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Short takes
The one who showed the Mahatma the way to Swaraj
Jaswant Singh
Lokmanya Tilak, Symbol of Swaraj
by Sorab Ghaswala. Rupa, New Delhi. Rs 195. Pages 62
 IF one were to count the personalities who had
created awareness among the Indians about their right to freedom, the
name of Bal Gangadhar Tilak would top the list. When he roared "Swaraj
is my birthright and I shall have it", the words echoed in
thousands of Indian hearts. His concept of Swaraj and Swadeshi were
later adopted by Gandhiji as a major plank of his Satyagraha and
Non-cooperation Movement.
This dauntless nationalist whose powerful writings
and speeches led him to long years of imprisonment, kept his eyes fixed
on the aim of Swaraj till his last day. Some have called him the
"uncrowned king of India" and the "symbol of a new
age", while others say that he is to India what George Washington
is to the USA.
Journalist Ghaswala has charted the life of this
patriot from his childhood to his active life in which he revealed
himself as an unbending fighter for Swaraj and a dauntless journalist.
Tilak took the first step into the limelight because of the importance
he gave to mass education. With the help of some friends, he started the
New English School in Poona (now Pune) in 1880. The intention was that
Indians should receive education from Indians. So far, schools were
manned only by foreign missionaries. He was also instrumental in
starting Poona’s famous Fergusson College. He took to journalism as an
instrument of mass education. He launched two newspapers—Kesari
in Marathi and Mahratta in English. Both newspapers became known
for their bold and fearless writings.
Realising the value of mass support in his campaign
against the British, he gave the people of Maharashtra platform in the
shape of a 10-day Ganesh festival, and Chhatrapati Shivaji as the symbol
of Maratha pride. His bold writings invited the charge of sedition and
he was sentenced to 18 months in jail.
Between 1905 and 1908 Tilak emerged as a major factor
in national polities. His ideas became popular among the younger
elements in the Congress and he gave his followers the concepts of
Swaraj and Swadeshi, and also of passive resistance, which were later
adopted by Gandhiji.
His call to the people of India and the leaders of
the Congress to oppose the partition of Bengal, and the emergence of the
Lal, Bal, Pal trio are described adequately in the book. The conflict
between the "moderates" and the "extremists" (Naram
Dal and Garam Dal) within the Congress resulted in a victory for the
moderates because of organisational control of the old leaders and the
then narrow franchise of the Congress. It left the party in the hands of
those who opposed Tilak’s action-oriented agenda. He was forced out of
the party, but there remained no doubt that the vast majority of
politically aware Indians favoured Tilak and his group.
Once again Tilak was prosecuted for his writings in Kesari
and was sentenced to six years’ deportation. He was taken to Mandalay
jail in Burma where he spent six years in near-isolation. After his
release, Tilak started his Home Rule movement. He was also welcomed back
in the Congress and received a standing ovation at the Congress session
in Lucknow in 1916.
When this Titan among Indian politicians died on
August 1, 1920, after a brief illness, almost the entire citizenry of
Bombay turned out for his funeral.
Kamalhasan, The Consummate Actor
by Roopa Swaminathan. Rupa, New Delhi. Rs 195. Pages
62
Roopa Swaminathan has earlier written the biographies
of two great personalities of the Tamil screen, M.G. Ramachandran and
Sivaji Ganesan. Now she has taken up the life of another great of Tamil
cinema, Kamalhasan. In this, the actor’s brother, Charuhasan,
reminisces about Kamal’s journey to the top of the Tamil film world.
His father, Srinivas, was a freedom fighter and a
believer in Hindu-Muslim unity, so he gave his three sons names, the
first halves of which were Hindu and the second half Muslim, Hence
Charuhasan, Chandrahasan and Kamalhasan. Ironically, Kamalhasan’s name
recently caused him considerable trouble at the Toronto airport. He was
held up by the Customs, who suspected him of being a terrorist because
of his name.
This veteran of more than 200 films has blazed a new
trail, brushing aside the tried and tested formulae of filmmaking.
Encouraged by his father to become an actor, Kamal started as a child
artiste at the age of five. In his heyday, Kamal had to share glory with
another star, Rajnikant. As Kamal took big strides as an actor,
Rajnikant became extremely popular with Tamil audiences and came to be
known as a superstar. Kamal remained just a super actor.
However, cinema has remained his hope and passion and
industry insiders call him one dimensional—his life beginning and
ending with cinema. Unlike some of the greats of Tamil cinema, he has
kept scrupulously away from politics, even film industry politics. He
has about 1,500 fan clubs in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and
Maharashtra, and he has insisted that these clubs be turned into social
service organisations. Himself, Kamal has announced that after his
death, his organs should be donated for medical research. Kamal has
never been able to build an equation with the directors of Mumbai, who
attribute his lack of success in Bollywood to his accented Hindi and his
dark complexion. His admirers, however, hold that the directors of
Mumbai could not handle Kamal because they had to create something new,
something unique and different for him in every role, which they were
unable to do.
Kamal is tight-lipped about his personal life, but brother Charu
talks about Kamal’s relationship with different women and even tries
to justify this behaviour. Thus, if there is a shower of compliments and
praise, there are also accusations concerning his professional as well
as personal life. Right now, Tamil Nadu’s film industry is looking for
someone to succeed him as he succeeded Sivaji Ganesan.
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