One of the stalwarts of India’s
freedom movement, Bal Gangadhar Tilak also known as Lokmanya Tilak was born in
Ratnagiri, Maharashtra on July 23, 1856. He is known for his famous quote “Self
Rule is our birthright, and We shall have it!” He was reverently addressed as
Lokmanya (or “Beloved of the people” or “Revered by the world”).
After completing his graduation, Tilak
began teaching in a private school in Pune and went on to become a journalist.
He was very vocal in his criticism of the Western education system and set up
the Deccan Education Society to educate India’s youth. Tilak founded the
Marathi daily Kesari (Lion), in the pages of which he actively propagated the
cause of freedom. He joined the Indian National Congress. He was known for his
hardcore Hindu views. In 1907, the Congress Party split into the two factions.
The British authorities charged
Tilak with sedition and he was imprisoned from 1908 to 1914 in Mandalay, Burma.
He re-joined the Indian National Congress in 1916 and helped to found the All
India Home Rule League in 1916-18.
He wrote many books on Indian culture, history and Hinduism like The Orion or Researches into the antiquities of the Vedas (1893), Arctic Home in the Vedas, Geetarahasya and others. He passed away on August 1, 1920.