Born: 9th May 1866
Died: 19th Feb 1915
Shri Gopal Krishna Gokhale was born on 9 May 1866, Ratnagiri district. Despite being poor, his family ensured that Gokhale received education at English Medium School, which would lead him in a position to get employed as a clerk or junior official in British Raj. He further studied at Rajaram College, Kolhapur. Being one of the first generations of Indians to receive education at university, Gokhale did his graduation from Elphinstone College which was completed in 1884. He had a great influence on the social activities of Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade in his life. Gokhale was named as the ‛Protege Son’ i.e Manas Putra of Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade. Gokhale’s education extremely influenced his future career, in addition to learning English, he was also exposed to Western political thought and soon he became a great fan of theorists such as Edmund Burke and John Stuart Mill.
In 1889, Gokhale joined the Indian National Congress, as a disciple of social reformer Mahadev Govind Ranade. Along with other contemporary leaders. Gokhale fought for decades to acquire greater political presentation and power over public affairs. He was fair in his views and attitudes and sought to appeal to the British authorities by plowing a process of dialogue and discussion that would yield greater respect for Indian rights by Britishers. In 1894, Gokhale became the Congress’s joint secretary along with Shri Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
Tilak and Gokhale’s early careers were parallel in many ways, both were crucial members of the Deccan Education Society, both attended Elphinstone College, both became mathematics professors, both were the top-ranking political leaders in the early 20th century. However, they differed a lot in their ideologies, their views concerns about how to improve the lives of Indians were different.
He was the elder leader of the Indian National Congress and the founder of the ‘Servants of India Society. He served in the Society, Congress, and other legislative bodies. Gokhale campaigned for social reforms and Indian self-rule. He was in the middle of the Congress party who advocated reforms by working with existing government institutions. After the split in Surat, Gokhale was deeply concerned with the future of the Congress party. According to him, it is necessary to unite the opponent groups, and in this relation, he took the advice of Annie Besant.
Gokhale, who was widely viewed as a leader of the Nationalist Movement, was not principally concerned with independence but rather with social reforms; he believed that such reforms would be only achieved by working within the existing Government (British). Gokhale was elected to the Bombay Legislative Council and the Imperial Council 1899-1903 of the Governor-General of India as well as the non-officiating member representing Bombay Province.
The first-hand knowledge along with the representative institutional experience made him an outstanding political leader, and a model for the people’s representatives. His contribution was prodigious in shaping the freedom struggle. Gokhale’s achievement must be studied in the context of primary ideologies and social, economic, and political situations of that time.
Gokhale died on 19th February 1915. Before dying, he reportedly expressed his wish to see Congress united. In spite of their differences, Gokhale and Tilak had great respect for each other’s work and sacrifice. Following Gokhale’s demise, paying tribute to him Tilak wrote an editorial in Kesari.
