Sir Henry Cotton presided over the Congress session held in Bombay in 1904. Sir Henry wanted the Congress to become more active politically and represent people’s problems to the government to serve as the true voice of the people. His view was heartily supported by hardliners of the party.
But the softliners would not welcome the suggestion. Feroz Shah Mehta was a leading voice of that group. He was against the party becoming more active. He was satisfied with the passive role of the Congressmen.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak thundered to challenge, “Those who want Congress to remain inactive and become a stagnant pool of dirty water are not thinking naturally. Every child grows up to became a man. A river keep flowing until its meets its destiny in sea. But some leaders here don’t want the Congress to grow. They want it remain a thumb suckling baby for ever. How strange and utterly foolish! They don’t want us to raise our voice against the injustices and the misdeeds of the British government. Are we expected to remain silent and just watch the game of tyranny like cowards? If the soft leaders like they can remain there with their lips sealed and applaud the tyranny. But we shall not let Congress party become a dead organisation. We shall turn it into a people’s force and challenge the despotic rulers and corrupt administration.”
His charged up speech got the audience on their feet. He was lustily cheered and applauded. One could see that the soft line leaders were at the end of their wits. They appeared to be panicky. What they dreaded was that if the party adopted some aggressive policies or passed resolutions condemning the government the authorities could crack down on the party.
The soft leaders had no stomach for any confrontation with the rulers and wanted no trouble from the administration.
So, the soft leaders protested against the tone of the speech of Tilak.
But the younger elements of the party were whole heartedly with Tilak. They agreed with Tilak that the time for action had come. The young Congressmen declared that only Tilak could give them the right leadership.
The session ended in charged up and acrimonious note.
Then, on 16th October, 1905 the Viceroy of India announced the government decision to divide Bengal in two parts on communal lines. It was patent dirty trick of the British and typical example of their ‘Divide and Rule’ policy. Bengal was most politically active and aware state in India. Calcutta still was the capital of India and the centre of militant politics. It was infact the home of revolutionaries who were proving big headaches for the alien rulers. The division of Bengal was meant to weaken those forces by driving in communal wedge between Hindus and Muslims.
The announcement angered the country and the tempers rose. The youth anger was about to explode. A massive meeting was held in front of the Calcutta Town Hall to condemn the division. The people all over Bengal mourned the announcement by keeping fast.
The call went out to the countrymen for total war against the British.
Tilak and some leaders of Bengal proposed a movement to boycott British goods all over India. They thought that it would teach a lesson to the Englishmen. For the Englishmen were basically shopkeepers. They were in India to make it the colonial market for the British goods. The idea was sound. The boycott would hit the British where it hurt most provided the boycott movement was supported by all the Indians.
All the leaders of Bengal saw merit in the ‘Boycott British Goods’ idea of Bal Gangadhar Tilak and it was readily accepted. Tilak took it upon himself to make the ‘Boycott movement’ successful in Maharashtra which was then a huge province.
He went around fearlessly exhorting people to ‘Buy Swadeshi’ and ‘Boycott Videshi’. His message was carried all over the country through printed words.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak was again becoming a thorn in the flesh of the British Empire.
He knew that if Indians stopped buying British goods their government would go bankrupt and then the Englishmen would be left with no choice but flee from India.
Tilak emphasized that Indians should learn to manufacture goods they were importing from England. The British themselves were not interested in encouraging industries in India because they always wanted to keep the country dependent on England for as many items as possible. Indians badly needed advice on technology to enable them to set up the industries. Bal Gangadhar Tilak advocated for opening up of technology know-how centres in India.
He prepared a four point programme:
1. National Education
2. Use of Swadeshi by all Indians
3. Boycott of British manufactured goods
4. Swarajya—Total independence for India.
His 4 point programme was whole heartedly supported by Vipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai. And the three were backed up by progressive and young elements in the Congress party. All of them came together to turn the programme into a national movement, possibly to snowball into a serious independence struggle in due course. The trio of ‘Bal-Pal-Lal’ got down to prepare the base for the movement. As they had expected the movement quickly gathered speed.
Lala Lajpat Rai explained to the people that their movement had three basic aims.
1. Making Indians realise that the British were not invincible.
2. To create the spirit of struggle and sacrifice in the people for the generation of patriotism of the highest order.
3. To gain full and total independence of the country from the colonial rule.
Enunciating the ‘New group’s principles’ Bal Gangadhar Tilak said, “We don’t have any kind of weapons. But in the form of ‘Boycott’ we have a mighty political weapon. A handful of white aliens are ruling over us with the help of a few of our own countrymen. If we unite and tell the British where they stand, they will leave our country.”
Tilak said in the Calcutta session of the Congress party, “Agreed that we are incapable of the armed revolution against the colonial rulers as yet. But that does not mean that we should become tools in the hands of the alien rulers and help them make us slaves. Some of us help them collect taxes and revenues and make their police force and armies. Some give them huge sums just to finance their world war. Some of us act as their judges to implement their shameful laws. If we all decide not to cooperate with the British rulers we become independent the very same moment.”
It was the original form of non-cooperation movement idea which years later Gandhiji successfully put into action. At that time the softline leaders called it an extremist idea, a non-violent form of terrorism. In the session Bal Gangadhar Tilak was shouted down. In fact some leaders had a pathological dislike for Tilak who saw virtue in opposing Tilak on every issue.
14 years later, Gandhiji translated the idea of Bal Gangadhar Tilak into ‘Non-cooperation Movement’ and then ‘Civil Disobedience Movement’. The same softline leaders enthusiastically took part in those movements and never got tired of praising Gandhiji for thinking of the same.
Infact, when Gandhiji suspended the movement due the violet incident of Chauri-Chaura, the same Tilak baiter leaders criticized Gandhiji for the suspension of the movement.
What an irony!
It was Bal Gangadhar Tilak who proposed that Hindi be made India’s National Language, Speaking at a meeting of ‘Nagri Pracharini Sabha’ he spoke, “A script is a part of every national-wide movement. If you are looking for the unity of the country one common language is needed to bring all the countrymen together and to speak in one voice. Only the Hindi can fulfil that role.”
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