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Who was Rabindranath Tagore?
Rabindranath Tagore was an Indian polymath, poet, artist, musician, and ayurveda-researcher. One of the most respected poets of India, Tagore inspired many at a time when the country was going through a tumultuous period during the British rule. One of the most widely acclaimed wordsmiths of India, Tagore was often hailed as ‘Gurudev’ or the poet of poets. Thanks to the sheer brilliance of his narratives and incommensurable poetic flair, he etched an ineffaceable impression on the minds of his readers. A child prodigy, Tagore showed a penchant for literature, art, and music from a very young age. In due course of time, he produced an extraordinary body of work which changed the face of Indian literature. He was not just a mere poet or writer; he was the harbinger of a new era of literature and was thus considered a cultural ambassador of India. Even today, he lives in the hearts of the people of Bengal who are forever indebted to him for enriching their heritage. He was the most admired Indian writer who introduced India’s rich cultural heritage to the West. He is also the first non-European to be honored with the prestigious ‘Nobel Prize.’
Political Opinion
Tagore’s political outlook was little ambiguous. Though he censured imperialism, he supported the continuation of British administration in India.
He criticized the ‘Swadeshi Movement’ by Mahatma Gandhi in his essay ‘The Cult of the Charka,’ published in September 1925. He believed in the co-existence of British and the Indians and stated that British rule in India was "political symptom of our social disease."
He never supported nationalism and considered it to be one of the greatest challenges faced by humanity. In this context, he once said “A nation is that aspect which a whole population assumes when organized for a mechanical purpose.” Nevertheless, he occasionally supported the ‘Indian Independence Movement.’ He even renounced his knighthood on 30 May 1919 following the ‘Jallianwala Bagh massacre.’
On the whole, his vision of a free India was based not on its independence from the foreign rule, but on the liberty of thought, action, and conscience of its citizens.
