Claim: Bal Gangadhar Tilak was Indian.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak -LRB- or Lokmanya Tilak , ; 23 July 1856 -- 1 August 1920 -RRB- , 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 . The British colonial authorities called him `` Father of the Indian unrest . '' He was also conferred with the title of `` Lokmanya '' , which means `` accepted by the people -LRB- as their leader -RRB- '' .   Tilak was one of the first and strongest advocates of Swaraj -LRB- `` self-rule '' -RRB- and a strong radical in Indian consciousness . He is known for his quote in Marathi , '' स्वराज्य हा माझा जन्मसिद्ध हक्क आहे आणि तो मी मिळवणारच '' -LRB- `` Swarajya is my birthright and I shall have it ! '' -RRB- in India . 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 .