Page 57 - Swatantrata to Atmanirbharta : Lokmanya Tilak’s legacy

National Congress from an organisation of elite few to the
party of masses.
Collective Leadership and Delegating

History shows that India always has been ruled in fragments
and the masses always believed in the ‘lordship’ mentality
i.e., worshipping the KING. So, throughout India different
set of people were following different rulers and regionalism
was quite prevalent in that time. Britishers knew this and took
advantage of this and came to rule, dividing people and let one
faction fight against others. Tilak identified this and was clear
that unless a common GOAL as such is not followed across
India and all rising above their own small world freedom would
not be attained.
He knew that to make this movement pan India he needs
to spread the wings and thus got Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala
Lajpatrai on board. This trio were the dreaded directors of
Garam Dal within Congress and were famously known as LAL
BAL PAL. This spread the movement to the North, East and
West of India. Later, VO Chidambaram Pillai was entrusted
with the responsibility to spread this movement down South.

The State leaders chosen to Promote and were also with detail
in mind. The main epicenter of unrest and the opposition to the
britishers was mainly from the states of Punjab, Maharashtra,
and Bengal. It was easier to invigorate the movement from these
states and then let it spread all over India. This not only brought
in the collective ideas but also leaders were able to delegate
the responsibility of achieving the Goals in different parts to
different people.

This bringing in the people from different strata of society
and across regions made people believe that yes these are our
people representing us for our own Cause.

Mahatma Gandhi too took a cue in later years from this
framework when he went on a nation-wide tour to galvanise
the masses.
Tilak who was initially regarded as regional leader evolved as
the national leader and went on record saying that he envisions

55 Swatantrata to Atmanirbharata