Rabindranath’s birthday on the 25th of Boishakh of the Bengali calendar (May 8 or 9) is a day of celebration, mainly in Bengal where it is a public holiday and among Bengali communities across the country. It has become an annual ritual to remember him with recitals of his poems, renditions of his songs, the enactment of plays and so on. Yet, we have failed to communicate his message of a universal religion, internationalism, culture and civilisation to the people at large. His religiosity was not confined to narrow, secluded and ritualistic performances. Rather, his direct connection with the Almighty had both serenity and sanctity; the lyricism of his puja (devotion), prem (love) and prakriti (nature) merge into a wider space of spiritualism.
Today, there is an atmosphere of majoritarian appeasement through the medium of belligerent religiosity. A narrow religious jingoistic nationalism is being whipped up through the politicisation of and sloganeering around religious icons. Is it worth remembering Rabindranath, especially just as a ritualistic formality, on his birth anniversary? Have we not failed him for not even trying to understand his notion of exchange of knowledge, his vision of setting up the first international university, Visva-Bharati, his role as an educationist and his perception of rural reconstruction (Sriniketan)?
Here was a man who agreed to disagree with Gandhi on contentious issues, yet addressed him as “Mahatma”. He believed in the unity of human society, regardless of race, colour and creed. He had his own view on nationalism. He once told Gandhi: “The whole world is suffering from a cult of selfish and short-sighted nationalism.”
Here was a man, who actively participated in the Swadeshi movement of 1905 and composed a number of patriotic songs, yet withdrew from the movement, being shocked when it broke into communal violence. He resigned from all the committees in a single day. Here was a man whose numerous essays and letters are not even disseminated to the people. Today, when there is so much religious divide in the country, his writings do give us a new perspective. In 1911, he wrote: “The Muslims have to strive to become equals. In order to salvage this inequality, the Muslims have started demanding more than the Hindus. We should genuinely be in agreement with their demands. It will be beneficial for the Hindus if the Muslims become their equals in status, dignity and education.”
Rabindranath was far ahead of his time. His warning against the fascist onslaught of Europe, his famous booklet titled ‘Crisis in Civilisation’, his message to the World Peace Congress organised by Romain Rolland and Henri Barbusse at Brussels in September 1936, his appeal to help the People’s Front in Spain against Nazis in 1937 — all clearly bring out Rabindranath as the greatest visionary of modern India. He could stand up, protest and raise his voice against regressive forces and ideas across the country and the world.
Today, in an atmosphere of animosity, hatred and revenge, when our minds are filled with fear to express a different narrative from that of the majoritarian political and religious dispensation, is it relevant to recite repeatedly the lines of Tagore: “Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high…?
The writer taught at Delhi University
