ABSTRACT
The philosophical foundations of terrorism were established in an article in The Yugantar headed ‘The Age of the Gita again in India’. The struggle which then began between the secularists and the militant Hindus was to be a recurring motif throughout the period of progress towards independence, and, even after the transfer of power, was to be the cardinal issue of Indian politics. The weapons used by those who fought partition were, firstly an economic boycott, and, secondly, a relentless campaign of terrorism and murder. Terrorism must indeed be regarded as not just the work of a few misguided youths but rather as the expression of the great feeling of violent hostility to the British Government on the part of a large section of educated Bengali Hindus, particularly in Calcutta. Bal Gangadhar Tilak was a dangerous and remarkable man, and his character ‘provides the key to much which the West finds it difficult to understand in later Indian political developments.
