Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Indian nationalist leader, writer and journalist (1856–1920)
Bal Gangadhar Tilak (born Keshav Gangadhar Tilak (pronunciation: [keʃəʋ ɡəŋɡaːd̪ʱəɾ ʈiɭək]); 23 July 1856 – 1 August 1920), was an Indian nationalist and self-rule activist in the Indian independence movement. He was one third of the Lal Bal Pal triumvirate. The honorific "Lokmanya" (meaning "accepted by the people as their leader") was applied to him by his supporters.
Tilak was one of the first and strongest advocates of Swaraj ('self-rule') and is known for his quote in Marathi: "Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it!". He formed a close alliance with the leaders of the "New Party" (Nationalists), joining forces with Bipin Chandra Pal, Lala Lajpat Rai, and Aurobindo Ghose to advocate for self-rule. He also worked with V. O. Chidambaram Pillai and Muhammad Ali Jinnah who later oversaw Pakistan's independence from British rule.
Early life
Keshav Gangadhar Tilak was born on 23 July 1856 in a Marathi Hindu Chitpavan Brahmin family in Ratnagiri, the headquarters of the Ratnagiri district of the Bombay Presidency. The family moved to Poona in 1867. His father, Gangadhar Tilak was a school teacher and a Sanskrit scholar who died when Tilak was sixteen. In 1871, Tilak was married to Tapibai (Née Bal) when he was sixteen, a few months before his father's death.
The public source identifies “Bal Gangadhar Tilak” as indian nationalist leader, writer and journalist (1856–1920). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Gangadhar, Tilak and Indian.
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Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q312555. VIAF identifies the subject as 95217156. The Library of Congress control number is n50046767. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1856, 1920, 1867 and 1871.
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This entry incorporates text from “Bal Gangadhar Tilak” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.