Bal Gangadhar Tilak was a great man of India—not for his wealth or position, but for his service to his countrymen. Few Indians have equaled him as a figure of modern times. He was born in 1856 at Ratnagiri, in the Bombay Presidency (now Maharashtra).
Tilak was an educationist, a scholar, a journalist, an orator, a religious man, a reformer, a patriot, and a political leader.
He was the pioneer of a great educational movement. His ardent desire was to educate the people of Maharashtra and to inspire them with new ideas and the spirit of modernity.
He began his career as a schoolmaster, although he held a degree in Law. He founded a school in Poona (now Pune), the Ferguson College, and also established the Deccan Education Society. He was a great Sanskrit scholar and a mathematician of his time.
Professor Max Müller, Jacobi, and other renowned scholars paid warm tributes to Tilak's memorable works The Arctic Home of the Aryans and Orion.
Tilak was also an eminent journalist. His periodical Kesari still holds a prominent position among India's vernacular journals. Through it, he fostered unity among the Marathas. Tilak was the first to demonstrate that a vernacular paper, if conducted with ability and sincerity, could foster national unity among the masses.
Tilak was a forceful orator. His eloquent speeches were straightforward, lucid, and powerful. Whether delivered from the Congress platform or elsewhere, his speeches inspired the masses.
He was a deeply religious man who stood firm in his faith amid the storms and strife of life. He was also a social reformer, fighting against many abuses and social evils. His character was saintly—always firm and bold. Tilak was a born statesman. It is no wonder that a true lover of his country and a scholar of his stature rose to the forefront of politics. During the last phase of his life, he devoted most of his time to political work. He initiated the concept of "responsive cooperation," meaning cooperation with the British government only if it was willing to cooperate with the people.
Tilak was a great patriot. He could not think of anything except the welfare of his country. He was loved, admired, and trusted by all, and for a long time, he was a national leader. He was perhaps the first Indian politician to endure long-term imprisonment for his political beliefs, yet he stood firm as a rock in his fight for his distressed countrymen.
His heart overflowed with the milk of human kindness. Whenever famine or plague struck the country, he worked tirelessly to relieve the suffering of the people. His unflinching faith in God, his devotion to religion, his love for his motherland, his service to his fellow citizens, his courage, endurance, and self-sacrifice for the national cause of freedom made him truly great.
He was called Lokamanya—beloved of the people—as a token of love and respect from his countrymen. He breathed his last at midnight on 1 August 1920 at Sadar Griha in Bombay (now Mumbai), leaving the whole country in mourning.
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