LORD GANESH COMMUNITY FESTIVAL

• The man who was primarily responsible was the great nationalist and patriot Bal Gangadhar Tilak, referred to as ‘Lokmanya’, or the Leader of the People
• In the last decades of the 19th century, a number of nationalist figures emerged across India (and some in Britain), who spoke about modern civil and political rights, and the hypocrisy and exploitation of British rule in India
• Following the experience of 1857, when an attempt by soldiers of the Indian army to overthrow the British failed and the rebellion was ruthlessly crushed, many of these nationalist figures became more concerned with getting concessions from the British rather than throwing off the colonial yoke altogether
• One prominent Indian nationalist, however, had a more radical aim: Swaraj or self-rule.
• This was the Marathi journalist, teacher, and political and social activist Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856-1920)
• In 1881, Tilak, along with G G Agarkar, founded the newspapers ‘Kesari’ (in Marathi) and ‘Mahratta’ in English, and used them to spread nationalist resistance against British rule.
• To mobilise the people against British rule, Tilak invoked pride in Indian heroes, and relied on political campaigns that were suffused with Hindu imagery and symbolism
• In 1893, he started the new tradition of worshipping Ganpati, the Lord Who Would Remove Obstacles and bring good luck, as a community festival where patriotic songs would be sung and nationalist ideas would be propagated.
• Through his writings, fiery speeches, and organisational nous, Tilak encouraged and advocated bringing the Ganesh festival into the public sphere
• To further the cause of nationalist resistance, Tilak started the Shivaji festival in 1896. The aim was to inspire nationalist ideas among young Maharashtrians.
• That same year, he organised a campaign in Maharashtra to boycott foreign cloth to protest the imposition of an excise duty on cotton
• However, Tilak has been criticised for giving the freedom struggle a communal shade and for his conservative stand on women’s emancipation and caste reforms
• The year 1893 saw a wave of communal clashes between Hindus and Muslims across the country

• Bal Gangadhar Tilak, often referred to as Lokmanya Tilak, was a prominent Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, social reformer, and a key figure in the Indian independence movement during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He played a crucial role in advocating for self-rule, the promotion of Indian culture and heritage, and the empowerment of the masses
• Tilak was a prolific writer and journalist.
• He founded two influential newspapers, "Kesari" (The Lion) in Marathi and "The Maratha" in English.
• Through his newspapers, he advocated for Indian self-rule and criticized British colonial policies
• Tilak played a significant role in opposing the partition of Bengal by the British in 1905. He believed that this was a deliberate attempt to divide and weaken the Indian population and worked to unite the people against the partition
• In the later part of his life, Tilak initiated the Home Rule Movement in 1916. He called for "Swarajya" or self-rule within the British Empire as a transitional step towards complete independence. This movement gained widespread support and had branches across India.