Titled Lokmanya by the public, Keshav Gangadhar Tilak or Bal Gangadhar Tilak was an Indian nationalist, teacher and a freedom fighter. One of the Lal Bal Pal triumvirate, Tilak was one of the primary leaders of the Indian Independence movement.
Called as 'Maker of Modern India', Tilak was a force to reckon with. Staunch advocate of 'swarajya' (Self-rule), Tilak had for long agitated against the British Raj in India.
He was born on July 23,1856, in Bombay presidency during the Raj to a Hindu Chitpavan Brahmin family in Ratnagiri district. Tilak studied at Deccan College in Pune where he got a bachelor's degree in Mathematics. He pursued LLB from Government Law College after he dropped out of his Master's course midway.
Ahead of his birth anniversary, here are things you must know about the revolutionary figure.
It was because of Tilak that we celebrate Ganesh Chathurthi on a big scale. To strengthen the unity amongst Indians, he had proposed this idea of grand celebrations consisting of several days of processions, music and food.
Tilak also started a Shri Shivaji Fund Committee for celebrating 'Shiva Jayanti', the birth anniversary of Maratha empire's founder, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
The freedom fighter also began two weeklies named Kesari in Marathi and Maratha in English with Gopal Ganesh Agarkar as the editorial head. He used this publication to aid the Indian Independence movement.
Called as "the father of Indian unrest" by British author Sir Valentine Chirol, Tilak also set up Deccan Education Society to improve the quality of education for India's youth.
Deccan Education Society was established to create a new system of education that taught young Indians nationalist ideas and focused on Indian culture. It runs over 40 institutions presently.
Tilak, during his time, went on trial under sedition charges on multiple occassions. He was also sentenced to 18 months in prison for preaching disaffection against the British Raj.
