Page:The Life of Lokamanya Tilak.djvu/35

Rh have got at least the benefit of doubt created a deep wound in Mr. Tilak's mind; for its patriotism was not outlandish, based merely on the perusal of the works of Mill and Bright. It was essentially Indian, and was directly derived from a contemplation of the great and heroic deeds of Shivaji and his descendants. The Maratha History of the 17th and 18th Centuries formed the Bible of his patriotism and his blood was aflame when he reflected on the utter impotence to which the representatives of the Empire-builders of the 18th century were reduced.

If the rumbling of a widespread insurrection attended the birth of Mr. Tilak, the year of his graduation (1876) was marked by an abortive attempt to overturn the British Government. This attempt was confined only to some parts of Maharashtra. Its authors were a few fanatics under the leadership of Wasudeo Balvant Phadke, a clerk in Government employ. The enthusiasm of these people far exceeded their limitations. They had neither birth nor fortune to impress the imagination of the public. Wasudeo Balvant scarcely took note of the practical disappearance of the martial instincts of the race, the apathy and ignorance of the masses, the denationalisation of the classes, the sloth of the degenerate descendants of the old aristocracy. His attempts were doomed to failure; and they could only bring with them their inevitable legacy—repression and suspicion. The Brahmins—Poona Brahmins especially—were the greatest sufferers. Even a 'model' Moderate like Ranade, whose only 'mistake' in life was a youthful essay on Shivaji, that deprived him temporarily of