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Remembering Gopal Krishna Gokhale: The overshadowed hero of India’s freedom movement

Gopal Krishna Gokhale was born on May 9, 1866 in Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra in a poor family.

By Newsd
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Gopal Krishna Gokhale: The overshadowed hero of India’s freedom movement

While we may laud the names of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, and Bal Gangadhar Tilak, there is one name which is undeservedly overshadowed, which is paramount to the our historic freedom struggle.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale wasn’t a radical, which is why his contributions to the Indian Independence Movement, though mentioned in a page of our textbooks, weren’t nearly as glorified as his extremist counterparts.

On his birth anniversary, let’s look at some his life events and contributions to the freedom struggle of India

  • Gopal Krishna Gokhale was born on May 9, 1866 in Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra in a poor family. However, his parents made sure that he received English education so that it increased his chances of getting employed in the British Raj.
  • He visited Ireland and arranged for Irish nationalist Alfred Webb to serve as the President of the Indian National Congress in 1894.
  • On 26 March, 1902, when there were celebrations in the Parliament on account of surplus 7 crore rupees, Gokhale rose up to give his first Budget Speech.  He said he did not wish to join in the celebrations as this showed the “utter absence of a due correspondence between the condition of the country and the condition of the finances”. His first speech established him as the Greatest Parliamentarian India had ever produced on account of his knowledge and the way he presented his point.
  • He became President of the Congress party in 1905. He led the ‘moderates’ faction of the party, while his great rival Bal Gangadhar Tilak led the ‘extremists’ faction.
  • He was also Gandhi’s mentor, and was in fact instrumental in paving the way for the latter’s return to India after several successful years in South Africa. That happened in 1915.
  • Gokhale passionately fought for education for all, emancipation of women’s rights and the upliftment of the lower classes. Gokhale was the first to demand universal and free primary public education.
  • He died on February 19, 1915 at an early age of 49 as stress took its toll.

His political opponent, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, said at his funeral, “This diamond of India, this jewel of Maharashtra, this prince of workers is taking eternal rest on funeral ground. Look at him and try to emulate him.”

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