- INTRODUCTION
- BACKGROUND
- His Life
- His Works
- His Thoughts
- TAGORE’S VIEWS ON THE CONCEPT OF NATIONALISM
- Defining Nationalism
- Tagore’s Disillusionment with Nationalism
- Opposition to Eurocentric idea of Nationalism
- Misreading Tagore’s Thoughts on Nationalism
- TAGORE’S COSMOPOLITANISM
- Cooperation, Coexistence, Humanity and Spiritual Universalism
- Patriotism and Cosmopolitanism
INTRODUCTION
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) is an outstanding literary figure of India and a legendary figure in world literature.
He is widely acclaimed not only in India but also globally.
Apart from his remarkable contribution in literature, Tagore made a notable contribution to the discourse of nationalism and cosmopolitanism.
To understand his views on nationalism and cosmopolitanism, it is essential to explore insights into his life and works.
BACKGROUND
Rabindranath Tagore (7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter during the Bengal Renaissance.
He reshaped Bengali literature and music, as well as Indian art, with Contextual Modernism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Tagore authored the "profoundly sensitive, fresh, and beautiful" poetry of Gitanjali.
In 1913, Tagore became the first non-European to win a Nobel Prize in any category and the first lyricist to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
His poetic songs were seen as spiritual and mercurial, with his elegant prose and magical poetry widely popular in the Indian subcontinent.
Tagore was a fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society and was referred to as "the Bard of Bengal."
He was known by the sobriquets Gurudeb, Kobiguru, and Biswokobi.
A Bengali Brahmin from Calcutta with ancestral roots in Burdwan district and Jessore, Tagore began writing poetry at the age of eight.
At sixteen, he released his first substantial poems under the pseudonym Bhānusiṃha ("Sun Lion"), which were later hailed as long-lost classics.
By 1877, Tagore began writing short stories and dramas under his real name.
As a humanist, universalist, internationalist, and ardent critic of nationalism, he denounced the British Raj and advocated for independence from Britain.
Tagore was an exponent of the Bengal Renaissance, creating a vast canon that included paintings, sketches, doodles, hundreds of texts, and approximately two thousand songs.
His legacy also includes the founding of Visva-Bharati University.
Tagore modernized Bengali art, rejecting rigid classical forms and resisting linguistic strictures.
His works covered political and personal topics, including novels, stories, songs, dance dramas, and essays.
His best-known works include Gitanjali (Song Offerings), Gora (Fair-Faced), and Ghare-Baire (The Home and the World).
His verse, short stories, and novels were praised or criticized for their lyricism, colloquialism, naturalism, and unnatural contemplation.
Two nations adopted his compositions as national anthems: India’s "Jana Gana Mana" and Bangladesh’s "Amar Shonar Bangla".
The Sri Lankan national anthem was also inspired by his work.
His song "Banglar Mati Banglar Jol" was adopted as the state anthem of West Bengal.
His Life
Rabindranath Tagore (popularly known as Tagore) was born on 9th May 1861 in Calcutta (now Kolkata), Bengal into an eminent and influential Bengali Brahmin family.
He was the fourteenth and youngest son of Debendranath Tagore, a leader of the Brahmo Samaj, a religious reform organization established by Raja Ram Mohan Roy.
Tagore's grandfather, Dwarkanath Tagore, was a rich landlord and social reformer and a close associate of Raja Ram Mohan Roy.
Tagore's family was among the earliest to join Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s Brahmo Samaj.
Under the influence of the liberal tradition of his family and the philosophy of the Upanishads, Rabindranath developed a positive view of life and a love for humanity.
He was educated at home and through his travels. He wrote his first verse at the age of eight.
He made regular trips to Europe and was admitted to a school in England, but he dropped out to pursue self-education.
Tagore married Mrinalini Devi Raichaudhuri in 1883 and had two sons and three daughters.
In 1901, he settled at Shantiniketan (meaning ‘Abode of Peace’) and began his educational experiment, trying to implement his Upanishadic ideals of education.
Most of his work was written at Shantiniketan.
Tagore conceived an innovative system of education at Shantiniketan, using the school as a base to participate in India’s social, political, and cultural movements.
A significant part of Tagore’s life was spent in developing the school at Shantiniketan.
In 1913, Calcutta University conferred on him a D.Litt. degree.
Oxford University conferred a Doctorate on Tagore in 1940 at Shantiniketan.
He passed away on 7th August 1941.