Introduction

• Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856-1920), the ‘Lokmanya’, the Extremist, and the Home Rule Leaguer, was a mass leader who effectively mobilized the masses in the pre-Gandhi era.
• His mass mobilization technique was so effective that Gandhi later adopted it with partial modification.
• Tilak’s work focused on two primary areas: nationalist agenda against colonial rule and addressing the issues of labouring masses, peasantry, and labour.
• His early writings in Mabratta and Kesari reflected these themes and focused on labour conditions, class conflict, and building nationalism against colonial oppression.
• For Tilak, the primary contradiction was between the British and the Indians, with secondary contradictions between Indian labour and capital, and male dominance and women subjugation.
• His main goal was to mobilize and unite Indians across these divisions against British rule.
• Tilak was critical of colonial reformative measures, as they were designed to shift focus from primary contradictionsto secondary contradictions.
• He opposed the Moderate’s mendicancy approach, which asked the British for reforms, focusing instead on regenerating Indians to push the British out or transfer power within the dominion.
• Social reforms, though important, were not urgent prerequisites for political power transfer in his view, leading some contemporaries to label him a social reactionary.
• Tilak’s opposition to Factories Act of 1881, critique of Ramabai, and resistance to raising the marriage age for girls stemmed from his nationalist priority.
• He engaged in a political-communal compromise with the Muslim League, supporting separate electorates to unify the national block against the British.
• Tilak was hopeful for substantive political autonomy post-war, even agreeing to a federal India based on linguistic provinces.
• Unlike his predecessors, Tilak did not trust the British sense of justice and aimed to reawaken the public against colonial rule.
• He expressed his vision of Swaraj through the press, particularly in Kesari and Mabratta.
• In 1896, Tilak introduced the Ganpati Puja and Shivaji Mahotsava to culturally unite people, irrespective of casteand creed, injecting nationalism and awareness.
• Tilak was the first mass leader in India, realizing that constitutional agitation was futile and forming the extremist wing of the Indian National Congress in 1889.
• His movement was based on the principles of Swadeshi, Boycott, and Education.
• Tilak and Gopal Ganesh Agarkar focused on affordable education and founded the New English School in Pune (1881) and the Deccan Society (1885).
• They believed education was crucial for the nation’s development and devoted themselves to educating both the young generation and elderly about India’s socio-political and economic realities.
• Tilak felt that national freedom could not be achieved without the active support of the masses and worked to revive their pride in India’s glorious past.
• The Ganpati and Shivaji Mahotsava became key events in India’s freedom movement, successfully mobilizing the masses.
• Tilak was the first political leader to break through academic methods, bridging the gap between the past and present, and restoring continuity to India’s political life.
• He Indianized the movement by developing a unique language and spirit, using methods suited to India’s context.
• Tilak rejected the constitutional method adopted by leaders like Gokhale, believing it was ineffective for India as the country had no democratic means to change the government.
• He argued that India’s agitation could not be based on law since the British government could change laws at will.
• In his writings in Kesari, Tilak criticized constitutional methods, likening them to “barking at a stone wall”, as the British bureaucracy ignored the Congress leaders.
• Tilak believed the British government saw the Congress as harmless, with no real power to enforce change, and thus adopted more aggressive methods to pressure them.
• His second key focus was the mobilization of masses, especially peasants and labourers, to pressure the British into transferring power to Indians.
• Tilak recognized that mendicancy (appealing to the British) wouldn’t work and focused on mass pressure for achieving Home Rule.
• To mobilize the masses, he utilized newspapers for mass communication and political education, and cultural idiomsto spread nationalist ideas.
• Tilak also used social reforms initiated by the colonial state in private domains (e.g., family matters) as a tool for nationalist mobilization, converting private issues into political ones.
• He was not against social reforms but used the anger of the masses against the colonial interference in India’s nationalist domain.
• Tilak’s support for Indian labour and business reflected his belief in prioritizing national unity over colonial interests.
• His opposition to the Factory Acts (1881 and 1891) and support for the Signaller’s Association and Postal Peon strikes (1906) illustrated his commitment to worker’s rights.
• He was also involved in labour rallies in Bombay (1907-08) and worked to unite Indian nationalism across class, religion, and nationality divides.
• Tilak’s success included the formation of a pan-Indian business house (later named Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry), the Lucknow Pact (agreement between Indian Muslim League and Congress), and a proposal for a federal India based on linguistic provinces.
• His Ganpati and Shivaji festivals were major successes, gaining popular support for nationalist causes and social reforms.
• He opposed the Age of Consent Bill, and received support from Indian businesses against the Factory Acts and the strike of labour during his imprisonment.
• Tilak’s social reform proposals included:
  • Minimum marriageable age: 16 for girls, 20 for boys.
  • Remarriage of widows.
  • Opposing remarriage of men over 40, unless marrying widows.
  • Ending widow disfigurement, prohibiting dowry, and banning liquor.
  • Advocated that one-fourth of the salary of every reformer be donated to public purposes.
• His reforms aimed at striking at the roots of social evils and contributing to national consciousness, with support from ancient texts.