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TAGORE’S THOUGHTS ON NATIONALISM

Shampa Chatterjee 

Among the various dimensions of Tagore’s polymath personality- that of a writer, poet, playwright, dramatist, painter, philosopher, political thinker- his political thought is perhaps the least understood. And while Tagorean prose, poetry and drama have influenced every aspect of vernacular literature, not to mention Bengali literature, where Tagore towers like a colossus; his ideas of nationalism and governing polity have received scant to no importance in independent India.  

Rabindranath Tagore, of course, was no politician in the real sense of the term; besides he did not found any particular kind of political school. Tagore’s patriotism was also not that brand of blind obeisance that so easily attracts followers and often transforms itself into a cult. The core of Tagore’s nationalism was the universal concept of humanism, a concept that goes beyond geographical barriers and the barriers of race, color and creed. In Tagore's own words (an excerpt from a letter to C.F. Andrews) “I love India, but my India is an idea and not a geographical expression. Therefore I am not a patriot- I shall ever seek my compatriots all over the world.” Indeed in many of his addresses the poet denounced the barbarous and exclusive aspects of nationalism. “A nation,” he said “was an aspect of a whole people as an organized power”. According to him this accent on organized power as reflected by a state, makes for national machinery that cannot be a receptacle for harmonizing different races and cultures.  

His vision of India was also one where nationalism was almost synonymous with harmony. It was an India, where the history of humanity would seek a synthesis. “The history of India,” says Tagore, “is not the history of Aryans; it is not the history of Hindus, nor the history of Hindus and Moslems taken together. Of late the British have come in and occupied an important place in India’s history. If India had been deprived of touch with the West she would have lacked an element essential for her attainment of perfection. On us today is thrown the responsibility of building up a greater India in which Hindu and Mussalman and Christian, the dark skinned and the white skinned will all find their place.”

Although, Tagore’s was a different form of patriotism that would never come in the way of man’s relationship with others, it cannot be dismissed as just being a philosopher’s rant.  It was in fact routed to reality. Tagore was amongst the first to point out that the two most essential things that India needed were education and unity. He protested against the cult of 'charkha' saying that “in a country where a majority of the inhabitants are cultivators it is absurd to put repeated emphasis upon their duty to turn the 'charkha' instead of urging them to perfect their work with the help of a better method and wider knowledge.” He also opposed vehemently the idea of completely discarding the concept of private property and material prosperity. In an article published in the Visva Bharati Quarterly in 1924, he notes that “Private property is a medium for expression of our personality. The negative aspect of man’s personality is that man is selfish. But if we kill individuality because it is apt to be selfish then human communion itself loses its meaning.” He was confident that “the huge megatherium of capitalism” would come to an end through mutual sympathy, trust and understanding. Thus, central to Tagore’s idea of nationalism, peace and development, lay the principles of humanism. So that inspite of being aggrieved at the British rule he loved the best Englishmen “as the best specimens of humanity” and was a great admirer of the large hearted liberalism of the nineteenth century English politics. Another incident that brings out his commitment to humanism is the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.  This tragedy shook Tagore to the depth of his being and led him to renounce his knighthood. Yet he refused to support the move to erect a memorial upon the spot saying that he had faith in humanity and felt it unnecessary to record a deed of blood. 

More than half a century after India achieved independence it might be interesting to ponder on Tagore’s thoughts on Indian independence and freedom. For Tagore perfect freedom meant more than mere independence. He did not believe in sacrificing the freedom of the soul to achieve political independence within a certified period. Particularly unacceptable to him was the launch of a non cooperation movement to achieve Swaraj within a year of the start of civil disobedience.  To Tagore this greed and unreasoning obedience to a political programme was not promising for a young and emerging nation. “It is not that I don’t feel anger in my heart for injustice and insult heaped upon my motherland,” he said. “But it would be an insult to humanity if I use the sacred energy of my moral indignation for the purpose of spreading a blind passion all over our land.”  

In a day and age where nationalistic fervor has reached its zenith and men and women across nations scream of hate and revenge while religiously guarding their borders it would do well to be gently reminded of what Tagore said about patriotism. “In small minds, patriotism dissociates itself from the higher ideal of humanity. It becomes the magnification of self on a stupendous scale.”  

[Illustration: Shampa Chatterjee]

3u pwMÉ¡, 2003