The killing of Officer Rand was a shocker for the administration and the British government. It was a grim warning to the government that Indians won’t be taking things lying down any more.
The portents were grim. The murder was daringly executed.
The authorities blamed the press for inciting people against the administration and particular officers. The atmosphere of anger against the rulers so created was generally responsible for the murder, the authorities said.
Among the publications Tilak’s ‘Maratha’ and ‘Kesari’ had played the leading role in fanning hatred against the government and the officials.
Thus, Tilak was on the top of the administration’s hit-list. After all, he had openly called officer Rand as a raving mad and sadistic person of a mean nature.
The authorities claimed that Tilak was a part of the conspiracy that resulted in the murder of the officers namely Rand and his deputy. Now it had became very convenient for the rulers to blame Bal Gangadhar Tilak for all the problems they were facing including the acts of violence.
But it was easy to blame some one but another thing to produce concrete evidence of Tilak’s involvement.
A person named Damodhar Chapekar was arrested by the police who was suspected to be the murderer of the officers. The police had some proof of his involvement.
But his arrest did not make the authorities take Tilak’s name off their hit-list. They were not willing to give up such a chance to implicate Tilak into a criminal conspiracy. The only thing needed was to establish some link between Chapeker and Tilak.
The authorities wanted to send a message to everyone that whoever opposed the government would suffer in some way or the other.
Exactly one month after the murder of Rand and his deputy, Bal Gangadhar Tilak was arrested for treason. The charge against him was that through his writings and speeches he was creating anarchy where the law and the order had become impossible to maintain. It was a blatant case of implication of a citizen by the authorities on trumped up charges.
At first the people were shocked. They could not believe that the government would become so madly revengeful as to implicate a public figure in a case of murder without any shred of evidence.
Gradually the shock turned into anger.
The charge of treason was very serious. It could create problems for friends and relatives of Tilak. Many of them broke links with Tilak for fear of getting implicated. Others just felt silent. Even issuing statement in defence of Tilak had become a dangerous exercise.
But many of his associates and followers stood by him braving all the threats and implications. They started collecting ‘Save Tilak Fund’ for the defence of the arrested leader. Bengal alone donated a sum of half a lac rupees. Several prominent lawyers of Bengal offered to fight Tilak’s case.
Throughout the country meetings were held to express public support to Tilak in addition to demonstrations against his illegal arrest.
A group of prominent legal experts tried to secure bail for Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Bowing to the intense public pressure Judge Badruddin Tayyabji ordered the release of Tilak on bail.
But the administration was determined not to let Tilak take advantage of his release by making a political gain out of it. The instant trial was arranged by appointment of nine member jury of six Europeans and three Indians.
The family members of Bal Gangadhar Tilak were a worried lot. They could see that Tilak was being made a target of revenge by the Government. When they met him at the time of his release on bail everyone had tears in one’s eyes.
His wife in particular was sad and pained. Her husband was suffering only because he dared to raise his voice against the misdeeds of the British rulers and their minions. She could see how prison life had told upon his health.
Tilak consoled his family, “Don’t show me tears please. I would rather like to see fire of anger in your eyes because they are making me suffer for doing no wrong. I am victim of their vendetta. And it is only the beginning of the ordeal we are to go through. Tomorrow I may be sent to the prison. I know it because I don’t expect any justice. We shall continue to suffer this fate as long as we don’t become members of a free country. This trial is also a part of our freedom struggle. And the fight, I shall carry on. As the members of my family I expect you to brave all the hardships and pain with a smile because we suffer for others. Our battle is not a selfish one. Keep your head high and don’t cry.”
On 9th September, 1897 the trial began.
It was already clear was British had no intention of giving any justice to Tilak. The trial was a farce for the benefit of the English press and the ignorant people. The decision had already been taken to send Tilak to prison to remove him from the scene as he was proving a big headache for the government. The farcical drama went on for five days before the jury gave its premeditated verdict.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak was sentenced to one and a half years of prison with hard labour.
The court was jampacked when the judgement was announced. The people were angry at the unfair deal. But Bal Gangadhar Tilak and his lawyers were not very surprised. They were expecting such raw deal. Even during the trial they had sensed that the court proceeding was merely a drama. The justice was the last thing on the minds of the jury. The objective was to remove Tilak from the public circulation by sending him to jail. He was proving a thorn in the flesh of the administration. And it also became clear that Congress would get nothing from the British rulers irrespective of, to whatever extent it cooperated.
On the judgement, Tilak commented, “It appears that the government has lost its head. It is acting in an arrogant and dastardly way instead of correcting its mistakes. Charging me with treason was a brazen act of falsehood. Sooner or later the alien rulers will pay for this fraud. I am sure that the youth of this country won’t tolerate such injustice. In a way I think, it is the beginning really of our freedom struggle. Come what may, we shall fight to the bitter end.”
The youth of the country were bitterly disappointed.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak was led to the prison of serve his sentence for speaking out the truth. Those people in the Congress who were advocating cooperation with the British government were also having second thoughts about their stand. The masses were seething in anger and mood of confrontation with the white rulers was building up. The British government was losing the goodwill of the people fast.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak was kept in the jail like an ordinary criminal. At that point of time there were no separate cells for the political prisoners. The authorities liked it that way. The life of the prison was very harsh. Tilak was not used to such rigours.
In a matter of 4 months he lost thirty pounds.
When Satyabhama came to see her husband in the jail on a visitor’s day she was shocked to see the impoverished figure of her husband. He looked a sick person. She could not stop herself from crying.
Bal Gangadhar patted her shoulder and tried to console her. Tilak may have lost weight but he had not lost his courage and the will to fight the injustice of the white rulers. Hard life of the prison had only hardened his resolve to carry on the battle to the bitter end. Her husband’s determined talk put her at some ease.
She apologized to Tilak for showing weakness. Tilak smiled. He knew the fact that her wife was one person in the world who could never stop worrying for him and crying for him. That was something Tilak could count upon and it gave him the inner strength to survive the hard times.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s counselor S.S. Setlur reported about the mistreatment meted out to Tilak in the prison to London’s ‘Harward Association’ the very next day. That Association was connected to work of prison reforms in British Empire. The association took the report seriously. It warned the British government that if Tilak died in the prison there will be a hell to pay and the consequences would be grim. A situation will develop where no Britisher would be safe in India.
The warning had a salutary effect.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak was transferred to Yarwada jail where there were some facilities for special prisoners. Tilak was given all the facilities due to a political prisoner.
There were books to read. Newspapers and the periodicals were available to know about the latest developments in the outside world. Food was also good. And above all the jail staff was polite and civil. In the earlier jail the staff talked to the prisoners as if they were animals. The change over was very refreshing.
Here some very good things happened in favour of Tilak. The famous professor of India philosophy in Oxford University Mr. Max Muller arrived in India just to meet Bal Gangadhar Tilak. The professor had already met Swami Vivekananda in London who must have told him about Tilak’s incarceration in a jail in India. The visit to the jail to meet Tilak by Max Muller was a big event. After his visit Tilak was treated with greater respect by the jail staff. It was a shot in the arm.
But the high up authorities were too pigheaded to accept the realities. They adamantly deluded themselves with the idea that Tilak was somehow involved actively in the murder of the British officers. So, they played a trick.
To find the link between Tilak and the actual murder, Damodar Chapekar was allowed to meet Tilak. It was thought that their talks or reactions would reveal the connections. He happened to be in the same prison as Tilak. It is not known if it was sheer chance or the authorities had made it happen. The talks between them were monitored. To the dismay of the officers the talks revealed no secrets.
Damodar had been sentenced to death. So, Tilak agreed to do his humanitarian duty to help the condemned person by forwarding his mercy petition to the top men in authority.
As expected the petition was rejected.
When Damodar Chapekar was being taken to the execution block he wished to see Bal Gangadhar Tilak as his last wish. Tilak met him and presented to him a copy of the holy book ‘Geeta’ which had commentary written by him.
Moves for the release of Tilak from the prison was now gaining momentum.
A memorandum signed by big names like Prof. Max Muller, Sir William Hunter, Sir Richard Garth, Dada Bhai Naoroji etc. was sent to the Queen of England pleading for the unconditional release of Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Then, Dada Bhai Naoroji was a member of the British Parliament elected from an industrial belt populated by workers from the east.
Now the British government was realising the importance of Tilak and what he meant for India. And it was also becoming clear that the British government of India had jailed a popular leader on trumped up charges. The government agreed to free Bal Gangadhar Tilak on some conditions.
But Tilak would accept no conditions.
He remarked, “Tilak is no rabbit whom the administration can frighten down.”
The government capitulated. Bal Gangadhar Tilak was released from jail unconditionally on 6th September, 1898.
