As we enter July, we are a month away from the Centenary Death Anniversary of Lokmanya Tilak.

Lokmanya Tilak passed away on 1st August 1920.

In these 100 years, Tilak & his humongous contribution towards attaining Swarajya, his thoughts & ideology have been largely neglected.

Tilak's contribution in national education through the formation of the Deccan Education Society is unparalleled & gave India eminent personalities like Veer Savarkar, JB Kripalani, Wrangler Paranjape, Irawati Karve, DR Kaprekar, Ram G Gadkari, PL Deshpande and many more.

Tilak's contribution in the field of Journalism & Printing Technology through formation of Kesari & Mahratta paved the way for fellow leaders to question the British Empire & their unjust policies against the Indian people.

Tilak fought 3 sedition trials against the Empire in his life starting from 1897 lasting till 1916 & due to his extraordinary arguments in courts, the Sedition Act was amended by changing the definition of sedition. This led Home Rule to be classified as a legitimate agitation.

Once this was ensured, it paved the way for future leaders to demand home rule through their writings & speeches without being put on trial for sedition.

Tilak brought about public cooperation by making Shivajayanti & Ganeshotsav national events & thus making it easy to demand complete Swarajya through the public themselves.

There is a reason why there is only one Lokmanya in India's history & that is due to the unwavering support that he amassed throughout the subcontinent. He was the most travelled leader of his time & cities, towns & villages enlightening Indians with idea of Swarajya.

There can be no better example of his astute leadership than that of his involvement in dividing & uniting Congress and the Muslim League even after being away for 6 years in Mandalay.

People don't forget mass leaders like Tilak, it is only the need of the hour to educate the nation about 'The Uncrowned King of India' as newspapers of that time called Tilak upon his return from Mandalay.