Why did Bal Gangadhar Tilak start a ‘private English school’ in the late 19th century?

As January 1, 1880, the planned date for inaugurating their new school, drew near, Tilak and [Vishnushastri Krushnashastri] Chiplunkar experienced a major shake-up that threatened to undo their enterprise even before it had begun. Chiplunkar was happy that four bright and educated young men were going to join forces with him to establish a private educational institution that would match those set up by the government in quality and at the same time differ from state-run schools in the kind of education it offered by focusing on the idea of a national consciousness that drew from India’s culture and heritage.

On the day of the launch at the Morobadada Fadnis Wada premises in the Budhwar Peth locality of Poona, three of the original core team were nowhere to be seen. Two of them, Bhagwat and Karandikar, had backtracked abruptly, presumably out of fear of a hostile reaction from the Raj. Agarkar, on the other hand, had deferred his involvement: he had failed his final year MA exam, and he wanted to clear it before he came in. Thus, it was Tilak and Chiplunkar who did the opening on their own.

But despite the initial hiccup, this opening partnership blossomed, and an entire team was eventually...

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