Bal Gangadhar Tilak birth anniversary: Interesting facts about the freedom fighter

Bal Gangadhar Tilak was both a teacher and a liberation fighter. He was one of the founders of the Indian Independence movement, hence his name has come to represent the fight for independence. He always emphasised the need for a national movement and the idea of Purna Swaraj, which means complete independence.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak, who was born on July 23, 1856, in the Ratnagiri area of Maharashtra (then the Bombay Presidency), was a key figure in the development of the nation’s path toward independence. He went by the name Lokmanya, and Mahatma Gandhi, the nation’s founder, referred to him as “The Maker of Modern India.”

Tilak vigorously supported Swaraj or self-rule. Throughout his long political career, he emphasised the necessity of Indian sovereignty and total independence from British colonial control. He was regarded as a radical nationalist as a result of his strong beliefs.

Before independence, Tilak founded weeklies like Kesari and Mahratta. Mahratta was an English-language weekly, whilst Kesari was published in the Marathi language. Because of his theories and methods for the liberation movement, the British used to refer to Tilak as “The Father of the Indian Unrest.” The Lal Bal Pal trio included Tilak as a crucial member. Together with Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai, he altered the political discourse of the independence struggle.

Tilak launched the Swaraj movement in 1890 after joining the Indian National Congress. Even more forcefully, Tilak founded the Indian Home Rule League with the catchphrase “Swarajya is my birthright and I shall obtain it.” Additionally, he served as its president.