A Shameless Government
Fourteen years later Gandhiji started the non-cooperation movement against the British. The methods he placed before the people, Tilak had formulated as early as in 1906!
During this time, the Government of India and some British newspapers harassed Tilak in many ways. A rich man, Baba Maharaj by name, had died. He had expressed the wish that Tilak should look after his property. So Tilak took charge of it. Baba Maharaj's wife was misled by some selfish persons. She complained against Tilak to the government. The government was waiting for an opportunity to crush a leader who had been fighting against it. It appointed special officers and held a mock trial; 'it decided that Tilak had tendered false evidence and was also guilty of forgery. He. was handcuffed like thieves and murderers and sent to prison. Tilak, after coming out of the jail of bail, fought for fourteen years in different courts and finally got justice from the privy Council in England. The Privy Council rebuked severely the courts in India for the way they had tried this case.
The 'Globe' of London and 'The Times of India' had writ ten that Tilak incited people to commit murders. Tilak did not rest till he made those papers apologize to him.
'The Country's Misfortune'
The British divided Bengal. Then the people of Bengal used boycott itself as powerful weapon. A powerful movement flared up to protest against the division of Bengal. There was a District Magistrate who was the embodiment of injustice. A revolutionary by name Khudiram Bose threw a bomb on him.
The government used very harsh methods to break the will of the people. Aurobindo was arrested and taken to the police office in iron handcuffs, with a rope tied to his waist. Any one suspected of trying to use explosives could be sent to prison for 14 years!
Such atrocities made the people revolt against the government. Tilak's blood boiled. He wrote an article in the 'Kesari' under the title 'The Country's Misfortune' and took the government to task:
'It is unfortunate that bombs are being made in the country. But the responsibility for creating a situation in which it has become necessary to throw bombs, rests solely on the government. This is due to the government's unjust rule.'
The British were like a pricked balloon. They concluded that their government would be in danger if Tilak remained free.
Exiled From The Country
The government made this article 'The Country's Misfortune', a pretext to charge Tilak with treason against the government. Tilak was arrested on 24th June 1908 in Bombay. He was sentenced to six year's imprisonment outside India.
Tilak was then 52 years old. He had plunged into the struggle for freedom with no thought for his health and had grown weak. Diabetes had further weakened him. How could he withstand this severe imprisonment for six years far away from India?
The country was plunged in grief. Even foreign thinkers condemned this severe punishment to Tilak, who was a scholar, highly respected and honored throughout the world.
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