Who among the following first used the word ‘Swarajya’ in its political sense and accepted Hindi as the national language of India ?

Bal Gangadhar Tilak is widely recognized for first using the word 'Swarajya' in its political sense within the Indian independence movement [1]. He famously declared, 'Swarajya is my birthright, and I shall have it!' . While the term 'Hindavi Swarajya' was historically attributed to Shivaji in the 17th century [1], Tilak adapted it into a modern political demand for self-rule against British colonial authority [1]. Furthermore, Tilak was a pioneer in advocating for Hindi as the national language of India to foster national unity, a stance later championed by Mahatma Gandhi [3]. Although Swami Dayanand Saraswati used the term 'Swaraj' in a religious-social context earlier, Tilak's application was distinctly political and linked to mass mobilization. Gandhi later adopted the term for his 'Swarajya Sabha' in 1920 [4], but Tilak remains the figure who first popularized its political and linguistic significance.

Sources

1. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindavi_Swarajya
2. [2] https://sde.uoc.ac.in/sites/default/files/sde_videos/I-Modern%20and%20indian%20social%20and%20political%20thought.pdf
3. [3] THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART III, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 12: FRAMING THE CONSTITUTION > 5. The Language of the Nation > p. 336
4. [4] Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 14: First World War and Nationalist Response > Home Rule League Movement > p. 299