by A K Bhagwat
If he was ever convinced that the situation was favourable even to the extent of 50 per cent of success, he would himself take the lead in such a movement and make the venture. But before such a time arrived he would not join the underground circle himself in order to make the preparation, because he was engaged in the other and more important of work of preparing for the final revolution in the form of a civil revolt and the creation of a national feeling. This required no participation in the underground work as such. Tilak was the first to realise the importance of mass action in India’s fight for freedom. This was scarcely realised by the underground workers and therefore their activity soon turned into terrorism. Though Tilak’s energies were directed mainly to the preparation for a civil revolt, he did not think it to be complete in itself and regarded the revolutionary activities as the second plank of the freedom struggle. Here his theoretical position was different from that of Gandhiji who believed that the non-violent struggle of the people could be so powerful as to paralyse the government. Tilak’s attitude in this respect was thus pragmatic and not dogmatic. Tilak knew very well that strategically it was desirable to keep the two planks of civil revolt and revolutionary activity away from each other. He knew that if they got mixed up, the government would smother even the constitutional opposition, and he therefore kept away from underground activities. As a leader, however, it was his responsibility to see that all efforts for achieving freedom were carried on in the correct manner and he therefore gave advice to the leaders of the revolutionary wing. He did not want the decision about the opportune moment to be entrusted to a less mature person who would be swayed by sentiments and affected by some passing phases in politics. He thought that only Aurobindo and he could take such a momentous decision. He knew that revolutionary action was too serious a matter to be decided by anyone except those who had a comprehensive grasp of the situation and who had attained a philosophic calm (sthitaprajna) of the mind. Tilak was conscious of his responsibilities as well as of his capacities as a leader and he believed that if an opportune moment were to present itself he would lead all the forces striving for India’s liberation. The time, however, was not ripe and instead of leading the forces, he had to control and direct them.
1 Tilak had expressed his expectations of the rulers of states in apublic speech at Kolhapur in 1905. He said: “The good of the king must be identical with the good of his subjects. He who tramples on the interests of the subjects is not a king, and those who allow their interest to be trampled do not exist as subjects. Nobody should come in the way of public interest. If there is any obstruction, it must be removed ruthlessly.” Tilak’s statesmanlike attitude and foresight about the problem of the States can be seen from the following reminiscence of Mr. Naik of Hyderabad-Deccan. In his conversation with Tilak in 1914, he remarked that there was no movement in the states and that the leaders in British India neglected the states. At this, Tilak replied, “What you say is correct. But we cannot at this stage raise the issue of States in the Congress. All our energies are spent in fighting the British. It is no use rousing other devils. Let them have their game for some time. After getting Swaraj, it is not difficult to bring the state princes round.”
2 At the last interview on the 1st August 1906, Mr. Morley told Gokhale: “For reasonable reforms in your direction, there is now an unexampled chance... Only one thing can spoil it. Perversity, and unreason in your friends.... I ask for no sort of engagement . .. . We are quite in earnest to make an effective move. If your speakers or your newspapers set to work to belittle what we do, to clamour for the impossible, then all would go wrong.” Mr. Gokhale acquiesced readily and wrote to his friends in India, striking “a most friendly and hopeful note.” —Morley Recollections.
3 Buchan : Lord Minto, p. 256
4 It is necessary to understand Tilak’s idea of securing a majority. At Surat, some of the young extremists thought of enrolling 1,000 delegates with a view to having a majority in the Congress. Dr. Deshmukh of Bombay was prepared to give a sum of Rs. 20,000 immediately for this purpose. When this was communicated to Tilak, he disapproved of the plan saying that the moderates could raise a still greater sum. He then remarked, “I want a majority in the Congress, but not a forced or cooked up majority. I want to have it in a natural manner. This would require four or five years. I am prepared to wait till then. When a number of more people are converted to our point of view, we are bound to have a majority in the Congress.”
5 Reproduced from Aurobindo on Himself.
FROM A LARGER TO A SMALLER PRISON
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A political party needs an official organ and though the Kesari and the Mahratta had very effectively put forth the views of the extremists after the split at Surat, the need of a daily in Bombay was felt more keenly than before. In February 1908, an institution called the National Publishing Company was started in Bombay. A circular explaining the aims and the objects of the company was published in the last week of March. The proposed capital for the company was one lakh rupees. Tilak, C. V. Vaidya, Bodas, Sanghvi and three others were the directors and S. K. Damle was appointed the secretary. It was announced that the company would publish a Marathi daily, Rashtramat, to propagate the generally accepted principles of the nationalist party.
National Education and Swadeshi
Another important undertaking was regarding national education. Tilak who had emphasised national education as one of the four pillars of the political movement in India, wanted to build up the effort on a huge scale. In 1906, the Maharashtra Vidya Prasarak Mandal was established and under its auspices the Samarth Vidyalaya was being conducted at Kolhapur. A plot of about 65 acres was purchased at Talegaon near Poona, and it was decided to shift the Samarth Vidyalaya to Talegaon. Prof. Vijapurkar, who was one of the trusted lieutenants of Tilak and whose vision and perspective about national education were almost unmatched, had been in charge of the institution. How Tilak was prepared to go to any length to see that the Samarth Vidyalaya was established on a sound basis, has been narrated by Prof. Vijapurkar in his reminiscences. He wrote: “In 1907, at the time of the Surat Congress, the Samarth Vidyalaya was held at Talegaon in two houses for which an exorbitant rent had to be paid. Within a month we moved to the mat-huts we had constructed. There were no people nearby. It was extremely cold and the water in the well was dirty. As a result many of our students suffered from fever. When Lokmanya returned from the Surat Congress, I went to him and said, ‘Our institution has no building. I am managing the expenses with the funds I collect through propaganda, only because the teachers are making every sacrifice.... Our boys are shivering with cold. What is the use of your popularity unless it is converted into rupees, annas and pies?’ At this he immediately got up from the easy-chair and said, ‘Let us start a tour. You would have ample funds. Arrange the campaign, and send me telegrams. I shall come and deliver a lecture. We shall beg from house to house. Fix up the programme....’ At the suggestion of Vasukaka Joshi, it was decided to organise a tour of all important members of the Maharashtra Vidya Prasarak Mandal... First we went to Sholapur side. The receptions and the respect which people showed for Lokmanya, his precise and powerful lectures delivered at a number of places and the sum of about Rs. 20,000 offered to him by the people — all this became an eyesore to the government.”
In his speech at Sholapur Tilak said: “That is called national education which enables you to know your nation.... I was first proud of the present system of education... but afterwards I asked myself the question as to why in spite of equal abilities and intelligence, our country lags behind other nations?... People ask me, ‘Why do you make this row and all the efforts? Were you yourself not denied the opportunity for national education?’ My answer to them is: we are making all these efforts so that our boys should learn at the age of 15, what we did at the age of 35. Such education would perhaps create discontent in the next generation. But this is not sedition.... English is a difficult lang
uage.... We have to learn it simply because it is the language of the rulers. This is a sheer burden on us. If knowledge had been imparted to me in Marathi, I would have learnt at 25 what I know at the age of 52.... We want schools for national education.... Government cannot start them. The money which the government has is really our money.... If the government had been in our hands, I would not have to stand before you with this woeful tale.”
At Barsee he said: “In America, the Declaration of Independence is taught to students in the fourth or fifth standard. We must tell our students about the condition of our nation, when they are quite young. Learned people like Prof. Vijapurkar are prepared to dedicate themselves to this cause. Rich people must supplement the effort with their money.”
Tilak thus felt assured of the support of the people of Maharashtra and he and Prof. Vijapurkar proposed to establish a University for National Education in Maharashtra. It was decided that in this University, along with the humanities, subjects like commerce should be taught and technical education should also be imparted. It was hoped that if students taking a degree from this University, having imbibed the spirit of national service, went to foreign countries for an all-round education, there would be a new generation of educated men capable of independent thinking, and through their efforts the industrial enterprise in this country would grow. It was proposed first to stabilise the institution at Talegaon and start branches in other parts of Maharashtra as well.
Tilak’s part in supporting the Paisa Fund has already been explained. Kale, the originator of the idea, was touring Maharashtra and a number of people at different places in Maharashtra had come forward to work for it. Tilak always gave a fillip to it and an intensive effort to collect funds was made during this period. When adequate finances were available a glass- works was started at Talegaon. Besides its significance as an industrial venture started entirely on the people’s support Tilak wanted it to be linked with the cause of national education. He hoped that the students of the Samarth Vidyalaya at Talegaon could also be given some technical education in the workshop of the glass factory.
Tilak always believed that the political movement could gather momentum only when there was a network of workers to carry the message of the leaders to the people. He was always on the look-out for promising young men and imparted to them the necessary training for public life by entrusting to them different responsible jobs. He wanted his colleagues and followers to work in all spheres and never lost an opportunity for giving proper scope to men with ability and promise. In March 1908, in the Poona municipal elections, for all the four seats in the general constituency, candidates of the Tilak group were put up. The moderates had decided to consolidate their strength by contesting only one seat and there was a tough fight between the two rival candidates, Prof. S. M. Paranjpe of the nationalist party and Hari Narayan Apte, the noted Marathi writer and novelist, of the moderate party. All the four candidates supported by Tilak were elected and the defeat of Apte was just another proof of how the moderates had lost their hold upon the people.
Tilak did not lose a single opportunity to express his views to those who were in authority. In the evidence he gave before the Decentralisation Commission presided over by Mr. Hobhouse, M.P., he very ably represented the people’s case. Both Gokhale and Tilak expressed the same view in their evidence that if decentralisation of powers only meant more rights to the Collector, it was meaningless, They argued that if the defects in administration were to be removed, powers must be divided between the people and the government. Tilak, in the Kesari of 17th March 1908, wrote: “It is not proper to create a new dictator in every district by distributing the powers of the Centre. Decentralisation really means the distribution of power by giving more and more rights to the people.”
Another important event was the Poona District Conference, held under the presidentship of G. V. Joshi on the 20th March 1908. Joshi, in his usual scholarly manner, exposed the faults in the different departments of the government and advised people to follow the four-fold programme accepted by the Calcutta Congress. The moderates also participated in the conference and emphasis was mainly laid on national education and condemnation of the evil of drink. Tilak in his speech on national education said: “This question arises owing to conflict between the interests of the people and those of the government.... The national sentiment was boycotted in government schools just as the demon Hiranyakashipu had prohibited God’s name in the education of Prahlad.... If the government gave grants for the good work done by an educational institution without the government’s control and supervision, it should be accepted.... National education does not intend t o lower educational standards.”
Tilak’s speech on the evil of drink was very fiery. He said: “The foreign government should maintain law and order but should not try to teach us morals. The opposition to the drinking habit was a special moral principle of Hinduism and we must set aside the government’s obstruction in the way of its assertion. The spread of the drink menace should cause more pangs to our young men than those caused by imprisonment. An Indian youth should feel that he would attain Moksha (salvation) if he would succeed in closing down one liquor shop, and if need be he should be willing to the for the sake of this movement. If we cannot do even so simple a thing as to stop drinking, I think, we don’t deserve Swarajya.” These words which expressed the righteous indignation of Tilak over the fall of his own people, made many young men feel the categorical imperative to act against a deep-seated evil.
The Anti-Drink Movement
The anti-drink movement has been one of the moral planks of the national struggle. It directly affects the backward classes and is therefore one of the major means to approach them. Drinking has been denounced by the Hindu religion as well as by Islam. This habit had grown during the early days of British rule when an imitation of the ways of the British was regarded as fashionable. All the social reformers and political leaders had however soon realised the evil effects of it and thought it necessary to educate public opinion on this issue. Sardar G. H. Deshmukh alks Lokahitawadi was the first to attack the drinking habit and wrote an article against it in 1849. There was, however, no organised movement against this evil custom and Tilak’s speech at the Poona District Conference in March. 1908, mentioned above, was the beginning of such a movement. His speech was so inspiring that many young men immediately decided to help in the anti-drink campaign. Tilak, ready to welcome the participation of young men in social work, picked up the more enthusiastic among them and assigned to them the work of propaganda. The movement gathered some momentum in Maharashtra in 1905 and as leaders of all communities extended their support it immediately became a powerful movement. The excise department was determined to oppose it, but the idea took root and particularly in the Belgaum, Thana and Nagar districts, it gathered strength. In 1907, in Poona, an anti-drink sabha was started and Shankarrao Lawate, the enthusiastic secretary of the sabha, went to villages, delivered lectures and described the evil effects of drinking with the help of a magic lantern. Fortunately, in this association, the leaders of different parties along with highly placed officials, both English and Indian, came together. There were people like Tilak, Gokhale, Kelkar, Rev. Macmillan, Dr. Mann, the Principal of the College of Agriculture and many others. The propaganda made by the association was very effective and greatly influenced the people. The liquor shop at Khed in the Poona district had to be closed down as there was not a single customer.
There was, however, a sort of a stalemate in the movement when it was only confined to public meetings. Then came spontaneous efforts which instilled new life into the movement. Some enthusiastic young men in Shanwar Peth in Poona formed a volunteer squad and started appealing to the people who came to the liquor shops. Shri S. V. Bapat in his reminiscences of Tilak has written that in the District Conference held at Poona, Shri G. K. Devdhar made some strange remarks. Tilak who was very excited put a question to the audience, “If you have a si
ncere desire to banish wine from this land, are you prepared to the in the effort?” This inspired Bapat and Ketkar who picketed a liquor shop at Shanwar Peth and suffered beating at the hands of the Parsee contractor who owned the liquor shops. These young men formed a group of ten, and whenever a person entered the shop they tried to dissuade him from doing so, appealed to his conscience and sometimes bowed down before him. Many drunkards pushed them aside, insulted them and went in. When they came out obviously under the influence of wine they showered the most filthy abuse on the volunteers. The young volunteers had strength enough to thrash these human animals. There was enough provocation for such an action but their weapons were prayers and requests. They remained at their posts even when they were mocked and insulted, thus showing exemplary patience and a spirit of endurance. The Rev. Mr. Macmillan, Dr. Mann and Shri Bhajekar, the secretary of the Temperance Association at Bombay, personally witnessed the endurance of volunteers and praised them for it. The movement grew and there was picketing at all the liquor shops in Poona. Tilak personally moved around the city and saw the work done by the volunteers. An interesting anecdote has been written by G. V. Gokhale, the editor of Swadharma in Poona. “While Lokmanya Tilak was supervising the work of the volunteers, he came to the liquor shop in Mangalwar Peth where I was picketing. The owner of the liquor shop accosted Tilak, bowed to him and said, “For four days not a drop of wine has been sold. If this continues, we the contractors will the of starvation.” Tilak replied, ‘My friend, what you say is true; but if you are prepared to leave your immoral profession I shall do my best to set you up in some other profession to make up for the losses you have suffered.’ Lokmanya walked away and the contractor who was visibly moved returned to his vacant shop.... When Lokmanya was talking to the volunteers, in the Gaikwad Wada, some poor women had come to have his darshan and to express their sense of gratitude to him. An old woman among them said, ‘Maharaj, you have saved us from starvation. May God bless you.’ Lokmanya immediately said, ‘I am not the person who has done it. The credit goes to these youngsters who have assembled here. They stand in the sun throughout the day. Bless them. And pray to God so that your husbands should see reason and give up drinking.”