Page:Heroes of the hour- Mahatma Gandhi, Tilak Maharaj, Sir Subramanya Iyer.djvu/140

 not be right to mix up political and social matters in any abrupt and officious manner So the idea had grown stronger day by day that it was better to keep social and political matters apart in Indian development for a long time to come; and no amount of honest enthusiastic—nay fanatic—advocacy of the cause of Social Reform as not really very distinct from either religious or political reform can establish the theory that the Social Reformer at the time and out of the heat of the moment tried to establish—that Mr. Tilak acted as he did out of the ambition to win cheap notoriety and popular favour. To-day when in all fields of thought—political, social, and religious—we have advanced towards a vision of freedom and absolute freedom, it looks strange that a person of the stamp of Mr. Tilak should have made common cause with the illiberals who denied the use of a patriotic Pandal for purposes of free and honest discussion of matters vitally concerning the well-being of the peoples of the country. We have to bear in mind however two cardinal facts. In these early times Mr. Tilak foresaw what to-day is being very loudly preached by us Indians, and our friends the liberal Europeans, that political emancipation