Trial of Tilak
On 23rd July 1908, the Bombay High Court sentenced Bal Gangadhar Tilak to deportation and six years of imprisonment under the charges of sedition. As the verdict came out, the people of Bombay (now Mumbai City) erupted in anger against the British government.
The sedition charges against Tilak were based on several of his articles in his newspaper Kesari, especially the one published on 15th May 1908. In his article, Tilak justified the violent method of freedom struggle and criticized the overbearing British government for its unresponsive policies. Tilak used his political trial to expose the fake notion of imperial justice and challenge colonial law. He refused to hire a lawyer and represented himself to prove that he was not obliged to the repressive colonial rule. Tilak addressed the Jury instead of speaking to the Judge directly and shifted the focus on the people, turning them into the nation's sovereign legislators.
Tilak transformed the courtroom into a political arena and declared the colonial law illegitimate. By challenging the discriminatory British judicial system and demanding impartial representation, Tilak opened a new discourse for political freedom.
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