Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Born: 23 July 1856
Died: 1 August 1920
He born as Keshav Gangadhar Tilak, was an Indian nationalist, teacher, and an independence activist.
He was one-third of the Lal Bal Pal triumvirate.
He was the first leader of the Indian Independence Movement.
The British colonial authorities called him “The father of the Indian unrest.”
He was also conferred with the title of “Lokmanya”, which means “accepted by the people (as their leader)”.
He was one of the first and strongest advocates of Swaraj (“self-rule”) and a strong radical in Indian consciousness.
He is known for his quote in Marathi: “Swarajya is my birthright and I shall have it!”.
He formed a close alliance with many Indian National Congress leaders including Bipin Chandra Pal, Lala Lajpat Rai, Aurobindo Ghose, V. O. Chidambaram Pillai and Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
He had a long political career agitating for Indian autonomy from British rule.
Before Gandhi, he was the most widely known Indian political leader.
Unlike his fellow Maharashtrian contemporary, Gokhale, he was considered a radical Nationalist but a Social conservative.
He was imprisoned on a number of occasions that included a long stint at Mandalay.
At one stage in his political life he was called “the father of Indian unrest” by British author Sir Valentine Chirol.