Syllabus:

GS1: Modern Indian History from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues.

Context: 

Recently, Rabindranath Tagore Jayanti was celebrated on 7th May 2025. 

More on the news:

• This year will mark Rabindranath Tagore's 164th birth anniversary.
• However, according to the Bengali calendar, Rabindranath Jayanti is often observed on the 25th day of the month of Boishakh. Thus, West Bengal will observe it on May 9 this year. 
• He was the son of Sarada Devi and Debendranath Tagore, born on May 7, 1861, and was raised at Kolkata's famous Jorasanko Thakurbari.

Ideology 

• Tagore was a humanist and a universalist who upheld the unity of humanity beyond national and cultural divisions.
• The most central theme in Tagore’s philosophy was the human being, his or her potential and the question of how this potential can be reached. 
• For Tagore, God has two aspects, One is a monotheistic personal God, the other is brahman, which can be translated as being, consciousness, bliss, supreme reality, and All. 

Role in Freedom Struggle

• Ekla Chalo Re was composed by Rabindranath Tagore in 1905. It was written as a protest song during the Swadeshi Movement and the Anti-Partition Movement against the British government's decision to divide Bengal.
• He saw through the British ‘divide and rule’ policy and launched a rakhi campaign to promote Hindu-Muslim unity, where members of both communities tied rakhis as a symbol of brotherhood, a gesture both historic and revolutionary.
• He denounced British imperialism but also did not fully support or agree with Gandhi and his non-cooperation movement.
• He saw British rule as a symptom of deeper societal decay. He condemned their violence and renounced his 1915 knighthood in protest against the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, where over 1,500 unarmed Indians were killed.

Literature 

• Rabindranath Tagore is called the “Bard of Bengal”, much like William Shakespeare is called the “Bard of Avon”, because of his monumental influence on Bengali literature, music, and culture.
• He was the first non-European to receive the Nobel Prize for his contribution to world literature in 1913. 
• Tagore’s Rabindra Sangeet remains central to Bengali music, blending tradition with modernity and inspiring both the Bengali Renaissance and India’s nationalist movements.
• He also penned the national anthem for Bangladesh. 
• Some of his other notable works include Gitanjali, Chokher Bali, Post Master, Kabuliwallah, Nastanirh.

Famous Quotes by Rabindranath Tagore

• “The problem is not how to wipe out all differences, but how to unite with all differences intact.”
• “Everything comes to us that belongs to us if we create the capacity to receive it.”
• “Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high Where knowledge is free."
• “Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.”

Mains Question:

Q. What was the difference between Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore in their approach towards education and nationalism? (2023)