After Justice Strachey’s conclusions, the jury retired for consultation and after three-quarters of an hour returned to give its verdict. Six European jurors found Tilak guilty while the other three pronounced a verdict of “not guilty”. When asked by the judge if he had anything to say, Tilak remarked, “Whatever be the verdict of the jury, I think I am not guilty. The articles I have written are not seditious and their effect would not create disaffection against the government.” Justice Strachey then observed, “I am convinced that you wrote the articles with the intention of creating disaffection in the minds of the readers . . . Although I take a serious view of your offence, I do not take such a serious view as to award you the maximum punishment. I sentence you to only 18 months’ rigorous imprisonment.”6
The application to reserve some points of law to the full bench was refused. The High Court followed suit and refused special leave to appeal to the Privy Council. The last resource left to Tilak’s defence was to move the Privy Council to grant leave but the Lord Chancellor, Lord Halsbury, did not change the verdict of the lower court and rejected the application.
While Tilak was behind bars, his friends outside were not idle. The killers of Rand were found and the Chaphekar brothers denied that Tilak had anything to do with the killing. Sympathy for Tilak soared. As the news of Tilak’s deteriorating health spread, the Indian newspapers sharpened their words. They were critical of all the omissions that took place during Tilak’s trials. The government, on its part, had to admit that errors had been committed during the implementation of the health and sanitation measures during the days of plague in Poona. The newspapers that had vitiated European public opinion against Tilak were now forced to change their tone. The pressure on the government to release Tilak was building up. However, to save face, the government wished to receive an appeal from Tilak for this purpose.
A lot of applications by Tilak’s friends and well-wishers, both in India and England, were being sent to secure his release. Eminent people like Dadabhai Naoroji signed them. In England, among those who signed such an application were Max Muller and William Hunter. An officer called Bruin was sent to talk to Tilak. After some negotiations Tilak was released on the understanding that he would accept certain conditions. He was to avoid public demonstrations after release and if he committed the same offence he would have to undergo, in addition to the sentence that might be imposed on him for the fresher offence, six months’ imprisonment that was excused at the first release. Tilak was released on 7 September 1898.
Tilak spent some time at the sanitorium at Sinhagad to recover from the effects of his days in the prison. Then, after attending the Congress session in Madras, he travelled to Ceylon, returning in 1899.
Tilak got some well-deserved rest but his mind was working continuously, this time on his theory of the antiquity of the Vedas. As he continued his research he came to the conclusion that the original home of the Vedic singers was in the Arctic region and that the ancient hymns date from interglacial times. In Orion, he had looked at the the astronomical observations to establish the antiquity of the Vedic compositions. Now in The Arctic Home of the Vedas he came to the conclusion that the original home of the ancestors of all civilised nations was somewhere in the Arctic regions. It was a very different thought from that which believed that the Aryans migrated from either Mid-Asia or Mid-Europe. An eminent American scholar, Dr. F. W. Warren, principal of Boston University, described Tilak’s methods of research and basis of the conclusion as the outcome of absolute candour and respect for the strictest historical and scientific investigation.
The Arctic Home of the Vedas was published in 1903. Tilak wrote in the preface: “The inference that the ancestors of the Vedic rishis lived in the Arctic home in inter-glacial times was forced on me by the mass of Vedic and Avestic evidence.” This work, divided into thirteen chapters, presents a scientific description of the Arctic region and claims that in ancient times the Arctic region was inhabited by man. Tilak did not depend solely on Vedic literature but analysed the evidence he had collected in the light of geology, the Vedang Jyotish, and linguistics. He also interpreted the numerous myths and after consulting many reference books, drew the conclusion that the Aryans in ancient times lived in the Arctic region. In the first three chapters, geological evidence throws light on the problems of the period when man inhabited the region near the North Pole. In the third chapter there is a table indicating the period in which the Aryans lived in the Arctic region. In the ninth chapter, Tilak gives a novel interpretation of the Vedic myth on the war between Vritra and Indra. This myth, according to Tilak, had its origin in the belief that the earth was enveloped in darkness for a long time and that this long night was followed by a long period when there was light. Tilak’s interpretation was based on a richa in the Rigveda. He substantiated his thesis with evidence from the Avesta, the holy book of the Parsis. He then arrived at the conclusion that since such a phenomenon, viz. a long night followed by a long day existed only in the North Pole, the myth of Indra and Vritra must have originated in that region. In the thirteenth chapter, he put together all the evidence collected to arrive at the conclusion that the original homeland of the Aryans was the Arctic region. Tilak, in the course of the book also read the Bible and tried to study German. Tilak’s friend, G. S. Khaparde, notes in one of his diaries that some of the books needed for his reference came from America. The first edition of one thousand copies was sold out in less than two years.
While Tilak went from strength to strength in his political and academic pursuits, an unpleasant episode attached itself to him in his personal life. Of course, since his personal life was always inevitably intertwined with the political, this episode too had a political angle to it. Tilak had a friend called Baba Maharaj who was very ill. On his deathbed he had sent for Tilak. Aware that he was not likely to recover, Baba Maharaj made a will requesting Tilak to become one of the trustees of his estate. Though not very keen to do so, Tilak decided to respect the last wishes of his friend, and agreed. Baba Maharaj died soon thereafter. At that time, Baba’s wife, Tai Maharaj, was pregnant. Baba Maharaj had stated in his will that if Tai Maharaj were to give birth to a son then he would be the legal heir. But if she did not get a son or if the son died at an early age then Tai Maharaj, with the consent of the trustees, could adopt a suitable boy as a son. Tai Maharaj did give birth to a son but unfortunately he died in infancy. At that time Tilak was undergoing his term of imprisonment.
After his release, Tilak called a meeting of the trustees. The trustees reviewed the income and expenditure of the Maharaj family and made the necessary arrangements. On 18 June 1901, at the next meeting of the trustees, it was decided that Tai Maharaj would adopt a boy belonging to a Brahmin family who was living with his parents in a village near Aurangabad. Accordingly, Tilak and his friend Dadasaheb Khaparde accompanied Tai Maharaj to Aurangabad where she approved of the boy and agreed to adopt him as her son. The adoption ceremony was performed according to the shastras in the presence of eminent people and Tilak felt relieved that he had kept his promise to his friend.
Strangely however, Tai Maharaj changed her mind. In fact, she turned downright hostile. On 6 July 1901, she served a legal notice on the trustees asking them not to interfere in her affairs. Nagpurkar, one of the trustees, and two others, declared that the adoption ceremony had not taken place and wanted Tai Maharaj to adopt another boy from Kolhapur as her son. The adoption ceremony was scheduled to take place on 13 July. However, Tilak stepped in and the proposed adoption ceremony did not take place. The second boy had to return home to Kolhapur. Tai Maharaj then decided to perform the adoption ceremony at Kolhapur. Tilak tried to prevent this but was unable to do so.
The adoption ceremony was performed at Kolhapur and Tilak, as a trustee of the estate of the late Baba Maharaj Pandit, filed a suit in the court, in order to prove that the adoption ceremony at Aurangabad was legal and the second one at Kolhapur was illegal. Tai Maharaj, in the meanwhile, filed an application
to revoke the probate. Aston, the district judge, heard the suit. Tai Maharaj, a young widow, played the role of the wronged woman to the hilt and Aston decided that the Aurangabad adoption ceremony was invalid. He revoked the probate. He also found Tilak guilty of criminal offence and recommended his prosecution. Tilak appealed to the High Court against the decision. The High Court reversed Aston’s order of revocation but strangely enough allowed the criminal proceedings against him to continue. The magistrate sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment for eighteen months along with a fine of two thousand rupees. Tilak was released on bail. In the Sessions Court, the judge reduced his sentence to six months and revoked the fine.
The news of Tilak’s conviction shocked people. Tilak maintained a calm and dignified silence. S. B. Tambe, counsel for Tilak, has written in his reminiscences: “Tilak’s peace of mind was never disturbed in spite of the fact that the conviction was to be a permanent blot on his character.”
After the decision of the Sessions judge, Tilak appealed to the High Court. The appeal was heard on 24 February 1904. On 3 March, the two judges who heard the case acquitted Tilak and set aside the sentence passed by the Sessions judge. They ordered that the fine, if already paid, should be refunded. They also held the original adoption at Aurangabad valid. Tilak was vindicated. People rejoiced. Wrote the Amrita Bazar Patrika: “Tilak’s character has shone forth more brilliant, like gold after being exposed to fire.” The advocate-general of India, while welcoming the judgment of the High Court, said that the judges in the lower court and the Sessions Court were prejudiced against Tilak and that their bias had struck a blow to people’s trust in the British mode of justice. Tilak received more than two hundred telegrams congratulating him. He was felicitated in a public meeting. During the occasion Tilak said, “I did not show any extraordinary courage. Public opinion was on my side; that was why I withstood the ordeal.”
Tilak was acquitted in the criminal prosecution, but the civil litigation continued. In 1906, the magistrate gave a verdict in which each of Tilak’s contentions was accepted. Tilak’s opponents appealed to the High Court. The judge of the High Court declared the Aurangabad adoption invalid and passed strictures on Tilak. Tilak filed an appeal before the Privy Council. In 1915, the Privy Council gave its verdict unequivocally in his favour. Other than mental agony, Tilak also lost over fifty thousand rupees as expenses for filing suits, both civil and criminal.
Jagannath Maharaj Pandit, the boy adopted as her son by Tai Maharaj, became the legal heir. He later wrote, “When I expressed a desire to give Tilak 50,000 rupees, he told me that he would not accept anything from me. When I insisted, Tilak said reluctantly, ‘If it will make you happy, give me some land behind your bungalow; I will donate it to the New Poona College, an institution which takes pride in our nation and works enthusiastically in the field of education’.” 7
From the end of 1899 to 1900, Tilak travelled frequently, often busy with Congress work. It was then that the oppression that the British government had eased off for a while threatened to resurface. A curious event was responsible for it. The Dravid brothers had turned informers against the Chaphekar brothers in the case of Rand’s killing and had pocketed the reward for it from the government. Meanwhile the third among the Chaphekars brothers, Vasudev, furious at the Dravids, brought them out of their house under the pretext of visiting officer Bruin and killed them. Vasudev was arrested. While in the police station, he fired at officer Bruin but missed him narrowly. He was later hanged. Because of this incident, Anglo-Indian newspapers started lashing out at the Brahmins in Pune accusing Tilak of encouraging terrorism.
Globe was one such newspaper. It published a particularly derogatory article on Tilak on October 1899. Times in Mumbai carried it in toto. Tilak decided to sue the papers.
Times published a hasty apology and saved itself. Globe was forced to follow suit and by the end of the whole sordid affair, not only apologised but also had to pay Tilak for all the legal expenses incurred by him. By November 1900 Tilak emerged victorious in this entire episode.
While all this was going on, Tilak suffered a tragedy in his personal life. His eldest son, Vishwanath, who was twenty-one years old, passed away in 1903. Tilak maintained his composure. Appaji Vishnu Kulkarni, to whom Tilak dictated his editorials, writes in his reminiscences: “On the day following Vishwanath’s death, Tilak brought reference books from the library and dictated to me an editorial under the title, ‘The Resignation of Maharaj Holkar has been sanctioned’. I was disturbed at Vishwanath’s death, but Tilak dictated the editorial with his usual composure.” Tilak, he noticed almost never gave his emotions away openly but at one time, when there was a knock on the door, Tilak, instinctively called out, “Vishwanath, there’s someone at the door!” and then suddenly stopped, his face struggling to contain his grief, benumbed. It took him a few minutes to go back to his usual stoic self. It was one of his very rare displays of emotion.8
Though Tai Maharaj herself passed away in 1903, the case kept Tilak busy for another year. In 1904, he once again suffered a personal tragedy. His uncle and aunt, who had brought him up after his father’s death, passed away. His uncle Govindrao, who was very fond of Tilak, worried for his nephew all the time. The elderly couple had loved Tilak as their own son. There were times when old Govindrao, on hearing vicious rumors about Tilak, would visit him in the middle of the night just to ensure that his nephew was all right. In 1897, when the verdict initially went against Tilak in the Tai Maharaj case, Govindrao could not take it anymore. By then around 75 years of age, he was devastated. When Tilak was out of prison, the first person he met was his old uncle. Shortly thereafter his uncle passed away. Fifteen days later, his wife followed him. Tilak was benumbed with grief for a while. The last connection with his father’s family was now broken.
Tilak focused his energies on organising his papers and the press. The enormous circulation of the Kesari required the importation of a big machine for printing. Maharaja Gaikwad sold him the Gaikwad Wada at Poona for a fair price and enabled him to give his papers and the press the much-needed permanent address. Tilak also applied his mind to the casting of a new kind of Marathi type with a view to adapt it to a Marathi lino-type machine, and achieved remarkable success. Lino-type makers in England approved of his design of the new type, but the actual import of the lino-type machines fitted with Marathi type was delayed due to the fact that there were very few printing presses in the country that could afford to use Devanagari lino-type machines.
From 1905, Tilak was back on the warpath against the British government. The year was eventful in the annals of British rule in India. One of the most imperious viceroys of India, Lord Curzon, decided on the partition of Bengal, ostensibly for administrative purposes. The partition of Bengal became an event full of potentialities for the awakening of Indian political consciousness. The movement against the step undertaken by the Curzon government spread like wildfire and developed into the swadeshi-Boycott-National education-Swarajya agitation of the first decade of the century. Some of the senior Congress leaders were of the view that the movement could be restricted only to Bengal since it was directly affected. Tilak did not believe that others could keep away. It was a major issue and the people in Bengal had to be supported in their cause. He was of the view that the call for swadeshi given by the Bengalis could grow into something really significant. Every year British fabric worth more than 35 to 40 crores came to India. If that was boycotted, it would make a heavy dent in the commerce of the country and the British government would be forced to look at this form of protest and the reasons for it. When the moderates believed that politics need not enter the issue of swadeshi, Tilak told them that swadeshi and nationalism could not be separated from each other. When the ruled were unarmed and ignored despite their appeals to the rulers, the only weapon that was left in their hands was that of boycott. It was only through the display of collective strength that the people could drive home their point to the rulers. If the country could not d
o much about the outsiders ruling them the least it could do was to not support their commerce actively. He wrote in Kesari: “This is politics, not religion. If you wish for what is rightfully yours, you have to make efforts for it. There are no examples in history when the conquerors have handed over freedom to the conquered. Every night is followed by the dawn. If you see a powerful Government in place today, it is powerful because we have allowed it a power over us. Your weakness is its strength and your ignorance about your own strength is their strength. If you recognise this fact, then the win is ultimately going to be yours.”
Tilak himself founded a swadeshi Cooperative Store and in 1905 went to Mumbai to meet Dinshaw Wacha and to negotiate with the mill owners through him. Tilak urged the mill owners to supply cotton cloth at low rates. When they refused Tilak decided to find out which country other than England could provide cloth to India. He met a Russian lawyer in this regard but when advised by his friends to keep away from Russia, he met German and Austrian lawyers to discuss the issue. Tilak travelled widely in Maharashtra and spoke extensively about swadeshi to people.
Initially, the boycott was only of foreign goods but in 1906 the Congress also extended it to administration. Tilak spoke about it in his speeches. In a speech in 1907 he said, “There’s no need to actively participate in a revolution or remain totally inactive. Who is a policeman? Who is a munsaf? Who is a collector? They are all from within you. You don’t realise it . . . all those who collect taxes, those who punish you if you don’t pay them, they are all our people. Don’t go against your own people. Don’t tell on them; don’t betray them. It is equal to going against your own motherland. If you do the first thing, it will be akin to breaking one leg of this government. Once that happens, we can do something about the other leg soon. But don’t do anything unlawful. I have nothing to gain by urging you to behave in this manner. In fact, I am aware that I would be inviting the Government’s wrath by saying this.”
Lokmanya Tilak- the First National Leader Page 3