I bow to Lokmanya Tilak on his Jayanti. He ignited the spark of patriotism among countless Indians. He successfully… https://t.co/BEpRBUp0DN — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 1532315160000

Here are key facts about the freedom fighter:

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday paid tribute to freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak on his birth anniversary.Th PM tweeted, "I bow to Lokmanya Tilak on his Jayanti. He ignited the spark of patriotism among countless Indians. He successfully mobilised people from all sections of society and deepened the connect between our citizens and India’s glorious past. Lokmanya Tilak also emphasised on education."1. Popularly known as Lokmanya, Bal Gangadhar Tilak was born into a Brahmin family on July 23, 1856 in Ratnagiri [Maharashtra] and died on August 1, 1920, Bombay [now Mumbai].2. The scholar, mathematician, philosopher, social reformer and nationalist helped lay the foundation for India’s independence. In 1916, he founded the Indian Home Rule League. He was instrumental in formulating the Lucknow Pact with with Mohammed Ali Jinnah, which provided for Hindu-Muslim unity in the nationalist struggle.4. He founded the Deccan Education Society in 1884 to impart quality education to India's youth.5. The very next year after the Deccan Education Society was founded, Tilak started two weeklies, 'Kesari' and 'Mahratta'. 'Kesari' was a Marathi weekly while 'Mahratta' was an English weekly.6 Tilak coined the famous slogan " Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it", which inspired lakhs to participate in the Indian freedom movement. He was one of the first and strongest advocates of 'swaraj' or 'self rule', which became the guiding principle of the Indian freedom movement.7. He joined the Indian National Congress in 1890, going on to form close associations with several Indian National Congress leaders such as Bipin Chandra Pal, Lala Lajpat Rai, Aurobindo Ghose, V O Chidambaram Pillai and Muhammad Ali Jinnah.8. Due to this fundamental difference in outlook, Tilak and his supporters came to be known as the extremist wing of Indian National Congress party. Tilak’s endeavours were supported by fellow nationalists Bipin Chandra Pal of Bengal and Lala Lajpat Rai of Punjab. The trio came to be popularly referred to as the Lal-Bal-Pal.9. Tilak was arrested on charges of sedition in 1906. After the trial, Tilak was sentenced to six years of imprisonment in Mandalay (Burma). He spent his time in prison by reading and writing. He wrote the book 'Gita-Rahasya' while he was in prison. He was released on June 8, 1914.