Bal Gangadhar Tilak - Early Life

Early Life

Keshav Tilak was born at Chummakachu Lane (Ranjani Aaleea) in Chikhali, Ratnagiri, Maharashtra to a Chitpavan Brahmin family. His father, Shri Gangadhar Tilak was a school teacher and a Sanskrit scholar who died when Tilak was sixteen. Young Keshav graduated from Deccan College, Pune in 1877. Tilak was amongst one of the first generation of Indians to receive a college education .

Tilak was expected, as was the tradition then, to actively participate in public affairs. He stated:

"Religion and practical life are not different. To take Sanyasa(renunciation) is not to abandon life. The real spirit is to make the country your family work together instead of working only for your own. The step beyond is to serve humanity and the next step is to serve God." This dedication to humanity would be a fundamental element in the Indian nationalist movement.

After graduating, Tilak began teaching mathematics at a private school in Pune. Later due to ideological differences with the colleagues in the New School, he decided to withdraw from that activity. About that time, he became a journalist. He was a strong critic of the Western education system, feeling it demeaned the Indian students and disrespected India's heritage. He organized the Deccan Education Society with a few of his college friends, including Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, Mahadev Ballal Namjoshi and Vishnushastri Krushnashastri Chiplunkar whose goal was to improve the quality of education for India's youth. The Deccan Education Society was set up to create a new system that taught young Indians nationalist ideas through an emphasis on Indian culture. The Society established the New English School for secondary education and Fergusson College for post-secondary studies. Tilak taught mathematics at Fergusson College. He began a mass movement towards independence that was camouflaged by an emphasis on a religious and cultural revival.