Page 35 - Swatantrata to Atmanirbharta : Lokmanya Tilak’s legacy

Lokmanya tiLak -

the riSe of a true

PeoPLe’S Leader

Dr. Abhijeet Shivane

Mr. Harshal Gawali

A social reformer, a propagator of self-rule (swa-rajya) and a
promoter of swadeshi - Lokmanya Tilak was a true visionary and
people’s Leader. His life’s journey from being Bal Gangadhar
Tilak to becoming Lokmanya Tilak is a series of inspirational
events, from which every aspirational leader can learn many
lessons. He was a master strategist, a strong radical nationalist,
an excellent orator, an ardent educationist, a hard-hitting editor
- all in all he was a holistic leader full of zealous support to
bring about social reforms in India.
Lokmanya Tilak believed in the philosophy of self-identity
and thus pioneered the ideas of Swaraj and Swadeshi. Very early
he realized that self-identity could be a tool to make inroads in
the minds of Indian society. Once that was done, people could
be motivated to join the struggle for Indian independence,
this then led to every action he took, every move he made and
every strategy he planned. His every initiative was based on this
philosophy, and true to being an opportunity seeking leader -
he left no stone unturned to propagate this idea in the minds
of people, be it through Ganesh festival, Shivjayanti, using the
media in the form of two newspapers - Kesari and Mahratta,

33 Swatantrata to Atmanirbharata