Educating Women and Non-Brahmins as 'Loss of Nationality' : Bal Gangadhar Tilak and the Nationalist Agenda in Maharashtra

This paper deals with the nationalist discourse in Maharashtra spanning over forty years. This discourse argued that educating women and non-Brahmins would amount to a loss of nationality. The nationalists,led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak during 1881-1920 consistently opposed the establishment of girls’ schools, the imparting of education to non-Brahmins, and implementing compulsory education. They were also instrumental in defeating the proposals to implement compulsory education in nine out of eleven municipalities. By demanding ‘National Education’, the nationalists sought to reshape the meaning and scope of compulsory education advocated by reformers, as their national education consisted of teaching the Dharmashastras and some technical skills. The important source for this paper is Tilak’s own writings in his paper, the Mahratta.[CWDS]