Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav
Ganesh Utsav became a major social and public event in the 19th century when Bal Gangadhar Tilak championed it as a means to bind all the fragmented Hindu community and oppose the British government ban on Hindu gatherings through its 1892 anti-public assembly legislation.
Ganesh Chaturthi was being celebrated in homes and small communities but Lokmanya Tilak made it into a big event with public Ganesh Utsav Pandals and he made the festival a reason for a mass movement so that people from all communities can take part in it.
The redefining of Ganesh Utsav took place in the late 19th century and the credit goes to Bal Gangadhar Tilak, the father of Indian unrest.
He revived the festival with a patriotic spirit amid the despotism of the British Raj. This festival also served as a meeting place for common people of all castes and communities. It slowly became a religious and social function.
The tradition of large images of the God and immersion of Ganesh statues on the last day of the festival with processions were started by Tilak.
