Pakistani History books have made the grave error of not according the high place to Tilak and Gokhale that their achievements merit. They are mentioned in passing, as Jinnah's seniors in the Congress Party but nothing more. Indeed, Jinnah was most influenced by these two men, imbibing idealism and nationalism from them. His fondest hope had been of becoming a 'Muslim Gokhale'. As in the words of one author, 'Jinnah's conversion to the partition demand cannot be fully appreciated unless we appreciate his commitment to the cause of Indian Nationalism and Hindu Muslim Unity in the Pre-Gandhian era.'
Bal Gangadhar Tilak was born in 1856, a year before the 1857 War of Independence. He began as an educationist in the tradition of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan founding the New English School. His contribution to Indian Nationalist Politics started with his career as a journalist in Poona, with his papers 'Kesari' and 'Mahratta'. Though a conservative Hindu, seeking Hindu revival, he was free of communal bias, and preferred to keep religious agenda out of Politics. The founding of Indian National Congress in 1885 brought Tilak to the forefront of the National Politics. Within the Congress, Tilak came to represent the extreme wing of the Congress calling for a 'Dominion' status for India. This split became more visible in 1907 when the Congress became visibly split between Gokhale's Moderates (including M A Jinnah) and Tilak's extremists. In 1908 Tilak was arrested for seditious writings in his paper 'Kesari'. He asked as counsel India's best young Barrister Mr Mohammed Ali Jinnah, whose valiant defense earned Talik's long lasting affection and admiration. Tilak however was sentenced to 6 years rigorous imprisonment by Judge Davar, who earned knighthood for doing so. Tilak continued to be a force in Indian Politics until his death in 1920 which was mourned by Muslims and Hindus alike.
Gopal Krishan Gokhale was ten years junior to Tilak. His basic approach to Politics was perhaps the most influential in Mr Jinnah's own life. As a moderate, Gokhale preferred Negotiation rather than non cooperation. A strict constitutionalist, he was elected to Bombay Legislative council, and the Imperial Legislative Council in 1899 and 1902 respectively. It was Gokhale more than anyone else, who inspired and influenced young Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who despite his admiration for Tilak's patriotism sided with Gokhale in the split of the Congress in 1907. Like Jinnah, Gokhale never went to jail. He continued on the path of constitutional struggle for self rule for Indian people. His death in 1915 deprived the sub continent of a great leader who could have led the Indians, Hindus and Muslims together, to freedom much earlier than they did.
The Pre-Gandhian National struggle was markedly different from the Gandhian Movement of the 1920s and early 1930s. Despite attempts on Mr Gandhi's part to portray Gokhale as his political Guru (ref 'Gokahle my Political Guru') Gandhian methods and ways were a flight from the moderation and progressive nationalism espoused by Gokhale and his disciple Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Gandhi despite frantic attempts was unable to gain membership in Gokhale's 'Servants of India' for atleast two years. His drives for recruitment for the British Army, and his calls for cooperation and opposition against the movements for self rule and Dominion Status did not make a darling of the leaders of the Indian Nationalist Movements. Sadly it was Mr Jinnah who made the fatal and terrible mistake of nominating Mr Gandhi as the candidate for Home Rule League Bombay Presidency despite better advice from close friends and committed secularists like Jayakar. Mr Gandhi assured the Home Rule Leaguers that he will not bring in his theories and fads into Politics and was made the president of the League in 1920 (MR Jayakar, the Story of My life, 1958, pages 316-17). Paradoxically, Gandhiji made Home rule League or 'Swaraj Sabha' as he called it the focal point in his 'fantastic fads' and 'pet theories' that Jayakar had spoken against.
Gandhian Methods of bringing religion into Politics found no sanction from Tilak who said 'Let us seek Muslim Cooperation on the broad national question of Swaraj. In that, all means, give them privileges if these will satisfy them and bring them into Congress fold, but never seek to introduce theology into our Politics' (Jayakar the story of my life P388). Gandhi had not only brought his ancient Hindu Philosophy saying 'I am a Hindu first and hence a true Indian' (Secular and Nationalist Jinnah by Ajeet Javed Singh Page 187) but also tried to enlist the Khilafatists to his side by supporting their cause and thereby sidelining the secular Muslim element who did not feel any special love for Khilafat. Tilak also reportedly said 'I have great respect and admiration for Gandhiji but I do not like his politics. If he was to retire to the himalayas, and gave up politics, I would send him fresh flowers out of my respect for him.'
The Pre-Gandhian Nationalist Politics was the politics of sophisticated secular nationalists who walked side by side on the question of self rule. Gokhale's death in 1915, and Tilak's death in 1920 left this form of Politics orphan. Jinnah, the worthy disciple, had one major drawback, as Gandhi noted so wisely the 'eminent Muslim gentleman' was from the 'minority community'. Gandhi's arrival unlike the revisionist History suggests was not welcomed by the Indian Nationalists of the mainstream, nor did Gandhi try to make himself attractive to them. On the contrary he criticized Tilak for inciting the masses against the British, who were there for 'the welfare of the world'(Philip Sprat Gandhism in analysis 1939 Madras, India's freedom struggle Dwarkadas Kanji). Indeed, when Tilak was humiliated by Lord Wellingdon, the Governor of Bombay, it was Jinnah not Gandhi who set out to avenge Tilak's humiliation leading a procession to prevent the address to Wellingdon as the departin Governor, from the citizens of Bombay. Gandhiji stood at the sideline, refusing to join the Nationalists. Indeed, Gandhiji openly and shamelessly sided with the British on this and many other issues. Yet revisionist History, some prompted by Gandhiji himself, tries to portray him as the inheritor of the nationalist tradition of Gokhale and Tilak which is entirely fale.
After Tilak's death, followed lonely Jinnah's unceremonious exit from the Congress at Nagpur, gave Gandhi the opportunity to organize Congress on Religious and spiritual lines, while also encouraging the reactionary non cooperation of both Swarajists, and the Khilafatists.
Henceforth, the Lucknow pact (also known as the famous Tilak Jinnah pact) which had woven together a thin fabric of unity between the two extremely divided communities of India, Hindus and Muslims, lost importance. Gandhi's religious spiritualist Movement, undertaken undoubtedly by good intentions split the movement as Tilak and Jinnah had feared. After the Khilafat fell in Turkey, the illusion of Hindu Muslim Unity in form of united Khilafat and Non cooperation Movements fell apart. The ghost of Chatterjee, and the Anand Math was reawakened, in the form of Shudhi and Sanghtan Movements to convert all Muslims to Hinduism or to drive them out. The Mullahs empowered by the Khilafat Movement and Gandhiji were given a foot in the door which they now wholeheartedly saw as the door to political leadership of the Muslim Community. Moplahs rose in revolt in South India, killing and converting Hindus to Islam. The thin fabric of Unity for which Tilak, Gokhale and their worthy disciple Jinnah had worked so hard was lost forever. Jinnah stayed around making efforts to reclaim what his mentors had started in first two decades of the century. However, utterly disappointed, he was finally converted to the cause of Progressive Muslim Nationalism in 1937 by the great poet Philosopher Muhammad Iqbal. That was the beginning of Jinnah's journey on the road to Pakistan.
