How the Lal-Bal-Pal trio led the war against British colonialism in India
While the Mahatma Gandhi led non-cooperative & peaceful freedom struggle won independence for India, the contribution of another section of the freedom fighters was left in the shadows. Led by Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak & Bipin Chandra Pal who commonly came to be known as the Lal-Bal-Pal trio, the extremist faction of Indian nationalists came together to show the British the might of the Indians.
Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak & Bipin Chandra Pal
Is there only one right way to do something? Or can one goal be pursued using strategies that lay on the opposite sides of the spectrum? The Indian independence struggle certainly points in this direction.
As Mahatma Gandhi became the harbinger of peace and drove the British away using his ideals of noncooperation and nonviolence, the more than effective contribution of another set of fighters were left in the shadows. Known as the extremists, these were people who resorted to radical and aggressive approaches in demonstrating to the British that Indians weren’t to be taken lightly.
When Lord Curzon announced the partition of the state of Bengal in 1905, the British felt that their power was unparalleled and that the colonized Indians wouldn’t dare to resist. But the events that followed changed the trajectory of the Indian independence struggle and underlined the pride and reverence of the Indians in their motherland.
Spearheading the extremist movement in India were three men of tremendous influence and might who came together from varied backgrounds and distant states, unified by the dream of self-reliance and freedom.
Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal found a common enemy in the British and ignited the spark of bravery in their home states of Punjab, Maharashtra and Bengal respectively, which gradually found each other and spread across the country. Three educated nationalists, they used the might of their words to mobilize the millions of Indians across the country to boycott English products and stick to homegrown ones.
Skilled orators and writers, they used the tales of ancient Indian heroes like Rani Laxmi Bai and Chhatrapati Shivaji to invoke a fighting spirit of unity among the Indians, who were so far suppressed by the oppressive British regime. Coming to be known as the Lal-Bal-Pal triumvirate of assertive nationalism, they smartly realized that the might of the British lay in their industrial base in the country and led the Indians through violent protests and aggressive lockouts against the British from 1906- 1918.
Having grown in a family that permitted a freedom of faith, Lala Lajpat Rai had received international exposure and had caught on to the similarities between the color caste practiced in America to the caste system in India. This led him on to actively promote equality in his home country that gained him the title of the ‘Punjab Kesari’, or ‘The Lion of Punjab’.
Known as the father of Indian unrest, Bal Gangadhar Tilak was one of the first advocates of Swaraj or self-rule. No stranger to trials and imprisonments, his writings influenced the Indians to take matters into their own hands and fight for their freedom.
A revolutionary in politics as much as his real life, Bipin Chandra Pal professed social awareness and gender equality through journalism before actively engaging in the freedom struggle. A staunch proponent of revolutionary thoughts, Pal denounced the caste system and fought for the equality and freedom of his co citizens.
The three found common ground in their criticism of Gandhi's pacifist ways and joined hands to invigorate the Indians to overhaul the British. Their extremist form of nationalism espoused revolutionary methods like boycotting British goods, burning western clothes and advocating strikes and lockouts of English factories.
Although their methods of using Hindu religious festivals as mass mobilization events alienated the Muslims from them to an extent, the trio believed in a composite nationalism that included every citizen of the country, irrespective of their religious and traditional affiliations. They were of the opinion that the future and prosperity of the country depended on the reconciliation of the Indians with the greater ism, which was Indian nationalism.
The spirited political engagement of the Lal-Bal-Pal trio saw them become national heroes and idols for later generations that included Bhagath Singh and Chandrasekhar Azad among others. Though their individual stints gradually wore off by the 1920s, the torch of extremist nationalism had been lit well enough and had been passed on to the younger generations who took it upon themselves to take India to freedom and independence.
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Alvin ThomasAuthor
Fascinated by stories of human evolution and our growth as a mindful species. An explorer by heart, I enjoy historical tales that indulge in grit, determination and hope.
