<P> The festival celebrates Lord Ganesha as the God of New Beginnings and the Remover of Obstacles and is observed throughout India, especially in the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Telangana, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh, and is usually celebrated privately at home in states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh . Ganesh Chaturthi is also observed in Nepal and by the Hindu diaspora elsewhere such as in the Trinidad, Suriname, Fiji, Mauritius, United States and in Europe (in Tenerife). </P> <P> At public venues, along with the reading of texts and group feasting, athletic and martial arts competitions are also held . </P> <P> It is unclear when the festival started, it may have South Indian origins, but historical evidence suggests it became a major social and public event with sponsorship of Shivaji after Mughal - Maratha wars, and again in the 19th century after public appeal by Indian freedom fighter Lokmanya Tilak, who championed it as a means to circumvent the colonial British government ban on Hindu gatherings through its anti-public assembly legislation in 1892 . </P> <P> The earliest mention of Ganapati, now considered equivalent to Ganesha or Vinayaka, is found in the Rigveda . It appears twice in the Rigveda, once in hymn 2.23. 1, as well as in hymn 10.112. 9 . Both of these hymns imply a role of Ganapati as "the seer among the seers, abounding beyond measure in food presiding among the elders and being the lord of invocation", while the hymn in mandala 10 states that without Ganapati "nothing nearby or afar is performed without thee", according to Michael . However, it is uncertain that the Vedic term Ganapati which literally means "guardian of the multitudes", referred specifically to later era Ganesha, nor do the Vedic texts mention Ganesha Chaturthi . </P>

Which indian leader popularized the celebration of ganesh chaturthi