India Celebrates Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s Birthday
Bal Gangadhar Tilak / Image credit Today India is celebrating the 165th birth anniversary of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a leading light of Indian freedom struggle. Of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Edwin Samuel Montagu, British Secretary of State for India between 1917 and 1922, said, "Tilak is at the moment probably the most powerful man in India". One of the famous triumvirate called “Lal-Bal-Pal”, Bal Gangadhar Tilak was born on July 23, 1856 in Ratnagiri district in the Konkan region of Maharashtra. Bal Gangadhar Tilak was educated in Poona where had co-founded Fergusson College, a landmark educational institution in Maharashtra. A scholar in mathematics, law and Sanskrit, Tilak was one of the founders of the Deccan Education Society in 1884, with Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, Madhavrao Namjoshi and Vishnushastri Chipalunkar being the other members. During Home Rule movement which he started in 1914 Bal Gangadhar was given the ep