Bal Gangadhar Tilak born Keshav Gangadhar Tilak (23 July 1856 – 1 August 1920), endeared as Lokmanya was an Indian nationalist, teacher, and an independence activist. He was one third of the Lal Bal Pal triumvirate. Tilak 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]". Mahatma Gandhi called him "The Maker of Modern India".
Tilak 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: "Swaraj 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.
- "Swaraj is my birthright, and I shall have it!"- Bal Gangadhar Tilak
- "Freedom is my birthright. I must haveit."- Bal Gangadhar Tilak
- "The problem is not the lack of resources or capability, but the lack of will."- Bal Gangadhar Tilak
- "If God is put up with untouchability, I will not call him God."- Bal Gangadhar Tilak
- "It may be providence's will that the cause I represent may prosper more by my suffering than by my remaining free."- Bal Gangadhar Tilak
- "The geologist takes up the history of the earth at the point where the archaeologist leaves it and carries it further back into remote antiquity." – Bal Gangadhar Tilak
- "Religion and practical life are not different. To take sanyas (renunciation) is not to abandon life. The real spirit is to make the country, your family, and work together instead of working only for your own. The step beyond is to serve humanity and the next step is to serve God."- Bal Gangadhar Tilak
- "The most practical teaching of the Gita, and one for which it is of abiding interest and value to the men of the world with whom life is a series of struggles is not to give way to any morbid sentimentality when duty demands sternness and the boldness to face terrible things."- Bal Gangadhar Tilak
- "If we trace the history of any nation backwards into the past, we come at last to a period of myths and traditions which eventually fade away into impenetrable darkness".- Bal Gangadhar Tilak
- "Life is all about a card game. Selecting the right card is not in our hand. But playing well with the cards in hand determines our success."- Bal Gangadhar Tilak