No words are adequate to express our sense of gratitude to Dr. S. Radhakrishnan who, in spite of his multifarious activities, wrote a foreword to this book.

  A.K. Bhagwat

  G.P. Pradhan

  THE COMMON PLATFORM

  1

  “The impression made by the first sentence that comes before us is more lasting than the one that comes later. That is why a particular type of education has to be given in childhood,” declared Bal Gangadhar Tilak in 1908.1 The influences of childhood generally make a deeper impression and are more permanent. Very often they form a focus around which later impressions are grouped. Like a sensitive plant the young mind absorbs all that is congenial to it from the air, the soil and the growth around.

  To understand correctly how Tilak’s mind was moulded one has to go back to his childhood and see what ideas and impressions influenced him most. These ideas formed the structure of his mind and gave him a standard by which later day influences of books, men, and matters could be measured. Companionship in youth played a conspicuous part in serving to point his thoughts in a certain direction, giving him a clear line of action.

  Tilak was born on the 23 rd July 1856, at Ratnagiri, in the Bombay Presidency, on the west coast of India, in a family of Chitpavan Brahmins. The people of this part have always been known to be hardy, industrious and practical; simple in their living and frugal in their habits. The Chitpavan Brahmins are known for their uncommon intellectual abilities and from the time of the illustrious Peshwas have earned a name for administrative as also martial qualities. In the British period, the Chitpavans were among the first to take to English education and filled many important positions with distinction.

  Tilak’s father, Gangadhar Ramchandra Tilak, popularly known for his Sanskrit learning as Gangadhar Shastri, was at first the headmaster of a primary school and later became an Assistant Deputy Educational Inspector. Though he did not have the advantage of an English education, Gangadhar Shastri was known for his learning, and earned for his knowledge of Sanskrit, the respect of such eminent Sanskrit scholars as Dr. R.G. Bhandarkar. The Tilak family came from the small village of Chikhalgaon of which they were the “Knots”.2 Tilak’s grandfather, Ramchandra, was a storekeeper of the Peshwas before the Mutiny of 1857, and in his old age became a sanyasi. He left but little to his son, but the son, by dint of hard work and the frugality, characteristic of th
e people of the west coast, appeared to be fairly well off, particularly in his later days.

  The birth of Tilak was a matter of particular rejoicing, because there had been three daughters before him in the family, and a son and heir was greatly desired. His mother Parvatibai, a devout religious woman, worshipped the sun so that she might be blessed with a son. The child was named Keshav first, but came to be known by the pet name “Bal”, given to him by his mother. This name, Tilak says, he continued in later life, to perpetuate his mother’s memory. Tilak was sent to a primary school in 1861 and before his initiation had made very good progress in the traditional learning of the multiplication tables, arithmetic, Sanskrit declensions and synonyms from the Amarkosha.

  In 1886, Tilak’s father was transferred to Poona and took up lodgings in Budhwar Peth, in the heart of the city. Before Tilak entered the English school, his mother died and six years later he lost his father too, a few months before he entered college. In 1871, he was married to a girl of 11 from the Bal family, which also came from the Konkan. The Bals were known for their hospitality and charitable disposition and Tilak’s father trusted Tilak’s brother-in-law so much that at the time of his death he deposited with him all the money he had, without executing a bond of any kind. Tilak’s grandfather lived at Kashi and Tilak’s father wrote to him that he had an offer of marriage from the Bal family. “The girl is plain and we shall not get much dowry. Many other better looking girls have also been proposed and we may get a dowry of more than Rs. 500.” Tilak’s grandfather replied that dowry or looks did not matter and that the girl from the Bal family should be chosen. Accordingly, Tilak was married at the age of 15.

  Tilak’s father had left about Rs. 5,000 on his death and his affairs were entrusted to the care of Govindrao, his brother, who along with his wife Gopikabai, became Tilak’s guardian. Tilak got a good education in the orthodox Hindu cultural tradition and this influence remained throughout his life. It is also necessary to remember that Tilak’s father was a teacher, known for his learning. His mother was orthodox and spent much of her time in worship. Both were therefore careful to see that the boy’s mind was moulded in the traditional Hindu fashion.

  At school, Tilak showed his independence when, on one occasion, wrongly charged by the teacher with eating groundnuts in the class, he refused to accept the punishment and walked home with books and slate in defiance of the teacher. A Sanskrit Shastri in the Poona High School once dictated the translation of a few Sanskrit verses to Tilak’s class; but Tilak refused to take it down, and when taken to task by the teacher said, “It is no use mugging up a translation given by others.” At the age of 12 while taking dictation he wrote the word (Sant) in three different ways and when the teacher held only the first one correct, he complained to the headmaster and got full credit for the variations. He was a bright student, particularly brilliant in Mathematics and Sanskrit,* and though he never won any academic prizes, apart from a junior scholarship, at the Deccan College, whatever he studied remained with him as a permanent acquisition. In 1873, just a few months after his father’s death, he entered the Deccan College, Poona. At first he used to walk a distance of about two miles from the city, take a ferry at the river and go to college on foot. But later he stayed in the hostel and formed valuable friendships. Excepting for the death of his parents before he was out of his teens, there seems to have been very little to disturb the childhood days of Tilak. The place of his parents was admirably filled by an uncle and aunt, who regarded the boy as their sacred trust and lavished on him every care and affection. Happy in his domestic life, the boy Tilak did not experience any of the struggles which are, the lot of others not so blessed by circumstances. A child looks at the world through the prism of its domestic life; and to a boy with a happy and comfortable family background, society and social conventions do not appear to be menacing or inimical.

  Tilak entered college in 1873. In the Deccan College of his days the student community being small was a compact one. There were hardly two hundred students in the college, most of whom lived in the hostels. It was again a cosmopolitan institution, where students belonging to all classes and communities studied together. It was, therefore, a time where friendships of a lasting nature could be formed. Life was enjoyable and the world was good. There was room for all, and pleasure was heightened by fellowship.

  Tilak was a small, puny-looking individual and the contrast that his puny physical frame presented to the more robust one of his wife was a matter of mirth among his friends. Tikk showed his determination and strength of purpose by devoting the whole of his first year at college to improving his health. With this resolve he took physical exercise and practised gymnastics. A young man is nine-tenths animal spirit. Even though it was a serious minded generation, with youth maturing early, being saddled with the responsibilities of a wife and children at a very early age, they could be free and unrestrained during their brief stay at college. Tilak does not seem to have played tennis or cricket, but was very fond of boating and swimming. Swimming was to remain a permanent passion with him throughout his life.

  An intimate glimpse of Tilak’s life at college is given by a contemporary:3 “Poona,” he says, “then had the reputation of having a salubrious climate and of being cheap, the site of the Deccan College being also a further attraction on account of its situation in a lovely solitary spot, far away from the busy haunts of the city. Mr. B. G. Tilak was then a lean spare figure with twinkling eyes and a massive head with a short tuft of hair. His dress was as simple as it was later. He wore a large round red turban with no lace end and a flowing long coat4 and a sadra (shirt) inside and carried an angawastra (upper garment) with him, with Dakshini shoes on his feet. Virtually there was no change in his dress from the time we saw him at the college till he expired.... In private hours of study he wore no shirt at all but was to be found in his dhoti, with the upper portion of his body bare, and an angawastra. At the end of three or four years, the Tilak whom we had seen at the outset was quite different. He had then a well-developed body with broad chest and robust arms.”

  Tilak became a resident student at the beginning of the second term after he entered college, i.e. in June 1873. Tilak’s room was on the ground floor. At meal times he strictly followed the orthodox practice of wearing a “pure” silk dhoti and ridiculed those who, in his opinion, blindly aped the foreigner in sitting at their meals in their shirts and ordinary dhotis. Tilak was a hearty eater and showed a preference for wheat bread.

  Tilak was not an early riser. His habit was to wander at will in the hostel and the college grounds, which were extensive, and play a thousand and one pranks on his hostel mates. Some of his friends, once intending to play a joke on him, hid his silk dhoti at meal time. Tilak sat for his meal in his wet dhoti after his bath and then to punish his mischievous friends, entered their room by climbing over the partitions after they had gone out and bolted each of the doors from the inside. For such pranks he earned the nickname “Devil” and was also given the name “Blunt”. He appears to have been very sociable and popular, too, among his fellow students. There is an air of genial recklessness and abandon about his behaviour at college. K. B. Deval, a friend of Tilak, describes an incident when he visited Tilak at the Deccan College: “We sat on the terrace talking. The topic was the valour of the people in the reign of the Peshwas. Some of us became emotional. ‘What will you do, if it is necessary for us to disappear from here at a moment’s notice?’ asked someone. Almost everyone said that it was impossible. Tilak alone stood up, rolled up his dhoti, tightened it and jumped down a height of 10 ft. without pausing to think for a moment, saying, ‘That is what I would do.’ Everyone thought that he would break his legs but Tilak was seen calmly ascending the stairs, totally unhurt.”

  M. V. Kathavate, his school fellow, says that though determined and stern he was very sensitive where his friends were concerned. One of their friends, Marathey, an M.A. student, fell ill. The docto
r advised very careful nursing. Tilak volunteered, stayed with the patient and nursed him day and night. The friend, however, died; but one more instance of Tilak’s strength of mind was seen at the funeral. When the dead body was burning on the pyre one of the feet stuck out suddenly. Nobody knew what to do but Tilak stepped forward, cut out the limb and threw it with great sorrow on to the pyre. Here was an instance of his mind that was at the same time soft as a flower and hard as nails.

  He usually studied at night, beginning to read at 11 and continuing even up to 2 a.m. His method of reading was always critical and he was reluctant to take anything on trust, no matter from what high authority it came, saying that it was the duty of everyone to make use of his God-given intellect. He was particularly good in Mathematics and during the six months that he was in the Elphinstone College, Bombay, in the same class as Justice Chandavarkar, he made a name as a brilliant student of mathematics. At the Deccan College, he became the leader of a group of students who boycotted the lectures of one of the professors, probably Dr. Peterson, and was blunt enough to tell the professor that he did not know how to teach Sanskrit.

  Tilak does not seem to have been impressed by any of his professors during his college days, except the professor of mathematics, Kero Vaman Chhatre. Chhatre was a great scholar and teacher, respected and loved by all his students. It was through him that Tilak acquired a passion for mathematics and in after years he often said that he would have been content to be a teacher of mathematics if India were a free country. Chhatre affectionately called him “Tilkya” and on his death-bed hoped that his brilliant disciple would carry on his tradition of mathematics.