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 sity which belonged to me six years before, though it may be, I shall have to modify the course a little.""

This declaration gave a quietus to the rumour that Mr. Tilak " intended to devote the evening of his life to meditation " and scholarshp. There were some well-meaning advisers who even urged Mr. Tilak to retire from Politics and achieve " immortal renown " by writing books like the Gita Rahasya. But Mr. Tilak knew the mission of his life better. " Literature and philosophy " he pointed out " are merely my recreation ; my life-work lies quite in a different direction."

In the leaden sky of Indian politics, Mr. Tilak saw a few gleams of hope. The total failure of the Morley-Minto Reforms^ the consequent disappointment of the Moderate party, the awakening of the great Moslem community and the entry of Mrs. Besant in Indian Politics, inspired him with great confidence. His immediate political programme was threefold : (i) The Congress-Compromise, (2) The reorganisation of the Nationalist party (3) The setting on foot of a strong agitation for Home Rule. His leisure was devoted to the completion and publication (1915) of the Gita-Rahasya and the consideration of the steps to be taken against Sir Valentine Chirol for defamation.

Seeing that he had no inclination for a life of learned retirement, the Bureaucracy tried their hands at an ' ofQcial boycott ' of Mr. Tilak, and a couple of police-stations were created in the neighbourhood of his residence to keep ' a close and rigorous surveillance ' on him. Visitors to his house were * boldly