Lokmany Tilak did ground-work for Hindu consolidation
‘In the assembly of a Church in 1835 Dr Duff declared, “Whichever direction missionary inspired education would proceed in that direction the parts of Hinduism will fall apart to destruction” . During the same days Lord Shaftsbury claimed, “Whichever Hindu meditate upon Christian God, he will himself forget Brahma-Mahaveer- Gautam Buddha.”’
–(‘Sanskruti ke char Adhyeyay’ : Ramdhari Singh Dinkar)
The views that the prominent figures associated with Church expressed that within few years its effect began to reflect all over the country. And also in Maharashtra! What happened that during the last phase of 19th century in Maharashtra an organisation came up to work for woman-emancipation. Later it came into prominence as ‘Sharda-sadan’.
The lady that founded the organisation earned the reputation as Pandita Ramabai. Fulfilling her mission she reached Bengal, and even married a man of her own choice there. But the destiny had too short a married life for her, and consequently she got to be widow. Then even a time came in her life when she came into the contact of Christian missionaries, and inspired by them she set out for the journey to England, and thereafter to America. And when she came back to India she was no longer a Hindu , but a devout Christian.
Now her sole mission had become to take the deprived and miserable women on the ‘sacred’ path of Christianity. She gave the name to it of ‘Human-service’, obviously in order to hide the true goal of her ‘mission’ from the eyes of the world. And ignorant of the deception that from their own money a foul play of undermining their Dharma was going on, a section of rich and generous Hindus knew no limit in offering the money to Sharda-sadan. But the first to draw the attention of such elements and every other else to this fraud was none other than Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, one who had the credit of giving the slogan of ‘Self-rule is our birth right’ against the British regime.
But, like today, it was not so easy to convince the people then also. One to have provided education in modern atmosphere to her own two daughters, Lokmanya Tilak was strong proponent of woman-emancipation. But any kind of activity meant to harm the Hindu-community behind the façade of this was unacceptable to him. And to prove his claim he gathered some evidence; and when he brought them before the people, those having sympathy with Christian missionaries were ultimately made to withdraw themselves from their previous stand.
Lokmanya Tilak had the reputation of being liberal in thinking, unwavering in upholding religious tolerance and, more notably, he had been one of the key functionaries of that Congress party which was composed of people of all kinds of faiths. Despite all that he was of firm belief that any kind of ill-designed effort of religious conversion is the one to weaken secularism. Hindu-Muslim riots of 1893-94 of Mumbai and Pune is recorded in the annals of the history. Numerically in majority but badly divided into castes-creeds-sects, Hindus had to bear colossal loss of lives and property.
In future people might not subject to such consequences yet again, Tilak initiated the tradition of celebrating Ganesh and Shivaji festivals throughout the Maharashtra. Gradually people began to assemble in them forgetting all their differences. Owing to which the sense of organization began to strengthen among them. Thus together with the fervid expression of thought he also worked upon their execution on the ground level. And Tilak would always be remembered for this.
[Reference- ‘Sanskruti ke char Adhyaya’-Ramdhari Singh Dinkar; P-549]
