I differ from almost all commentators when I say that the Gita enjoins action even after the perfection in Jnana and Bhakti is attained and the Deity is reached through these media. There is a fundamental unity underlying the Logos (Ishvara), Man and the world. The world is in existence because the Logos has willed it so. It is His will that holds it together. Man strives to gain union with God; and when this union is achieved the individual Will merges in the Mighty Universal Will. When this is achieved, will the individual say “I shall do no action and I shall not help the world” the world which is because the Will with which he has sought union has willed it to be so. It does not stand to reason. It is not I who say so; the Gita says so. Sri Krishna himself says that there is nothing in all the three worlds that He need acquire and still He acts. He acts because if he did not, the world’s Will will be ruined. If man seeks unity with the Deity he must necessarily seek unity with the (interests of) the world also, and work for it. If he does not, then the unity is not perfect, because there is union between two elements (man and Deity) out of the three and the third (the world) is left out. Serving the world and thus serving His Will is the surest way of salvation and this way can be followed by remaining in the world and not going away from it.
Days passed and Tilak continued to be incarcerated. On 7 June 1912, Tilak’s wife Satyabhama passed away. Tilak’s friends and well-wishers visited him as much as they could. The prison staff was cooperative and there were instances when he advised them about how they could get maximum time with him during their visits. There was always some staff present during the visits and no politics could ever be discussed and yet friends like Khaparde, in their own inimitable style, reached the news of the outside world to Tilak. But all attempts to get Tilak out of Mandalay meant large sums of money. Tilak himself insisted that Khaparde should not spend even a single day more than what was necessary in England. Khaparde was trying his best to collect enough funds. In 1897 there were many who contributed; the contributions seemed to have dropped a few years later when Tilak was in prison but somehow Tilak’s friends managed to raise some money. Because it fell short, some of the funds had to be gathered from the earnings of Kesari and the newspaper not only had empty coffers in the bargain, it also incurred losses and debt. The government repression continued and the editors started receiving letters wanting to unsubscribe. Those were difficult days. The negotiations with the British government continued. Khaparde was asked if Tilak would agree to certain conditions in which case his appeal could be considered. On 29 May 1909, Tilak sent his reply to Khaparde. He wrote:
There are three ways to release: Law, justice and compassion. If the conditions are akin to those which were imposed on me in 1898, I am willing to accept them. I don’t care for public felicitations and events but if the conditions are going to be harsher than the last time, then I do not wish to consider them. One year is almost over. I now have only five years before I can live with all of you as a free citizen. I cannot let go of all the social and political work that I have done so far for the sake of a few years. I will soon complete 53 years of age. Considering the average life span and my health, I have another 10 years of life. If I complete my term, I will be able to live the way I wish to, but if I accept the terms that you are suggesting to me, my life will not be very different from death. My work is not only related to politics. I can also devote myself totally to literature but taking into consideration my beliefs and values by which I have lived so far, I cannot accept living under restrictions like these. If, for the sake of my personal gains, I step out of the public life, it will be unethical on my part with serious consequences. I have never lived for myself or for my own family. I have lived to work for the society. I would rather spend my time in prison than come out as useless. And who knows? A lot of events might take place within the next five years which may lead to my release. If that does not happen, I am ready for the final journey. You can keep trying for my release as much as it is possible. You can stop trying if it doesn’t seem feasible. I refuse to be released on the impossible terms suggested by the Government.
Tilak did not believe in blindly refusing to accept the conditions. He was willing to accept all that did not restrict his rights as a citizen. He even considered asking to be shifted to Andaman if the climate was cooler than that in Mandalay. The heat affected his health. He appealed to be shifted to a cooler place but the appeal was ignored. He also sent letters to the emperor but to no avail. Tilak had hoped, in vain, that during the occasion of the coronation of George V, the government would release him as a goodwill gesture.
Tilak’s health remained a cause for concern but his mind was extremely busy and alert. He followed his children’s lives even from that distance. He approved and disapproved their ways of studying, advised them about certain things, and scolded them in his letters when he thought that they needed to be reprimanded. He was worried that the absence of their mother had spoilt them. The children on their part often sought his advice and permission. Tilak was also very concerned about the adopted son of Tai Maharaj (whose adoption he had witnessed in Aurangabad), and kept an eye on his educational progress.
Tilak’s other cause of concern was his vast collection of books. He needed them from time to time and if they were not to be found he worried about their safety. He wrote several letters to his family insisting that the books be looked after carefully and that they should not be given away to anyone even for reading. His memory about the way those books were kept was phenomenal. When he asked for a certain book, he could actually pinpoint its exact location. In his absence, his friends who were aware of his passion for his books saw to it that nothing was disturbed or lost.
Tilak was also very concerned about the wellbeing of his friends. There were several instances when he suggested ways in which some of his friends’ families could be helped. No one could refuse his suggestions and the families benefited. As a man known to be well versed in family law, Tilak has often been consulted on such matters in Poona. This did not change even in Mandalay and there was a time when Tilak was approached while in prison to sort out some domestic matters of a poor peasant in Poona. Tilak obliged and dispensed advice.
Tilak asked for and received many books which he read voraciously. Earlier he had been allowed to have only four books at a time with him but soon he was granted the permission to read as many books as he liked. . He spent some time in learning French and then German. He got so good at them that at one point of time he thought of translating a few German books into English. Because of his mastery over both the languages, he was able to read the original works of the French and German scholars of Sanskrit whose books were not translated into English.
In the winter of 1913, Tilak started work on Vedic Chronology which, he explained in its introduction, was Orion rewritten and padded up. He had wanted to complete it in two to three months but the book did not move beyond two chapters. In 1914, Tilak wrote to his nephew that if health was wealth, then he was on the verge of being bankrupt. It was because of his careful diet that he was able to maintain a façade of being healthy. While he had managed to complete Geeta Rahasya in four months, he could not complete Vedic Chronology because of the unbearable cold. The winter was less harsh that year but his body wasn’t supporting him the way it did and he found himself unable to complete the work. Tilak had intended to write ten books: History of Hinduism, Indian Nationalism, India before Ramayan, Shankardarshan (Indian Advaitism), Provincial Administration, Hindu Law, Infinitesimal Calculus, Bhagvadgeeta Rahasya, a biography of Shivaji and Khaldia and India. Out of all these he managed to complete only the Geeta Rahasya. He had also aimed to write a book on political science. While in Mandalay he also wrote a critique on the Vedang Jyotish.
Tilak’s nephew, Vidvans, wrote to him about all the happenings back home. He also wrote of the friends and family who were no more. In the six years that Tilak was away more than a dozen of his friends passed away. Of course, the death that really shook up Tilak was that of
his wife. He received a telegram to that effect on 7 June 1912 and Tilak’s devastation at the news spilled over in a letter to his nephew. Tilak wrote: “It is a massive blow to me. I am quite used to facing difficult situations but this one has shaken me up completely. Hindu women wish to move over before their husbands and from that point of view, whatever has happened has been for her good but I am pained most by the fact that I could not be with her during her final hours. I had always feared it and my worst fear has now come true. One chapter of my life is over. The second and final chapter will not go on for too long. Please fulfill all the wishes that she had expressed before she left us.”
It was now 1914. On the first day of the year Tilak wrote with some satisfaction: “Finally the year of my liberation has arrived. I’ll wait for the day of my release.” There were five more months to go. His letters during the time reveal that his diet which also included seeds of bitter gourd, snake gourd, pumpkin, now had an addition of brinjal seeds. He also specified that the brinjals should be of the variety that was grown near the Krishna river.
The jail superintendent was a Parsi gentleman and he tried his best to make Tilak’s stay tolerable. Tilak’s cook later gave an account of it all. He said that Tilak was shifted to the European ward where there was more space for him to take a walk. He also went out of his way and spent hours talking to Tilak when he sensed that Tilak was upset and felt restricted and helpless at times.18
According to the rules the jailed inmate had to be sent back to his country two months before the term was over. On 8 June 1914, at 8 in the morning, the jail superintendent went into Tilak’s cell and asked him to pack up. Tilak had already sent back his books and very little was left to be packed. On the same afternoon, at one o’clock, Tilak left the prison and was taken to the station. A separate compartment was reserved for him in the mail train. Instead of a red pagdi, he was asked to wear a cap and then tie a kerchief around his head. The news of his release was kept very private and when the train reached a small station before Rangoon, he had to alight along with the other officials accompanying him. No one recognised him. His luggage followed in a buggy. Tilak was taken to a boat called Mayo by a steam ship. There, for the first time in five years, Tilak saw a few faces from Poona. Two British officers, accompanied by constables from Poona waited for him. Leaving two constables behind, the Burmese police officers went away. The boat did not carry any other passengers.
The boat which otherwise would have reached Madras in four to five days took longer because it was on half its usual speed despite the sea being calm. So Tilak reached Madras on Monday night instead of a Friday. Tilak was then taken to the Madras railway station and was lodged into a special second-class compartment reserved for him. The doors were secured and in about five minutes, Tilak was on his way to Poona. However, he was not to reach Poona proper but get off at Hadapsar. The whole affair was such a secret that even the stationmaster at Hadapsar had no clue as to who the special passenger was and so he asked Tilak for a ticket! Tilak simply pointed at the British officers accompanying him.
The car carrying Tilak, followed by other police cars, left for Poona and Tilak suspected that he would be put into the Yerwada prison. He was, instead, taken to his house directly. The last one month of his term had been excused. Tilak was finally home.
On 25 June, the government declared that since Tilak was the enemy of the government, people should not visit him. Policemen sat in front of the house noting down the names of individual visitors to intimidate them. But it was impossible to jot down all the names when people visited Tilak in big groups and often the policemen only pretended to record the names. At times, they even put in fake names. It was a farce and some of Tilak’s more high-profile visitors were appalled.Even Pherozeshah Mehta and Gokhale complained to the government about it and Tilak himself wrote umpteen letters asking for them to be removed.
The World War broke out and by 27 August, the collector of Poona was asked to find out Tilak’s future political stand. Tilak thought over the situation for four days and then sent out a circular supporting the government in the time of crisis. The government decided to remove the police surveillance.
Tilak now started participating in public events but stayed away from the Ganesh festival that year as per the conditions. He then turned to the publishing of the Geeta Rahasya and also lectured on it for a few days. When it was put on sale in June 1915, people stood in long queues to secure their copies. The cost was eight annas per copy. Tilak discovered that because of the tremendous demand for the book, there arose some instances of black marketing. He himself decided to bring out the second edition.. During his lifetime three editions of the Geeta Rahasya were sold out.
Before Tilak’s release from prison, Annie Besant had appeared on the Indian political scene. By the end of 1914 Tilak and Gokhale felt the need to end the split in the Congress and Besant played a significant role in this but unfortunately Gokhale who was in frail health, suddenly passed away in 1915. Following Gokhale’s death there was a lull in the efforts for a compromise. Tilak started working independently. He was opposed to the idea of holding a session of a parallel Congress, and so decided to hold a provincial conference of the national party. Accordingly, on 8 May 1915, the conference was held in Poona under the president-ship of Barrister Baptista. Tilak said, “The freedom of a nation, however small, has to be protected. God would always be on the side of a political party, which supports freedom and takes a moral stand. Our self-interest also demands that the British should win the war, because we hope to get swarajya from them.”
In 1915, Tilak felt that the time was ripe to demand home rule and soon the Home Rule League was launched along with Annie Besant. On 28 September, Annie Besant published the manifesto of the Home Rule League in New India, the newspaper edited by her. Tilak supported her and propagated it in the Kesari. He wrote four editorials under the title “Hindi Swarajya Sangh” between November and December 1915 which elucidated the concept of home rule and put forth the plan of action for achieving it.
The Home Rule League evoked public enthusiasm. British bureaucracy, enraged by the turn of events, decided to put a curb on the activities of Tilak and Annie Besant. The British thought that it would stop the growing involvement of the people in the movement for home rule. The administration was wrong.
On 24 July 1916, Tilak turned 61. Tilak was felicitated and people presented him with a purse of one lakh rupees. The celebrations were joyous and full of genuine admiration for Tilak from people from all parts of society. But the government played the spoilt sport once again. When religious rites were being performed for Tilak, police officers entered Gaikwad Wada where Tilak lived to serve a prosecution notice on him for his recent speeches at Ahmednagar and Belgaum which, according to the government, were seditious. Unperturbed, Tilak accepted the notice with the remark, “This is my birthday gift from the government.” With extreme composure he participated in the function arranged in his honour in the evening leading his friends to remark that he had now become a sthitapradnya as described in the Bhagvad Geeta. Tilak was asked to submit a personal surety bond of twenty thousand rupees, besides two securities each of twenty thousand rupees. He decided to appeal against this order. Barrister Jinnah appeared on his behalf and Justice Bachelor gave the verdict that Tilak’s speeches were not seditious and therefore neither the personal bond nor the two securities were required to be submitted.
The next session of the Congress was held in Lucknow and Tilak was given a tremendous welcome. After almost a decade, different streams of the Congress had come together. The Congress president Ambika Charan Muzumdar hailed the return of Tilak saying, “The brothers have, finally, met.” It was at the Lucknow Congress too that differences between the Congress and the Muslim League were ironed out, enabling the two parties to come together to work for the common goal of self-rule. Tilak wrote in Kesari: “When Hindus and Muslims jointly ask for Swarajya from a common platform, the British bureaucracy has to realise that it
s days are numbered.” In a public speech in Pune on 30 December 1916, Tilak made his famous declaration: “Swaraj is my birth right and I shall have it.”
On 9 August 1917, Tilak, through Kesari, appealed to the people to make a unanimous bid for swarajya. Soon Montague became the secretary of state for India in the British cabinet. On 20 August 1917, he declared: “The policy of His Majesty’s government with which the Government of India is in complete accord is that of gradual development of self-governing institutions with a view to the progressive realisation of a responsible government in India as an integral part of the British Empire.” Montague also declared that he would visit India to gauge the views of the government of India and of the representatives of the people. Accordingly, on 26 November 1917, in Delhi, he met the home rule delegation led by Tilak.
Lokmanya Tilak- the First National Leader Page 6
