Discover the lesser-known story of Tilak’s life and freedom movement
Book: The Empire’s Biggest Enemy
Author: Vaibhav Purandare
Marking the 167th year of Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s birth anniversary, Penguin Random House India announces the release of Tilak: The Empire’s Biggest Enemy, written by Vaibhav Purandare on 23rd July. It is the first comprehensive biography of the formidable leader, who was instrumental in transforming India’s quest for freedom from a political discourse into a powerful mass movement.
The Empire’s Biggest Enemy sheds light on a strand of the freedom struggle that has not been adequately covered. Is the book a much-needed corrective to the not-so-balanced narration of Indian history in the twenty-first century, as the author and publisher claim, is for the readers to decide?
Before Mahatma Gandhi emerged as the face of the Indian freedom struggle, Bal Gangadhar Tilak was the revolutionary force behind the surge of Indian nationalism. Tilak was the most dangerous dissenting voice for the British Raj, leading to three sedition charges against him for his provocative writings in his nationalist daily, Kesari.
Early Days of Tilak
Featuring exclusive picture inserts from the 1880s, Vaibhav Purandare traces Tilak’s journey from his early days in Konkan to his influential role in India’s independence movement. The book spotlights his relentless fight against British colonialism, his imprisonment, and his steadfast dedication to the cause of Swaraj. Tilak:
Vaibhav Purandare said, ‘Tilak roused the Indian people into collective action against the British Raj and made them aware of ‘rights’, which was revolutionary in late 19th and early 20th century India because, subjugated as they were, Indians – and their chief political organisation, the Indian National Congress – were until then speaking only in the language of ‘pleadings and requests’.”
Tilak represents the turning point of India’s freedom struggle, for he single-handedly turned that struggle into a people’s upheaval. He also led the vigorous Indian pushback against colonisation of the mind, heart and spirit. ‘My biography of Tilak speaks of how India’s massive political revolution and the anti-colonial fight was unleashed and acquired momentum. It tells us how we, as a nation and individual citizens, got to where we are today. It’s impossible to understand the freedom struggle and our present-day national debates on various contentious issues equally without looking closely at Tilak’s life, ‘ he added.
Known as ‘Lokmanya’ or ‘One Revered by the People, ‘ Tilak boldly declared, “Freedom is my birthright, and I shall have it.” His impassioned writings, relentless activism, and bold defiance earned him the title ‘the greatest threat’ to British rule. At a time when the British sought to diminish Indian self-worth, Tilak fiercely defended India’s rich cultural heritage and history, awakening a national consciousness that still resonates today.
Vaibhav Purandare is the author of the acclaimed Shivaji: India’s Great Warrior King, Savarkar: The True Story of the Father of Hindutva, Hitler and India: The Untold Story of His Hatred for the Country and Its People, Sachin Tendulkar: A Definitive Biography and Bal Thackeray & the Rise of the Shiv Sena.
