Who said, “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it”?

Explanation

The slogan, “Swaraj is my birthright, and I shall have it,” associated with Bal Gangadhar Tilak, has been a subject of considerable disagreement among scholars regarding when Tilak first used it. In fact, the idea of this slogan began to take shape in the 1890s. Scholars believe that Tilak’s close associate, Joseph “Kaka” Baptista, first coined this sentence. It is believed that Baptista probably composed this line in Marathi—“Swarajya ha maza janmasiddha hakk ahe, ani to mi milavnarach”—and Tilak adopted it and carried it to the masses. On the basis of available evidence, it can be said that Tilak used this slogan from public platforms during the Home Rule Movement in April–May 1916. Some sources emphasize that Tilak used this slogan at the Lucknow session of the Congress in 1916, but sufficient historical evidence in support of this is not available.