As we enter our 75th year of freedom, we have a galaxy of legends to thank for ridding us of foreign occupation. But one name is often overlooked, and in part, because He isn’t human!
When Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak issued his clarion call for Swarajya, the right to self-rule, he combined it with yet another masterstroke, one that became a rallying cry of the resistance.
Ganesh Chaturthi, the festival dedicated to the elephant-headed God of wisdom, has been celebrated since ancient times; it was reinvigorated by Maharashtra’s most illustrious son, Shivaji Maharaj. Whilst it was generally a private celebration, Tilak had the foresight to understand that Ganesha’s universal appeal cuts across castes and classes. He is the architect of the grand public celebration that it has become today.
The ‘Shrimant Bhausaheb Rangari Ganpati Trust’ based in Pune is believed to be the spark that started the fire. Starting life in 1892, the first Ganesha idol depicted the victory of good over evil, a metaphor for the country’s struggle for freedom. Tilak noticed this and praised the celebration in his newspaper, the Kesari, and then installed a Ganesha idol in the paper’s offices, thus giving birth to the Sarvajanik Ganesh Utsav.
Religious celebrations, and in general public life, had become a muted affair under British rule. At a time like this, the public Ganesh Chaturthi mandals not only restored a sense of pride in our culture but also provided the perfect foil for freedom fighters to meet and organise their next moves. Even the British, who would ruthlessly clamp down on any suspicious public gatherings, were helpless in the face of this cleverly disguised celebration, and they couldn’t do much for fear of a backlash if they meddled with religious sensibilities.
