As India and Mumbai gear up for the celebration of her most beloved Lord Ganesh, it is also time to acknowledge the impact it had on the freedom struggle. Although, there is no conclusive way to determine when or how Ganesh Chaturthi was first observed, the festival has been publicly celebrated in Pune since the times of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaja in the 17th century. This grand tradition was continued on by the Peshwas in the 18th century who were great devotees of Lord Vinayaka.
With the advent of the British Raj, the festival lost its patronage and receded back into a private family celebration. This stemmed from the fear of the Britishers in preventing another violent uprising like the one in 1857. As a result, they slowly began to restrict Hindu gatherings culminating in a total ban in 1892. This was a huge mistake.
In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak led the revival of the Grand celebrations of Lord Ganesh as a means to circumvent the ban. He started the festivals in Pune, Girgaon, and Bombay and used his newspaper Kesari to rally the masses to organize a grand scale public event. Its role in the freedom struggle is another underrated and sometimes forgotten story of that era.
Here are 3 ways Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav helped galvanize the freedom struggle:
- Lord Ganesh as a remover of obstacles: Lord Ganesh is revered as the remover of obstacles and as such Hindus invoke the single tusked Deva before undertaking any major project or job. Naturally, this aspect was noticed and utilized by those of a revolutionary fervor who sought inspiration from the great Indian epics and Puranas.
- Lord Ganesh as a Deva for All: Tilak recognized Lord Ganesh’s appeal the God for everybody and as such chose Son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati as the god that bridged the gap between Brahmins and non-Brahmins, thereby building unity among Indians from all castes and creed to oppose the British Colonial rule.
- Lord Ganesh’s reach across geographies: Lord Ganesh is worshipped by people in the North, South, East, and West. Historical accounts of Ganesh Chaturthi are present in states as diverse from Gujarat to Bengal, and Lahore to Tamil Nadu. It was easy for freedom fighters to convince people to participate in large scale public celebrations.
Indians have continued the grand celebrations even 77 years after we won our independence. While there are still forces who seek to place restrictions, the festival continues to gain in popularity. Big or Small, go out there and celebrate this auspicious occasion.
