Lokmanya Tilak- the First National Leader

by Gayatri Pagdi

  Younghusband also refers, though incorrectly, to a “confession” by Rand’s killer that implicated Tilak.

  Two Englishmen, Rand and Ayerst, were shot by a young Brahmin who admitted that doctrines expounded in Tilak’s newspapers had driven him to the deed,” he says. “The disciples were sentenced to death. But the master, as invariably seems to happen in such cases, escaped. He was merely sentenced to a short term of imprisonment on account of a seditious article, which appeared a few days before the murder. And on his release he was acclaimed as a martyr and hailed as a national hero. From the Deccan he has extended his influence over Indians a whole. He has become a dominant personality in the National Congress. And if his violence had not frightened the Moderates he might have been its President. As it was, he became the most prominent of the Extremists in India and exerted a mighty influence over the emotional Bengalis in especial. He was a natural leader of men. He had a high social position and a large way with him. The elderly and the cautious might fight shy of him. But the young flew to him as boys to a hero. And to all he preached that India was happier and better under Hindu rule than it ever was or could be under aliens . . .

  The Brahmins had now learned all there was to learn from the British, and if power were once more restored to them the golden age would return. And by ceaseless and violent agitation he believed that the British could be wearied into surrendering to the Brahmin the reality of power while retaining the shadow of sovereignty for themselves. Great perhaps excessive latitude was allowed to Tilak by the British authorities. But eventually he was prosecuted for publishing in his paper inflammatory comments on the murder of two English ladies in Bengal by a bomb.

  Younghusband refers to how Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai joined hands with Tilak to spread the agitation throughout the country and then adds, “And now, in our dealings with India, we are realising very distinctly that we cannot carry on our work in terms of ourselves alone, or of only ourselves and India. Both we, and the Indians, are affected by world-opinion. The present movement in India is largely the result of the impact of Western ideas upon India, of the rise of Japan, of the World War, of the struggle, everywhere apparent, of peoples for greater independence and freedom. And, for our part, we are conscious that in whatever we do or leave undone we must not go too violently against world-opinion and must if possible carry it with us.”

  Chailley in his book also describes the appearance of the legal brains of Poona at that time. He writes: “Their garb is somewhat unconventional. Sometimes it is a pure native costume, which may occasionally be elegant and attractive; sometimes a sort of semi-uniform, a long grey or brown coat, loosely adjusted to the figure, and covering rather doubtful linen. Some wear robes; others are in ordinary European dress; but all, or nearly all, affect gold spectacles as a mark of dignity. Before the High Court English barristers and native lawyers meet in professional rivalry. Here the dress is more formal, and the merit of the pleaders greater. A good English barrister, however, can still more than hold his own.”

  Another Englishman by the name of Arthur Crawford, in his book Our Troubles in Poona and Deccan, goes into personal details of the Poona Brahmins in terms of appearance and habits. Crawford’s book is perhaps the work of the worst expression of Tilak-haters. A man almost maddened by racism and hatred for Tilak and the Chitpavan Brahmins, Crawford ensures that the book drips venom with every word. He never refers to Tilak by name, referring to him instead in myriad ways that would show him in poor light. The illustrations that accompany this prejudiced piece of work plainly portray those of Tilak.

  Crawford starts off by describing the “Brahmin-ridden” city of Poona. “The city itself,” he says, “drained into the Moota River, and will so drain until the Government relieve a Brahmin-ridden, ignorant and self-sufficient municipality of its powers . . . The people of Poona, as history proves and we shall yet see, are timorous and industrious, peaceable and law abiding—they only want governing—not by Brahmins!” The chapter “Poona and Deccan Press” says,

  The faults of the Native Press consist, first of all, and of course, in ignorance, inexperience, and a want of breadth of view; secondly, in their credulity—they habitually fail to distinguish between fact and mere rumour, are prone to accept as authentic, and to publish without enquiry, any wild tale, or, as it is termed in India, any piece of “gup” that seems likely to interest their readers and increase their circulation. Thirdly, they are not over particular in their selection of matter to fill their columns so long as their columns are filled, for they have not many trustworthy contributors of original matter, nor could they afford to pay them if they existed. How many dozen London journals are there with whom the same faults might be found, but who have not the same excuse?

  The sedition-mongers of the Deccan have hatched out on the Congress dungheap within the past quarter of a century; prior to 1875 they can hardly be said to have existed. It does not require much capital to start a native press—a thousand rupees goes a long way. The countless petty Chiefs and Sirdars were easily cajoled into subscribing to any scurrilous sheet under the pretext that they were aiding the Congress movement or if they held aloof, they were vilified and their administration attacked mercilessly. They one and all gave in, and blackmail was the backbone of Native Press finance. The history of the “Scourge of the Deccan” which follows, is nearly the exact history of the Mahratta newspaper whose proprietor and editor, a previous Member of Lord Sandhurst’s Legislative Council, already once imprisoned for libel has just been sentenced for seditious writings . . . We trace without difficulty the growth of the gangrene in the Deccan, and can measure its dimensions. To use Sam Weller’s words with reference to the fascinating “Smangle” in the Fleet: “The late prevailance of a close and confined atmosphere has been rather favourable to the growth of veeds of an alarming and sangvinary nature; but with that ‘ere exception things is quiet enough.” The exception, however, becomes serious for India when the “veeds” are found thriving not only in the Poona Council Hall, but in special English newspapers, in the very chambers of the House of Commons, of the India Office, on the shelves of the India Office Library, and—incredible though it may seem—in the British Museum Reading Room. The Powers that be incur a heavy responsibility by hesitating to cleanse Public Offices of this “alarmin’ and sanguinary growth”. As to the seditious native press of Poona and the Deccan generally, it suffices to note that inasmuch as the Penal Code has at last been proved sufficiently comprehensive to deal with it, no new laws or restrictions are needed. Vigilance is all that is called for.

  There were at least a dozen Poona papers, Crawford informs the readers,

  Some of which flickered for a few years like the numerous exhalations over a pestilential swamp, and then died out. Half a dozen or so remain, like the Mahratta . . . and the Kesari. At such a crisis an able editor was naturally needed, and who so fit as the daring, the unscrupulous, the able writer then on the spot in Poona City? Terms were arranged, the mansion in Shanwar Peith engaged, and in due course came out the scourge of India, causing no little sensation by the audacity, insolence, and disloyalty of its tone towards the Government, and its scurrilous imputations against all English gentlemen and ladies within reach. The circulation was considerable for several years. The native Chiefs and Rajahs paid up regularly, or were forced to do so by threats of exposure of mismanagement of their estates. The proprietor became quite a power in the Western Presidency, bought himself shares in several good cotton mills, invested in a “lust garden” or “pleasure-garden” in the country near Poona (this is a reference to Tilakwada at Sinhagad!), and all went merry as the marriage bells! But the reaction after delay—sickening to English minds—set in. The Congress itself began to flag, and, what was of more importance, not to pay its way, despite strenuous endeavours to revivify it by the importation of strange Presidents for the annual meetings. Naturally the Reptile Press, especially the vernacular portion of it, was affected. Chiefs and Rajahs “humped the
ir backs” and swore they would submit to this tyranny no longer. Serious prosecutions of, and heavy sentences on, native editors followed. Sedition and scurrilous writing received a crushing blow, and many of the mushroom papers disappeared for the time into outer darkness, till silly Governors shed reays (I mean rays) of encouragement on the native Press.

  Crawford uncontrolled tirade against the “beetle-chewing Chitpavan editor” also includes suggestions to the government to take measures by which “the poisonous Deccan Brahmin in his proper degraded position must feed on his own venom and sell his secret printing press for bread. So shall peace and contentment reign throughout the land, and the prosperity of the multitude advance by leaps and bounds.”

  The period 1885-1920, particularly after 1895, is mainly dominated by Tilak’s political activities. Naturally, a major portion of the police records is full of accounts of these activities.

  Tilak’s pen-portraits from the police have their own hue. It was obvious that the government was suspicious of Tilak all the time. Take for instance this report in 1905 titled “Dissemination of disaffection by Bal Gangadhar Tilak”. It says,

  A public meeting was held in Poona on the 4th June under the presidency of Tilak to congratulate the Japanese on their successes by land and sea at which Tilak referred specially to the effect the war had and would have on affairs in the far east and to the fact that it exploded the idea of European supremacy over Asiatics.

  At a party given to Tilak at Bhusawal on 17th August, in returning thanks for some present made to him, he said that the misunderstanding between himself and some of the higher officials of government were due to their considering his representations on behalf of the people as disloyal, whereas he claimed that in ventilating the grievances of the poor he was doing government a service; and further he was unable to desist from portraying pictures of some of the miseries from which the people suffered. Tilak presided at a lecture given by Bhaskar Balwant Bhopatkar on the political, social and religious condition of the Indians in which the speaker urged his countrymen to work for their national regeneration.

  The report further says, “During the month of September Tilak presided at several lectures in which the sentiments expressed were distinctly disloyal and the trend of all was the political regeneration of India . . . On September 11, Tilak presided at a lecture in Poona on swadeshi, which was anti-British in tone . . . In September, district magistrate, Belgaum, reported that the movement was filling a large space in some of the local papers than it did in real life and it was being engineered entirely from Poona under the direction of Tilak.”

  Another report in 1908 states:

  On the 28th of February B. G. Tilak took part in a meeting held at Poona in honour of the anniversary of Ramdas. In his speech on the occasion Tilak said that religion and politics went hand in hand, and that the religious festivals would best be celebrated if political preachers would go about the country and teach the people what their rights were.

  On the 21st and 22nd of May Tilak attended the meetings of the Extremists to discuss the situation caused by the discovery of the anarchist plot in Calcutta. One of the resolutions passed at this meeting was to the effect that subscriptions should be raised for the defence of Calcutta anarchists. The meeting also passed a resolution that “the regrettable occurrences were in their opinion due to the persistent disregard of public opinion and continued policy of repression on the part of the Government.

  The reports are signed by F. M. Gandey, PA to the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, for Railways and Criminal Investigation. There was also a close watch on Tilak’s personal activities. In 1915, D. Healy, PA to the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Criminal Investigations Department, submitted a report which said, “On the 9th May he presided at the meeting of the Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandali. The Mandali, he said, had come into being while he was absent, but on hearing of it on his return, he had at once joined it as he considered that knowledge of the previous history of a nation was essential for its prosperity. Government might be approached for help but he advised the members to run the Mandali themselves. The Mandali is a purely harmless institution and enquiries show that the promoters are not likely to be influenced by Tilak.

  In June Tilak’s book on the Bhagvad Geeta was published. Its sale met with great success and in a short while all the copies of the first edition were disposed of.”

  The police also had an account of Tilak’s speech at Satara in 1916. The report said,

  On his way back to Poona from Belgaum, Tilak halted at Satara on 4th May. (He) delivered a lengthy speech on the celebration of the shivaji anniversary . . . He compared the glory of Maharashtra of two centuries back with its present decadent state, and exhorted the Mahrattas, Brahmins and all Hindus to acquire those qualities, which had enabled Shivaji and Ramdas to win national emancipation. Patriotism, courage, self-sacrifice and indifference to danger were among the virtues which characterised the Mahrattas of the old and he urged his audience to acquire these virtues by constantly keeping before their minds the exploits of Shivaji and his compatriots. The police and short-sighted officials might call this line of conduct seditious but, to his mind, to worship their national heroes and follow in their hallowed footsteps were acts worthy of the nation to which they belonged. They must, of course, adapt those virtues to present-day requirements and strain every nerve to acquire self-government under British sovereignty. If they were pessimists or dreaded the law and prosecution, they must be content to remain in perpetual bondage.

  In 1917, the police reported the Home Rule League meeting which Tilak attended:

  Tilak attended a meeting in the Kirloskar theatre, Poona on the 1st February against the Indentured Labour System in the Fiji islands. In seconding the resolution urging the abolition of the system he said that the blame for allowing the system to continue was on the people of India, who had made no effort to put a stop to it. He called upon the young men of India to form themselves into societies, even at the expense of their college course, and go to the villages where the recruiting agents secured their victims and explain the inequities of the system. If they did that, he declared that the system would not be heard of six months afterwards.

  Information having been received that Tilak intended to conduct a home rule league campaign in the Punjab, a notice issued by the Government of the Punjab under the Defence of India (Consolidation) Rules 1916, prohibiting him from entering Punjab, was served on him on the 17th.

  In December of the same year, the commissioner of police, Calcutta, reported: “On Tilak’s arrival at Howrah on the 26th he was met by delegates and volunteers and given a most enthusiastic reception. His carriage was drawn by 50 Maratha and Marwari youths and the whole route to the Congress pandal was decorated with flags and festoons and a halt was made at the headquarters of Upper India Seva Samiti, 191, Harrison Street. The procession was greeted by blowing of conch-shells, the strewing of flowers and cries of Bande Mataram and Tilak Maharaj ki jai. When tilak entered the congress pandal, the ovation he received exceeded that extended to the president-elect or any of the other delegates. Tilak spent a very strenuous year in popularising the home rule league propaganda, and it may be safely said that his influence in the country is now greater that it ever has been.”

  The London Secret Police Report of Tilak’s activities in England (1919) is another important document: “Tilak has the strongest hope of the deliverance of India by the Bolsheviks and was delighted with the Afghanistan imbroglio and Amritsar riots.” The very idea of possible grouping of world powers as a result of the war is significant.

  Political Agitators of India—Secret Document (Private & Confidential) in the files of the British secret police has a section on “Balwant Gangadhar Tilak of Poona”. As Tilak was confined to the Mandalay jail at that time, the document, while tracing Tilak’s past, said,

  He was a persistent opponent of Government, his policy being to obtain Self-Government by any means possible, favouring even rebelli
on if it had any chance of success. He is said, however, to have been against the Bengal outrages as he considered a resort to violence at that time premature. His influence in the Deccan and the whole Presidency was very great, and a well-informed Poona missionary, writing about the Punjab deportations of 1907 and a suggestion that Tilak should be similarly treated, expressed the opinion that no Government would dare to arrest him. B. G. Tilak was convicted of sedition in the Bombay High Court on the 22nd July 1908 and sentenced to 6 years’ transportation, which was afterwards commuted by Government to simple imprisonment. He was by far the most important seditionary on the Bombay side, and his influence was felt all over India.” Though reluctantly, the report also adds, “(Tilak) owed his position to his great ability and strength of character, and his patriotism does not seem to have been based on a private grudge against Government, as is the case with some of the leading Bengali agitators, all of whom he surpassed in intellect, courage and determination.

  This was a reluctant admission of Tilak’s greatness of character. There were those who could not bring themselves to say anything right about him but there were far too many instances where Tilak’s admirers, whether English, Irish, Russian, Japanese, Chinese or American, wrote about him with appreciation and respect.