Immediately after the Amritsar Congress of December 1919, Gandhi joined issue with the Indian nationalist leader Balagangadhar Tilak, or Tilak Maharaj, or the Lokamanya (as he was popularly called), on the question of the nature of modern politics. He cited Tilak as someone whose understanding of politics was opposed to his:

Opposing the idea that it could be “proper” for leaders of political parties “to use others as tools so long as there are any to be used,” Gandhi recommended that the “right course” would lie in taking care to “purify our politics.”

Tilak disagreed with Gandhi's understanding of his—Tilak's—conception of political action. “[Y] ou have represented me as holding that … everything [was] fair in politics. I write … to say that my view is not correctly represented herein. Politics is a game of worldly people and not of Sadhus [renouncers; holy men].” A “sadhu,” Tilak suggested, using a supposedly Budhhist maxim, was someone who sought to conquer anger. “I prefer,” he said, “to rely on the maxim of [the god] Shri Krishna,” who tailored his responses to particular devotees by keeping them “in perfect harmony with the manner of their own approach.” “Any further explanation of the difference,” said Tilak in conclusion, “will be found in my Gita-Rahasya.”