by A K Bhagwat
In the meanwhile a section of Ranade’s followers who were members of the working committee were alarmed and sent telegrams to Mehta and Watcha complaining that the work of the Congress was being neglected. Some others suggested that the Congress should be held in the small and slightly out of the way district town of Satara. The implication was that since Satara would be unacceptable the Congress would be held in Bombay. Matters reached a crisis, Mehta and Watcha invited both the contending parties to Bombay and suggested a compromise by appointing two persons from each of the parties. This however did not end the matter. Those who were opposed to the Social Conference found a leader in one of the noted eccentrics of the day, Shridhar Vithal Date, who held a meeting in the Reay Market and threatened that if the reformists still persisted in holding the Social Conference in the Congress pandal there might be a fire. Date had earlier strengthened Tilak’s hands by promising to stand security for a sum of Rs. 10,000, thus enabling him to take up the challenge thrown by the opposing party that Tilak and his party would not be successful in collecting the huge amount requked to make the Congress a success. Mehta and Watcha visited Poona personally and took the decision that Tilak should continue the policy of the old working committee and hold the conference in the Congress pandal. This left Tilak no option except to resign his secretaryship, which he did. He however succeeded in extracting an assurance from Ranade that the Social Conference would not be held in the same pandal. Ultimately therefore Tilak and party carried the day but not before bitter and acrimonious bickerings, one of which was between Tilak and Gokhale when the latter accused Tilak that he was trying to carry out his measures “on the strength of brute force.” Tilak violently objected to the use of the term “brute force” and said that the reformists had called him and his party ‘brutes.’ Tilak’s literal interpretation was intentional and sought to belittle the standoffish and superior attitude of the moderate leaders. This controversy widened the gulf between the reformists and the orthodox sections. However unjustified Tilak’s accusation of Gokhale in this particular instance was, one thing was clear that Tilak looked to the masses and the majority, while the moderates were apprehensive of the forces that the awakening of the masses might unleash.
By the year 1895, therefore, Tilak seems to have reaped the fruits of his social ideas in the political sphere. His advocacy of the status quo in social matters had aligned him with the orthodox section in society who formed a majority of the middle class. The revival of historical festivals like the Shivaji celebration or religious celebrations like the Ganapati festivals brought him into direct contact with the masses. The revivalist method that he used was political in its intent. The liberal reformers could not avail themselves of this; to awaken national sentiment they would invoke Mazzini as Surendranath Banerjee had done in Bengal but Mazzini would not appeal to the people as a hero as Shivaji would. Through revivalist method Tilak could touch the hearts of people and establish a contact with traditionalist mass psychology.
Tilak, with growing experience of politics also realised that there were a number of people in Maharashtra who were not in sympathy with social reform but who were secretly preparing for political revolt. They were the relics of the old aristocracy or rulers of certain States. Though politically awakened they were socially orthodox. Groups of ‘wandering medicants’, referred to by the Times of India in 1884, and the seditious work of the religious orders, to which a reference had been made by Hume in his letter to Lord Dufferin, were a reality in Maharashtra. Some of the persons who had taken part in the mutiny of 1857 were wandering about in the guise of sanyasis, trying to organise people once again for a similar type of revolt. Aurobindo Ghose had come in contact with some of these people in Baroda. In Poona, Annasaheb Patwardhan, a medical man by profession, known as Maharshi Patwardhan for his yogic studies and saintly way of life, had around him a group of such revolutionaries. They were mostly orthodox Brahmins and Tilak had come into close contact with them. His break with Agarkar increased his affinity with these groups. Though the exact nature of his contact with them remains unknown, still, like them he looked to religion as a unifying force and used the revivalist method to awaken the sense of hope and self-confidence among the people so that they might be conscious of their own strength. His motive in appealing to the religious faith of the people was to use this faith as a means to national awakening and to give an ethical and moral basis to the political struggle. To him, men like Dadabhai were the teachers of a new political religion which kept before the people of India the common goal of patriotism, irrespective of class or creed. He felt, however, that the way of the realisation of this new principle lay through revivalism. His intention, therefore, was to revive the creative spirit of the old times and not the form of the old institutions or religion. Through such a revival of the creative spirit he knew that people would learn to be proud of their country. This would give them confidence in their own strength and once this was done their vast energies could be released for a national regeneration. It is the belief of all revivalists that there are certain eternal principles in the traditional history of a people. To them everything is not relative; there are also certain absolutes such as justice, truth, goodness, freedom or the revolutionary spirit. It is these eternal verities that Tilak wished to revive. The rational part of Tilak’s faith in the revivalist method was the desire to pick up the thread of progress by harping on these eternal verities. His concentration on the political issues through the method of revivalism was thus a correct step both from the point of view of expediency and from his understanding of mass psychology.
In the primary state of political agitation this method was soon to prove invaluable but there are potential dangers of the revivalist method. It has to be used purely as a means in the initial stages of mass awakening and has to be discarded as soon as that stage is passed; but very often what is used as a means usurps the position of the end. The spirit of revivalism is lost and only the dead form of routine and the dreary desert sands of habit remain. In the hands of followers, again, the form becomes more important than the spirit. What was once a creed of action becomes a drag, retarding progress. Action stagnates into lifeless ritual. For the advanced classes freedom meant a fight with the foreigner but to the backward classes it was fight with the advanced classes as well. The fight for political liberty satisfied all the urges by the intellectual elite that led the Congress and Tilak could afford to relegate social reform to second place so long as the masses were not conscious of their rights. For the masses, on the other hand, real freedom from the tyranny of the advanced classes could come only through social reform. When they were awakened, therefore, the limitations of the revivalist movement became clear indeed. Revivalism is thus a good servant but a bad master. In 1895 it was used by Tilak as a potent and powerful force to awaken the different sections of the people. The masses were educated politically and were acquainted with new forms in which their traditional pride could find expression. What was to degenerate in the hands of the isolated terrorists and revolutionaries into puerile attempts at stray murders was in Tilak’s hands a means of awakening mass energy. Soon he was to demonstrate his marvellous powers of organisation and teach the people how to stand up against injustice in any form, even if such a stand meant facing trial and incarceration.
1 ‘See Adventures of Ideas by A. N. Whitehead, P. 85, Pelican Books.
2 History of the Indian National Congress (1885-1935) by Dr. Pattabhi Sitaramayya, pp. 98-99.
3
4 Ibid., p. 152.
5 Ibid., p. 166.
6 Ibid., p. 342
7 See J. R. Seeley, The Expansion of England (1890): A book that Tilak read at this time and was obviously influenced by it: “Next I have led you to consider what may be the effect of our Indian empire upon India itself. We perhaps have not gained much from it; but has India gained? On this question I have desired to speak with great diffidence.... This me
ans no doubt that vast benefits will be done to India, but it does not necessarily mean that preat mischief may not also be done” (pp. 304-5). And again, “Our western civilisation is perhaps not absolutely the glorious thing we like to imagine it Those who watch India must impartially see that a vast transformation goes on there, but sometimes it produces a painful impression upon them; they see much destroyed, bad things and good things together; sometimes they doubt whether they see many good things called into existence.”
8
9 laid., p. 197.
10 Page 43 from the Procedings of a Public Meeting of the Citizens of Poona on 1-9-1889, P. 8.
11 “Kesari 23rd April 1889.
12 Kesari, 21st May 1889.
13 R. G. Pradhan : India’s Stntggk for Swaraj. P. 26
14 Kesarí, 5th April 1892.
15 Kesari, 12th July 1892
16 “Kesari, 19th December 1893.
17 Kesari, 27th September 1881.
18
19 Ibid, p. 208
20 Ibid, p. 233.
21 lbid, p. 239.
22 Ibid, pp. 487-88.
23 Kesari, 8th September 1896.
24 The High Court Translator’s note says here, “Shivaji’s rule was known by this name.”
25 Gandhi : The Story of My Experiments with Truth.
STORM AND STRESS
6
The resurgence of nationalism in India was due to external causes also, one of them being the war between China and Japan in 1894 and the crushing defeat inflicted by Japan on China. “Though it was a fratricidal war between one Asiatic nation and another, its significance was fully realised by Indian leaders. They saw, in the victory won by Japan, the dawn of a new era for the whole of Asia. Tilak, whose views on matters like this might be regarded as thoroughly representative, wrote in the Kesari that the condition of Japan was a clear indication of the revolution that was taking place all over Asia and it was bound to inspire hope in the minds of all Asiatic people.”1
In an article in the Kesari on the 14th May 1895, Tilak analyses the causes of China’s downfall and Japan’s rise: “The Chinese people are intelligent, talented and skilful but they have not prospered because they seem to have made a resolve, as it were, to stick to their traditional, social and political systems. ... A few years ago Japan also was like China, but then light dawned upon the people of Japan in time; they made the desired changes in their conduct of life, in their social and political systems. The present victory, in spite of the comparative smallness of the country in area, population and resources is an important event in the history of the world. This war is bound to give a new form to the history of the world. Russia, England and France have begun to realise that they have now an enemy of equal might to contend with.”
As for the lesson that India could learn from the rise of Japan, Tilak says, “The lesson taught by Japan to India is not a small one. India is like China: intelligent, considerate, but too fond of sleep. If we stick to our religious or social prejudices and do not allow knowledge, conducive to welfare, enter our minds, we shall never rise. If we leave aside our intransigence, tread warily to grasp knowledge wherever possible, we shall learn to act in concert, learn discipline and self-control, adventure and industry. Japan has shown us that our salvation lies in imitating the European nations judiciously. If we fail to grasp this lesson, we shall get as great a blow as China.”
‘This victory of Japan,” says Tilak, “is sure to compel England to make friendly overtures to Japan to forestall Russian inroads in India via Afghanistan.” And this again, according to Tilak, was bound to have beneficial effects on India. ‘People with liberal views feel that all people should be free, powerful, rich in knowledge and action. Such people see the divine hand in Japan’s victory. They also do not feel that China would continue to sleep in the same way as before. On the contrary they are sure that Asiatic countries will rise like Japan and forbid the European powers from subduing them and further, countries like India will once more be premier seats of learning. We do not go so far as this but we sincerely wish that this might happen.”
End of an Old Friendship and Beginning of a New One
The year 1896 was again a stormy period in the personal and social life of Tilak. It was the end of another old friendship and also the beginning of a new one. On the 13th January 1896, Namjoshi died and Tilak wrote an editorial in the Kesari and paid tribute to the administrative and organisational abilities of Namjoshi. Tilak had called Agarkar’s death as the fifth in the Deccan Education Society, the four previous ones being those of Chiplunkar (1882), V. S. Apte (1892), V. B. Kelkar (1895) and Dharap (1894). All these had died prematurely, the oldest being Dharap who was 43. The premature deaths of the English-educated people had become a subject of serious discussion and Dr. Bhandarkar, the first ‘native’ Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bombay, had referred to this in his Convocation Address in 1894. This had prompted Ranade to write to various persons and associations and collect from them statistical information about the incidence of premature deaths among graduate Maharashtrians. Tilak also took part in this discussion and had his own analysis of the situation but the effect of the premature deaths of so many of his assocktes stirred him deeply. Namjoshi was only 43 and though only a matriculate had, by sheer ability, won a unique place for himself in the public life of Maharashtra. Tilak refers to his pioneering efforts in establishing the New English School, Fergusson College, Metal Factory, Reay Museum, Industrial Exhibition, Provincial Conference and also the prominent part he took in the Municipal affairs. In fact Namjoshi was largely instrumental in establishing a contact between the merchants and trading class and the extremist party led by Tilak.
Tilak’s multifarious public activities now made him anxious to find a person on whom he could rely. In March 1896 his choice fell on N. C. Kelkar, a versatile young pleader, practising at Satara. He contacted Kelkar through Govindrao Ranade, a senior pleader of Satara and a friend of Tilak. In a letter written by Tilak to Ranade clarifying the terms and conditions of Kelkar’s service, he refers not only to his own multifarious public activities but also to the fear that the shadows of death were approaching although he was only 40. After promising that he would respect Kelkar’s freedom of holding his own opinions Tilak writes, “Perhaps when he (Kelkar) comes here he may have to live in Poona permanently. From my point of view, I think, my life is almost over and therefore I want in public life a friend and co-worker who will never leave me.” This expectation of Tilak about Kelkar was more than fulfilled and in Kelkar he found a trusted and cultured lieutenant on whom he could rely throughout his life.
Kelkar gives an intimate picture of Tilak and his household during this period. Tilak, at this time, lived in a house owned by Sardar Vinchurkar. The office of the Kesari and his law class, besides his own residence, were in this building. Within a fortnight of Kelkar’s coming to Poona, Tilak’s third son Shridhar, alias Bapu, was born. The eldest son Vishwanath had his initiation ceremony performed and attended the High School. He once procured a badminton net and other accessories; but Tilak objected to this. In his opinion badminton was a game fit for women; boys should practise gymnastics as he used to do when he was young. A few days later he had the badminton poles removed. For himself, he took no exercise except occasionally visiting people on some work. For the rest of the time his only entertainment was to sit in the gallery of his house on an easy-chair, chatting with friends while he cracked and ate betel nuts. These chats very often gave rise to discussions and in these Tilak talked so loudly that he could be heard from the other end of the compound... .
He was in his middle age and, therefore, friends, who were his equals in age, talked freely with him. Afterwards when he became famous and won a position of high honour, his friends became more respectful; but they had no such restraint at this time. , . . Tilak himself never
used a vulgar or obscene word or expression but there were some among his friends, particularly the more orthodox, who taxed his patience by their freedom of expression. Tilak was never idle. He had frequent visitors who came to him at all hours of the day. This ‘nuisance’ Tilak loved so much that he always gave it first preference, however busy he was. He, therefore, worked at night, when the visitors had stopped coming. His writer might feel inclined to doze but Tilak would not even yawn. He would continue to dictate, tapping the arm of his chair with his palm to stimulate thought....
Tilak’s household affairs were managed by his nephew (sister’s son) Gangadharpant Vidwans. Affairs outside were managed by his initimate friend Vasudeorao Joshi, Manager of the Chitrashala Press. . . . Tilak was always reluctant to deal with money matters and keep accounts and so it was Vasudeorao who managed all this. Besides, Tilak had yet to repay a sum of money that he had borrowed from Joshi. Tilak’s habits, however, were expensive while Vasukaka was economical. Gangadharpant, therefore, found it extremely difficult to get money from him; and though at times, Mami (maternal aunt—Tilak’s wife) needed money she did not get it in time. Joshi often tried to force his economical habits on others and this led to trouble. . . . Tilak used to go, in summer, to stay on Simhagad, the famous hill-fort of Shivaji. Tilak had a house here and though he suffered from hernia at this time he could easily climb the steep slope of the fort.