Page 32 - Swatantrata to Atmanirbharta : Lokmanya Tilak’s legacy

in the time to come. Possessing such an intelligent mind as he
did, he also spotted an opportunity during the outbreak of First
World War which engaged Britain so deeply that they had to
think on drawing resources, particularly in the form of able-
bodied men as soldiers, from India to augment the front lines of
battlefields in Europe. Here was the golden chance to push the
empire on backfoot and push ahead with demand for self-rule.
However, it was important that the demand be forwarded
with a structure for governance which would look both practical
and tenable in the form of its public acceptance. This structure
had to look judicious to the two major constituents of society,
Hindus and Muslims. By this time, Mohammad Ali Jinnah had
gained strong acceptance and respect from both Muslim League
and Congress and thus was the natural and ideal partner for
an exercise in creating a structure for this purpose. It was no
coincidence that the 1916 annual sessions of both Congress and
Muslim League took place in Lucknow which also hosted the
session of Annie Besant`s Home Rule movement.

The hall mark of Lucknow Pact was that, despite their earlier
reservations, both Tilak and Jinnah agreed to the concept of
separate electorates based on communities. Also, there was
realisation among majority sections of both Congress and
Muslim League that a joint front of Hindus and Muslims
would be more effective against British than a divided, tripartite
effort, to gain self-governance. Rather unfortunately leaders like
Tej Bahadur Sapru and B S Munje opposed the basic concept
and accused Tilak of surrendering to Muslims. Nothing was
farther than the truth. Tilak brilliantly handled these objections
by stalwart Congress leaders on the strength of two aspects.
One was his command over Vedas which made his position as a
Hindu almost unassailable, and the other was that he was never
viewed as a pro-Muslim before this. Tilak`s logic and eloquence
carried the day for Tilak, not only in Congress but also helped
in removing the remaining doubts from members of Muslim
League too.
However, in the minds of some, doubts persisted that
an undue concession was made to Muslims at the cost of
Hindu interest. This stemmed from the way the pact allowed
Swatantrata to Atmanirbharata 30