Section Three
We have presented a biographical note on Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak in the first section. In this section the readers would have a glimpse at the essays (in the form of their summaries) on Lokmanya Tilak which are presented in section three.
Initially the personality and philosophy of Lokmanya Tilak is presented. It is followed by a note on Educational Background in India in the 19th century. Unless this background is known the importance of efforts made by Lokmanya Tilak and his colleagues would not be understood. When Tilak established educational institutions he set a pattern of management of such institutions. The conflict, political versus social reforms is presented next. Lokmanya Tilak as a propounder of nationalistic and political education has been amply described in the next four essays. Tilak was a political leader, a researcher and a scholar too. His work on Indology and Maratha History finds place in the next two essays. Tilak's views on women's education and the medium of instruction are presented in the last two essays.
Lokmanya B.G. Tilak realised that the loss of freedom was not merely a loss of political power but a total destruction of the indigeneous culture, religion and language.
Therefore, to awaken the people towards the goal of freedom became his lifetime pursuit. He was associated with Vishnushastri Chiplunkar in establishing the New English School (1880) to impart National Education in place of British imperialist education to students.
According to him the content of education was an urge for freedom and to prepare the people to fight for the same.
With the help of educational institutions, religious platforms (e.g. Ganeshotsav) and newspapers (Kesari and Maratha) which is quite significant he put an end to mere propagation of knowledge and started an era of actual activities.
His mission of national education and social organisation which he
carried with unflinching faith and spiritual strength was the outcome of the
life-foundations he secured from the `Bhagvadgita'. One can know his personality and life
philosophy best through his classical book `Gita-Rahasya'. His views on life and duty
rested on the Eternal Law
and theistic
faith. While propagating, in practical life, the `Desireless Life of Action' he believed
in final emancipation
as the ultimate aim of
man's action. As his was an integrated personality, this philosophy of life was reflected
in his social life which became the philosophy of nationalism which Mahatma Gandhi further
strengthened.
To understand Lokmanya Tilak's contribution to philosophy and practice of Education in India, it is necessary to acquaint ourselves with the situation that existed in India during the 19th century.
In the early years of 19th century Tatya Pantoji (one teacher) schools existed in most villages. Reading, writing, arithmetic were the subjects taught. This education was enough to meet everyday needs. Fees were also meagre. However, this education was not open to women and to the scheduled castes. `Modi' a script similar to Devnagari was also taught.
In 1793 while granting license to the East India Company, the Board of Directors told the company that they would send skilled and suitable persons to India to serve as school masters. Missionaries would also be encouraged. The Board of Directors wanted to educate the natives of India.
In 1813 the British Government asked the Governor General to reserve one lakh rupees every year for the revival and improvement of literature in India and for the introduction and promotion of knowledge of science among the people of India.
Missionaries came to India in the 18th century following the foot-steps of the traders and undertook the responsibility of educating Indians. However, their main aim was to convert the poor and the needy to Christianity. As this was quite clear to upper class Hindus they did not send their children to missionary schools.
In the then Bombay Province, Mount Stuart Elphinstone was appointed as Governor from 1819 to 1827. He had deep interest in the education of Indians. He was in favour of the mother tongue as the medium of instruction. He was of the view that it was the Government's responsibility to educate the people. Due to his encouragement many books were translated into Marathi. English-Marathi Dictionaries were also published.
Educational activity was quite prominent in Mumbai. In 1827 the Bombay Native Education Society was formed. In 1854 a Board of Education was constituted. In 1855, a separate department of Education was also established. During this time there was awakening among the Indians also. Mahatma Phule established his school in 1851-52.
With Wood's Despatch and Macaulay's minutes the upper strata of the society accepted the importance of Western Education with English as the medium. The conflict, Eastern (or Oriental) versus Western was buried and a New Era of Western Education was started by Govt. schools and colleges as also by missionary schools and colleges.
Payments to teachers were low and the percentage of girls and women in schools and colleges was also low.
Tilak, Agarkar and their colleagues started their work against this background.
Though education occupied only a few years of his public and social life, his contribution in this field is unique in the sense that the pattern of education he selected and the management style he professed was emulated in the 20th century.
Lokmanya Tilak's contribution to Education is reflected through four important events. They are (i) The establishment of the New English School, Pune, (ii) The formation of the Deccan Education Society, Pune, (iii) The establishment of the Fergusson College, Pune and (iv) Tilak's resignation of life-membership of the Deccan Education society.
The University of Bombay (Mumbai) was established in 1857. The middle class persons and those who had some influence in the Society had accepted Western Education with English as the medium. Tilak, Agarkar and their colleagues had no alternative but to start a school imparting that education. However, there was a vast difference between leaders like Tilak conducting schools and missionaries doing it. Opening of the school proved a new era in the educational and public life of Maharashtra. Following this example many people opened schools in their own towns. People were convinced that Education was a tool towards achieving freedom of the country.
The management style that Tilak and his colleagues formulated while writing the constitution of the Deccan Education Society must be considered unique. They introduced the concept of institutions managed by teachers themselves _ a new concept of Life-Members. This style spread all over western Maharashtra and inspite of all its weaknesses noticed while practicing, it stood the test of time. Life-Membership stood for Service, Sacrifice and Integrity. When there arose differences between Life-Members and particularly between Tilak and Agarkar on how to define sacrifice, Tilak resigned his Life-Membership of the Deccan Education Society.
Fergusson College, Pune, was started on 2nd January 1885. This college was granted affiliation by the University of Bombay. Reputation of this college spread all over the country in later years. Lala Lajpat Rai, Shrinivas Shastri, Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya and many others have recorded their appreciation of the work done by Tilak and his colleagues.
Tilaks' contemporary, Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, was a great reformer of the 19th century. He was also the dearest friend of Tilak. He was one of those great personalities of the time who dedicated themselves to the field of education. These people were influenced by the new rationality of western thought. They believed in the social reforms and boldly advocated the same. Agarkar started his newspaper `Sudharak' to propagate his new social reforms. His task was very difficult.
Taking into account the conditions then existing, which were mostly dominated by religious sanctions, one can imagine how difficult was the challenge before Agarkar to stand against the existing social order. He had to face humiliation, anger and short-sightedness of people. Many people threatened him with dire consequences but he withstood all such pressures.
As a contemporary social reformer of Tilak, Agarkar repeatedly stressed on people's education through `Sudharak'. His educational outlook was different from others and was based on a strong belief on rational thinking, scientific approach, individual freedom and moral values.
His main priority was education for all without discrimination of caste, sex, economic strata, etc. He was a true visionary to envisage hundred years ago the difficulties of women's education.
We can summarise his views on education as follows :
1. All kinds of reforms though classified as social, political, behavioural and ranked as first, second, etc. for the sake of thinking, are all of equal importance and are interdependent.
2. Necessity of education for all the people in the society to eradicate ignorance and untouchability.
3. Compulsory and primary education should be the responsibility of the Government.
4. Girls' education should be given more importance and equal opportunities must be given to them to learn the same subjects with boys in co-educational system.
Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak was one of the architects of our freedom. He taught people that Swarajya was their birth-right. His teachings had a great impact on the minds of the people because he practiced what he preached. Like many of our political leaders Tilak started his public life as a teacher because he regarded education as a powerful instrument for moulding the impressionable minds of students and for bringing about a change in our society's outlook on life.
Tilak and his colleague Agarkar were idealists who were restless owing to the degenerated conditions of our country. They were greatly impressed by the efforts made by Justice Mahadeo Govind Ranade for enlightening the society. They were also impressed by the writings of the young, powerful writer, Vishnu Shastri Chiplunkar. Agarkar and Tilak were not content with their work as teachers. They decided to undertake the work of educating the people and launched two news papers Kesari and Mahratta. They gave an institutional base to their educational effort by founding educational institutions.
Tilak and his colleagues came from families with a tradition of learning. They perhaps did not realise the aspirations of the masses and put forth the elitist point of view which unintentionally supported social inequality and gave special advantages to the so called higher caste communities.
After leaving the Deccan Education society and Fergusson College Tilak concentrated on Kesari and Mahratha. He mainly appealed to the intellect of the readers rather than striving to arouse their emotions. Tilak taught the people to be conscious of their rights. Through his writings Tilak reached a wide section of the society. As an editor he became an educator.
Tilak wanted to involve the generality of the people in social and political activities. He thought of starting public festivals which would become instruments of public education. He advocated that Ganapati Festival should be celebrated publicly. It should include lectures by eminent persons on different subjects followed by group discussions and group singing. Tilak also launched the Shivaji Festival as Shivaji was a National Hero and a perennial source of inspiration for patriotism. Tilak felt that English education was responsible for destroying the essential bond of relationship between learning, ethics, religious faith and family life. However, he considered Education as an instrument of National Awakening.
Tilak had sown the seeds of the ideal of National Education. After Tilak's demise Gandhiji laid great emphasis on National Education. In Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth in Pune teachers like Acharya Bhagwat, Acharya Jawadekar and others while delivering inspiring lectures on politics, history and literature inculcated in students a national outlook. Almost all of them participated in the Satyagraha movement in 1930. Thus the seed sown by Tilak had grown into a huge banyan tree. In the real sense of the term he was a pioneer of National Education.
It is the purpose of Education to till the soil of the existing social order and to plant the seeds from which new farms and new social orders grow. When the soil is recalcitrant and unyielding, resistant to the natural forces for change, more radical forces emerge. This applies to the situation that existed in India prior to the Tilak Era. Lokmanya Tilak had to work hard to instil a new spirit in the Indian Society and make the masses understand the importance of freedom. He propounded Nationalistic Education as a path towards Independence or Swaraj.
Nationalism is defined as a state of the mind in which the individual feels that every one owes his supreme secular loyalty to the nation or the state. Nationalistic education instils among the masses the spirit of Nationalism. Tilak's work has to be viewed in the light of these assumptions.
India as a nation is not only a geographical concept or a political entity. It is supposed to be the collective soul of all Indians. In history though India was not geographically a nation there were strong feelings of Nationalism among the Indians even in historical times. As the entire country came under British power and as communication developed in the continent a new wave of Nationalism arose among the Indians.
When Tilak and his colleague Agarkar got their graduation they came to the conclusion that spread of Education was the only method for the country's uplift. Education of the rising generations by the Indians was according to them a sure way to inculcate a National feeling among the youngsters. Keeping this in mind Tilak and his colleagues established the New English School, the Deccan Education Society and the Fergusson College.
Tilak's educational thoughts, especially about nationalistic education evolved out of his own personality as a committed Indian. In his late life Tilak evolved as a public leader. However, it must be noted that the first chapter of his public career opened in the field of education. He had an indomitable spirit, tenacity of purpose and strong determination.
Tilak propounded his concept of Nationalistic Education through the institutions he opened, through his news papers Kesari and Mahratta to which he contributed extensively and through his public speeches.
He was so successful in his mission that he is known as the `Father of the Indian unrest.'
Every political system operates in a given society which has its own political culture distinct from that of other countries. The political system, for its maintenance and growth, requires certain knowledge, skills and values on the part of the people. The process of political education gives knowledge, tries to create skills and inculcates values congenial for the working of the political system. As the society consists of divergent groups, the dissatisfied sections in the society can be given political education for the overthrow of the political system. If this attempt gets necessary support from the people there is change in the government and in the political system. The main objective of Lokmanya Tilak was to impart political education to Indian masses and to overthrow the British Rule by peaceful means.
Political Education needs knowledge of the existing society, of the new society that the nation desires to create, the existing government of the country and the basic problems of the country. Skills involve skills of understanding, problem solving, working in groups, skills to understand conflicts and skills to express oneself adequately. Political education also involves education of values some of which are fundamental and absolute.
The Britishers had evolved the policy of divide and rule in India. The British always argued that the Indians did not deserve self-government. Their objective of education was to create a class of people who would act as interpreters between the rulers and the ruled. The British preached superiority of the British over India. Tilak wanted to undo what had happened and therefore undertook a crusade of political education.
Tilak educated masses through social functions like Ganpati Festival and Shivaji Festival, through his writings in Kesari and Mahratta and through his lectures. He became a hero of the masses as he stood like a rock even when persecuted by the British for over two decades. Tilak attempted to promote the concepts of Swadeshi and boycott of foreign goods. He also introduced the concept of National Education. This `Trisutri' or three devices along with festivals, writings and lectures were his tools of Political Education. Though the British tried to create a wedge between the Hindus and the Muslims, Tilak invited the Muslims to join him in his efforts to gain swaraj. He was mostly successful.
In this way Tilak became the first mass leader of India. He became popular among all castes and religions, equally among the educated and the uneducated as also among the rich and the poor. Tilak was thus the first political educator in India who also got international accredition for the cause for which he fought.
Lokmanya Tilak was a leader of the down-trodden. He was in a sense a mass-educator. Naturally he used `Kesari' a newspaper in Marathi as a medium for educating the masses. His editorials in `Kesari' had a lasting impact on the masses on the subjects like national-education, people's rights, unrest towards British Rule, inculcation of a new idea, i.e. `Swaraj' as a birth right of every Indian, a mass movement for `Swadeshi', pride for what is indigenous, etc.
His editorials are the testimony of his special style of writing. The titles of editorials were quite attractive e.g. `Is the Govt. in its sense?' or `It is dawn, but where is the sun?', `The udders of the male buffalo', etc.
He made good use of Shlokas _ verses in Sanskrit _ in the beginning of some editorials. It was his speciality to use folk stories and simple illustrations from the practical day-to-day life which made his point clearer to the common people.
Tilak could establish a dialogue between the Editor and the readers at large through his editorials in his oratorial style.
He tried to supplement his views by facts and figures, sometimes in the form of statistical tables. This was very useful for the people to feel the exact pulse of any problem.
Originally being a teacher, Tilak had a strong urge to awaken the people and instigate them to rise against their subjugation, against the unjust and oppressive British Rule.
His `Kesari' _ the lion _ was always kept roaring. From his editorials, one can feel that a newspaper is a good medium for mass-education.
It is now well-known that Tilak was also a great scholar and his researches in Indology were widely recognised by his contemporaries all over the world. His main contributions to Indology consist of (1) The Orion _ Researches into the Antiquity of the Vedas (2) The Arctic _ home in Vedas (3) The Gita Rahasya (4) Vedic chronology and the Vedanga Jyotish. Mention may also be made of his editorials on the Mahabharata which testify his versatile genius.
The Orion _ Tilak had realised that western scholars were not prepared to accept a high antiquity for vedic literature. All this dating by Max Mullar and others was done on literacy evidence. Tilak was justified in arguing that this method was rather vague and uncertain. The entire gamut of vedic literature was thus hanging in a sort of chronological vacuum.
When Tilak came across a reference in the Bhagwad Gita that Krishna was `the margasirsa of the months (masanam margasirsoham) it immediately struck him that astronomy may offer some clue to the dating of the vedas. To his great surprise he was proved right and he could therefore develop his chronology of the vedic literature. So Tilak's theory is based essentially on astronomical evidence. Tilak developed his chronology for vedic literature as follows
I) The oldest period _ or Aditi or pre-Orion period according to Tilak can be provided in the 6000-4000 B.C. time bracket.
II) The Orion period _ (4000-2500 B.C.). According to Tilak this was the most important period in the development of the Aryan civilization.
III) The Krittika period (2500-1400 B.C.). It was period of Taittriya Samhita. Tilak said, "The hymns of the Rigveda had already become unique and unintelligible by this time and Brahmavadinis engaged in speculations about the real meaning of these hymns and legends".
IV) Pre Buddist period _ (1400-500 B.C.) This was the period when the sutra literature was composed. "The astronomical method, I admit, is not adequate to determine the exact date of all the vedic hymns or works, but it is certainly superior to the linguistic method as it supplies us with certain, definite, undisputed facts, the position of equinoxes, which can safely be made the nuclei of the different periods of antiquity", said Tilak It will be interesting to examine Tilak's theory in the light of recent archaeological research as at his time the Indus civilization had not been discovered and no evidence for the Aryan invasion was found. Beginning of settled life in the Indian subcontinent dates back to ten thousand years from the excavation at Mehragh. Excavation evidence points to continuous habitations starting from 7500 B.C and ending around 3000 B.C.
The only noticeable cultural change in all four and a half millennia of continuous habitation is between 6000 B.C. to 4500 B.C. which indicates the arrival of a new group of people or new cultural influences. These are the precise dates that Tilak has assigned to his preorion period. This may be sheer coincidence and it will not be prudent to read too much into it at this stage but at the same time it cannot be dismissed as irrelevant.
The main thrust of his research was : where was the earliest home of the vedas? This book has 13 chapters and 450 pages.
The statement from Rigveda, "Suryodayat prak bahuni ahani asan" meaning many days have passed before sunrise, highly impressed him and led him to trace the original home of the Aryans in the Artic region. This phenomenon occurs only in polar regions. Arctic region in those days was characterised by cool summer and warm winters (inter glacial period) _ a sort of perpetual spring was good for habitation.
Bhagwad Gita _ He has written `Gita Rahasya' in the Mandalay prison. He wrote in Marathi for the common man to imbibe the karma-yoga as interpreted by him. When the book was first published in 1915, 6000 copies were sold like hot cake. The book was very popular. It teaches you about `Niskam Karma-yoga'.
He also wrote other research papers, like The Chaldean and Indian Vedas or `A missing verse' in the `Sankhya Karikas'. There were 69 verses and one was missing so Tilak constructed the missing verse on the basis of the evidence of the commentary of Gaudapada. According to Dr. Radhakrishnan this is his most notable contribution. He also wrote some research papers in vedic chronology and vedang Jyotish. He also wrote eight articles on the Mahabharat.
He was a great Indologist.
Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tialk, the father of Indian unrest, belonged to the generation of the 19th century Maharashtra. The state had not yet forgotten that they were the rulers of this country in the immediate past. He must have thought of History as the most suitable and effective method to mobilize public opinion against the tyrannical rule of the British. He thought that the adventurous and brave career of Shivaji, was not yet forgotten by the people and would be the best tool which could be used to attract the masses towards the freedom struggle. This led him to indulge in deep research about the Marathas, particularly Shivaji. Tilak was not a professional historian. He entered into the field of research by sheer accident.
As a researcher he wrote `Orion' and `Arctic Home In The Vedas'. However the peculiar circumstances that were prevailing in the last decade of the 19th century made him plunge into the history of the immediate past of Maharashtra i.e. the `Maratha History'.
A British visitor who visited Shivaji's tomb at Raigad published a book reporting about the dilapidated condition of Shivaji's tomb which resulted in immediate research on Shivaji. Native opinion of V.N. Mandlik (1895) kindled the imagination of Tilak and he wrote an article in Kesari (23rd April 1895). This article had a proper effect of the minds of the common people, and he could raise funds to maintain Shivaji's Samadhi at Raigad. This gave rise to a national movement known as `Shivaji movement'.
He appealed to national leaders to celebrate Shivaji's birthday as a national festival. During the birthday celebrations of Shivaji, Tilak came to know about the controversy over the birth date of Shivaji and he made a deep research on the birth date of Shivaji. He finally accepted the date which was nearer to `bakhas'. It was Shaka _ 1549, Pravhav Samvatsar, Vaishakh Shudha Pratipada Ashiwini Nakshatra equivalent to 6th April 1627. He confessed that there was a great deal of confusion regarding the birth date of Shivaji and he appealed for more research in this area. The Maharashtra Govt. appointed a committee to give a final decision over the long pending controversy of the birth date of Shivaji Maharaj. The Govt. declared officially Falgun Vadya Tritiya of Shaka 1551 (1630 AD) as an authentic date for celebration of Shiv Jayanti. Tilak must be given credit for this research.
He encouraged other historians to write in Kesari. He gave opportunities to many scholars to publish their researches on controversial issues, in Kesari or Mahratta.
Many people had raised objection against the Shivaji Movement. Tilak stressed that Shivaji is remembered for his nation-building activities and Shivaji gave us the idea that Swarajya was a fundamental right. Biographies of great leaders like Shivaji are sources of inspiration to the younger generation. The purpose of the Shivaji festival was promotion of patriotism and nationalism among the people of this country.
He said, "Research cannot be done by all. It is the privilage of a chosen few. Research should be done for the sake of research only and not for its results or effects. Every activity should not be motivated by material gains. Man works both for his maintenance as well as for satisfying his urge for pure knowledge. It depends on the nature of man, to which he should give priority." One can hardly explain to a common man the ecstasy one gets through research resulting in advancement of knowledge. Tilak knew how to reconcile historical research for political purpose as well as for the advancement of knowledge. His contribution to historical research deserves the attention of scholars and political leaders of modern times.
As we enter the new century, it is an appropriate time to look back and take a review of the historical changes that this country has brought in the field of education and especially women's education. Women's education cannot be thought of without its relationship with the other social aspects of women's life such as child marriage, widow remarriage, women's position in the society. In Tilak's time his contemporaries like Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, Mahatma Phule, Vitthal Ramji Shinde, Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve, held a different view. It will be interesting to study the reasons for such a different view.
Tilak has written editorials in his newspapers Kesari and Mahratta. Firstly he objected to the curriculum of the girls school because it was just like that of British schools. The cultural and social background of Indian girls is totally different from that of British girls, and so should be the curricula. Secondly he objected the full day school timing i.e. six hours a day for the girls. If necessary they should attend the half-day school, after finishing their duties in the house which according to him was their first moral obligation. His third objection for women's education was that the education given to them would help them become clerks in the British offices. If they start working in these offices they will neglect their first duty which is household work. This is most disgusting and hence should be abandoned. His fourth objection was against hasty reforms. Educating few women would not help the society, but educating the common masses would only help. Spending money hastily on women's education would be a waste if very few women get education.
All these views of Tilak about women's education came as a reaction to the extreme views of the reformists of his time.
1st January 1880, the day of the establishment of the New English School at Pune is a landmark in the field of education. The school was established with a view to inculcate the spirit of National Education in the minds of the young generation.
Tilak in one of his speeches mentioned that English being a strange language one cannot learn it fast. The grammar of English is different than that of vernacular. Learning this language becomes a burden on the learner, and expressing thoughts in that language becomes more difficult. The time spent in learning English is a waste. If the knowledge is imparted through mother-tongue, it can be learnt faster. Thus time and energy can be saved. Therefore, vernacular should be the language of instruction. The knowledge, in other European languages was translated in English and so English became a rich language. We too, can enrich our own language. The educated people from our own land should not forget this and try to enrich vernacular. As saints contributed to enrich our language so should the learned people.
The education given to our children through English, will help them to become clerks in the British offices. This will be harmful to the progress of our society. When University will place vernacular at a higher place in the curricula and judiciary, administration markets start using vernacular for communication then only the society will progress.