Bal Gangadhar Tilak- UPSC Prelims

Bal Gangadhar Tilak: He was an Indian nationalist, teacher and an independence activist. He was also conferred with the title of Lokmanya.
As Educationist:
- He founded the Deccan Education Society in 1884 along with his associate Gopal Ganesh Agarkar and others to create a new system of education that taught young Indians nationalist ideas through an emphasis on Indian culture.
- The Society also established the Fergusson College in 1885 for post-secondary studies.
Indian National Congress(INC):
- Tilak joined the Indian National Congress in 1890.He opposed moderate attitude. He along with Lala Lajpat Rai and Bipin Chandra Pal was part of the Lal-Bal-Pal trio of leaders with extremist outlooks.
Home Rule League: Tilak helped found the All India Home Rule League in 1916–18 with G. S. Khaparde and Annie Besant.
Tilak’s Home Rule League worked in Maharashtra, Central Provinces and Karnataka and Berar region. Besant’s League was active in the rest of India.
Newspapers: Kesari (Marathi) and Mahratta (English)
Books: Shrimadh Bhagvad Gita Rahasya and Arctic Home of the Vedas.
Significance:
- The declaration of Tilak “Swaraj is my birthright, and I shall have it” served as an inspiration for future revolutionaries during India’s struggle for freedom.
- A book ‘Indian Unrest’ written by Valentine Chirol, an English journalist stated Tilak the ‘father of Indian unrest’.