Q91
Indian National MovementRise of Nationalism & the Congress
Bal Gangadhar Tilak introduced the Ganapati Festival in 1893. He held the first Shivaji festival in
- a.1884
- b.1885
- c.1896
- d.1897
Answer: (C) 1896
Tilak turned the Ganapati festival into a public (sarvajanik) celebration in 1893 and followed it with the Shivaji festival, first celebrated at Raigad fort in April 1896 after a movement begun in 1895 to repair Shivaji's samadhi (which is why some books give 1895). Both festivals were used to spread nationalist ideas among the masses. Among the other years, 1885 is the founding year of the Congress and 1897 saw Tilak's first sedition trial and the Chapekar brothers' killing of Rand at Poona. Tilak's papers were Kesari (Marathi) and Mahratta (English); Valentine Chirol called him the "Father of Indian Unrest".