Bal Gangadhar Tilak was a person.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak ( or Lokmanya Tilak , ; 23 July 1856 -- 1 August 1920 ) , born as Keshav Gangadhar Tilak , was an Indian nationalist , teacher , social reformer , lawyer and an independence activist . He was the first leader of the Indian Independence Movement . He was also conferred with the title of `` Lokmanya '' , which means `` accepted by the people ( as their leader ) '' . Tilak was one of the first and strongest advocates of Swaraj ( `` self-rule '' ) and a strong radical in Indian consciousness . He formed a close alliance with many Indian National Congress leaders including Bipin Chandra Pal , Lala Lajpat Rai , Aurobindo Ghose , V. O. Chidambaram Pillai and Muhammad Ali Jinnah .