Page 17 - Swatantrata to Atmanirbharta : Lokmanya Tilak’s legacy
P. 17
Lokmanya tiLak: a
coLoSSuS bridging
many divideS.
Dr. Dilip Kanade
In the pantheon of our deities, BRAHMA, VISHNU,
and MAHESH are represented as a triumvirate. Lokmanya
Tilak similarly, forms a triumvirate with Samarth Ramdas
and Chhatrapati Shivaji, in the collective consciousness of
Maharashtra.
Writing about as tall a figure as Lokmanya Tilak would always
be a matter of trepidation for a person who has no pretensions
of having studied all the facets of such a great personality.
Therefore, the author will restrict himself to, the fascinating
feature of his life and work, of the number of divides he had
bridged.
By his birth, Tilak crossed the chronological divide between
the nineteenth and twentieth century, having consumed 44
years of his life in the former, and 21 after the turn of the
century. He came of age in the earlier century and matured
into a leader of renown in the last one. Next, he bridged the
stand-offish life of an academician with that of a politician. He
was a great scholar and mathematician. More importantly, he
was a brilliant teacher. There were many successful lawyers,
businessmen, agriculturists, and other professionals among
15 Swatantrata to Atmanirbharata
