lOMoARcPSD|40300434

Brief Note on Nationalism by Rabindranath Tagore

Philosophy (Banaras Hindu University)

Scan to open on Studocu

Studocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university

Downloaded by ANIRUDH VG (anirudhvg2005@gmail.com)
 lOMoARcPSD|40300434

Brief Note on Nationalism by

Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore was one of the famous Indian poet, musician, and
artist who was originally from Bengal and was known for having a significant
impact on the dissemination of Indian culture in western countries. He was the
first person from a continent other than Europe to be awarded the Nobel Prize
in Literature. He was a writer who was accomplished in many areas of
literature. His book, which bore the title “Nationalism” and was published in
1917, is now considered to be of contemporary relevance. He was the one who
personally translated the book from Bengali into English, and the first volume
comprised three lectures that were delivered in Japan. Tagore had the
intention of devoting his work to Woodrow Wilson, who was serving as
president of the United States at the time, but he was unable to do so because
of the political climate at the time. The book was a collection of three different
lectures that had been given by Tagore: “Nationalism in the West,”
“Nationalism in Japan,” and “Nationalism in India.” A poem called “The Sunset
of the Century,” which was composed on the very final day of the century,
serves as the basis for the conclusion. Tagore, in all of these lectures and
volumes, argued against the concept of “nationalism” as it is understood in
western texts.
In the first part of his article, he discusses the challenges that India has
encountered since the beginning of recorded history. This included the issue of
race, which needed to be confronted and dealt with in the most truthful way
possible. He describes how the other people in the world had to overcome
obstacles from their neighbours, but India’s difficulties were internal, which is
what has made our history a history of continual social adjustment. He also
discusses how the other people in the world had to overcome obstacles from
their neighbours. He claims that “the end of human history is neither the
colourless vagueness of cosmopolitanism nor the violent self-idolatry of nation
worship.” And India has been working toward accomplishing her mission by, on
the one hand, attempting to socially regulate distinctions, and, on the other
hand, attempting to spiritually recognise unity. India’s mission has been that of

Downloaded by ANIRUDH VG (anirudhvg2005@gmail.com)

 lOMoARcPSD|40300434

a hostess, and its history has not been about the rise or fall of kingdoms but
rather that of the pursuit of spiritual values and the improvement of social life.
Tagore suggests that the teachings and models of the west are
incompatible with what it is that India has to accomplish. India has made
efforts to live a life free of politics and nationhood in an effort to achieve a
state of permanent peace. The western part of the world eventually made its
way to this relatively isolated part of the human population. In most cases, the
thrones and kingdoms were unimportant, and the destruction they suffered
was quickly forgotten. This time, though, it wasn’t foot soldiers and cavalry;
rather, it was the nation of the West rooting machines in our soil. In the course
of our history, we had been subjected to invasions by the Mughals and the
Pathans; nonetheless, we were aware of these people as members of a human
race with their own religions and traditions. At times, they were supported,
while at other times, they were opposed. On the other hand, in the case of the
British, it is not the king nor the human race but rather the nation. Tagore
makes the audacious proclamation that “we are no Nation ourselves."
According to his definition, a nation is a political and economic union of
individuals who are organised for a mechanical goal. He shares this view. He
emphasises the nation as an objective in and of itself, rather than as a means to
a goal. It is a natural regulation of human relationships and also has a political
element, although there is no hidden agenda behind either aspect. With the
advancement of science and the pursuit of perfection, power begins to
increase, which in turn leads to an increase in greed for material prosperity,
mutual jealousy with neighbours, and fear of the growth of power in others; as
a result, Tagore would view the nationhood of today as being evil. Tagore
makes it very evident that a human community that has been naturally built is,
in essence, much more humanitarian than a nationhood that has been
artificially manufactured.
According to Tagore, the living links that bind society together are
dissolving, and mechanical organisation is taking its place. For instance, when
males are encouraged to pursue careers, women are often abandoned to their
deaths. Thus, a war has been declared between males and women. According
to what he said, the beginning of a bad day is when an organisation, politics, or
nation grows powerful at the expense of the peace and harmony of the social

Downloaded by ANIRUDH VG (anirudhvg2005@gmail.com)

 lOMoARcPSD|40300434

life. He likens the current scenario to that of a father who develops a gambling
addiction, places his family in the background of his priorities, and allows
himself to be consumed by avarice and power. The government of India is
sometimes compared to tinned food. This is due to the fact that tinned food is
only minimally touched by human hands, much as how the government of
India remains distant from its population, does not speak the local language,
and does not have any sort of personal touch. Even the newspapers in England
would report on local accidents, but there would be nothing written about the
disasters that were occurring in India. Tagore views a nation as an abstraction,
but the people who live within it, the governed, are not seen by him in the
same light. When the people of the nation are organised around their own self-
interest, the nation has the fewest human and spiritual inhabitants. But at the
same time, we need to realise that the west is required to the east, and
because of our varied points of view, which has given us a different picture of
the truth, we are able to be called complementary.
Tagore referred to nationalism as a “cruel epidemic evil,” and it has been
referred to as such ever since. This is due to the fact that nationalism is
sweeping across the human world and extinguishing moral life. The fanatical
nationalism of Hitler and Mussolini, which was responsible for the deaths of
more than ten million people, was the context in which he penned this. And
Tagore believes that without even realising it, man is unwittingly making room
in his life for men of limited purpose who are involved in politics and business.
However, the fact that Tagore criticises the nationalism of the west does not
mean that he disrespects the British race. As he has written, “I have deep love
and great respect for the British race as human beings,” so the fact that he
criticises nationalism in the west does not mean that he disrespects the British
race. It has a history of producing persons of great character, as well as
outstanding thinkers and doers of great actions. It has resulted in the creation
of great works of literature. He goes on to claim that the governance
established by the Nation is not established by the British, but rather by
applied science, and that the principles underlying it are the same wherever it
is employed. It indicates that the Dutch, the French, or the Portuguese might
have constituted the government, but the core characteristics of the nation
would have stayed unchanged regardless of who founded the government.

Downloaded by ANIRUDH VG (anirudhvg2005@gmail.com)

 lOMoARcPSD|40300434

Despite the fact that India has historically been ruled by kingdoms, there
have been instances of injustice that have generated unrest among the
populace. The difference that exists between then and now, however, is that
there is now a universal standard of justice that applies to men of every caste,
class, and colour. Because of this, people of many races now share a shared tie
of comradery with one another. However, this is not due to the existence of the
Nation of the West but rather to the ethos of the West. For instance, Japan was
able to withstand the domination of the West, and as a result, it was able to
profit from Western civilisation. There is a tension between the spirit of the
West and the nation of the West since the nation is only responsible for the
dissemination of a limited portion of the spirit of western civilisation. The spirit
of war and conquest has its roots in western nationalism, which may be
organised in terms of strength but is devoid of any spiritual vision. However,
despite India’s progress toward understanding justice and equality thanks to
the influence of the West’s spirit, the West’s nation has shown to be dominant
in many situations.
Now Tagore is going to point out the other component of western
civilization, which is the fact that law and order is the most important thing.
Even if there has not been nearly as much progress made in terms of education
and sanitation as there should have been, law and order has been maintained
efficiently. Because of this, we are in a position to assert that the Western
civilization has been an essential component in the development of rigorous
legal and ethical standards. However, the question of whether or not this is a
negative good is one that can be debated. Even though the previous
governments lacked many of the benefits of the contemporary government
because it was not a nation, it was loosely woven leaving vast gaps. This is
because of the lack of a nation. Now, according to Tagore, if we wander around
barefoot, our feet will eventually become accustomed to the whims of the
harsh earth. But the countries are like shoes, and the presence of even the
tiniest pebble in the shoe can make walking uncomfortable. It also
demonstrates a closed-off system with limited room for users to make their
own alterations. This confinement of freedom is viewed as being morally
repugnant, and at the same time that the spirit of the west marches under the
banner of freedom, the nation of the west works to create its chains.

Downloaded by ANIRUDH VG (anirudhvg2005@gmail.com)

 lOMoARcPSD|40300434

When the people of India were free from the control of their
government, the adaptability of change inspired powerful and spiritual
individuals to believe that they held the reins to their own destinies. However,
man lives under the illusion that he is free, but he is not aware that his liberty
is being given up on a daily basis in order to appease the obsession of
nationality. For instance, the people of Japan freely committed themselves to
having their ideas censored and their freedom restricted by the Japanese
government. When questioned, they will respond that because there are so
many nations in this world, it is impossible for them to attain a higher level of
humanity. Not only are members of the subject race detrimental to humanity,
but so are people who are deluded into thinking that they are free even when
they are not.
Even though nations have pastures, ancient wisdom, and social ethics,
there is an attempt to shake off the tradition of humanity in every step that the
nation takes. National symbols such as the flag, hymns, and prayers are unable
to hide the fact that “nation is the greatest evil for the nation.” This is due to
the fact that all of the precautions are against it. Tagore argues that the West
has fossilised Europe’s moral nature in order to establish a foundation for
Europe’s efficiency, which is the reason that Europe as a nation has broken into
the battlefields.
When all of a man’s wants are met, he can finally break free from the
constraints of the material world. He completes tasks in a shorter amount of
time, which puts him ahead of the world of slower time. This procedure grants
the power to gain a rapid pace, which ultimately allows them to outrun
humanity. However, the moral guy stays behind to deal with everything that
actually exists. To paraphrase Tagore, “man in his fullness is not power but
perfect,” and since one can reduce a person to the status of mere power by
limiting their soul, one can achieve this goal. If slaughtering animals is taken
into account, then humanity as a whole needs to be destroyed. This will result
in the death of the will, the numbing of thinking, and ultimately the breakdown
of the complex personal man as a result of abstraction. Because it will have no
connection to human truth, we can consider it to be mechanical. The
nationalism of the west has treated people like machines for the purpose of

Downloaded by ANIRUDH VG (anirudhvg2005@gmail.com)

 lOMoARcPSD|40300434

artificial use and progress, but it has paid little attention to the growth of
mankind as a whole.
Both business and politics have been shown to be undergoing a
dehumanisation trend. Tagore explores the significance of the topic of whether
or not humanism or nationalism are more necessary in the world. The west,
traditionally considered to be the nation, is home to the mechanical force that
was born with majestic might. Because every nation in the world has a long
history of faith being betrayed, this abstraction makes people suspicious, which
in turn leads to the nation committing crimes.
Tagore talks about how nations do not listen to the voice of truth and
kindness and how machinery crushes the faith of living ideals of man. He says
this happens when nations use machines. Therefore, Tagore adds that “we
must not forget that scientific organisations are tremendously growing in all
direction and boosting our might but not our humanity.” Nation is the most
potent anaesthetic that people have invented, but nation has thrived for a long
time upon mutilating humanity. Hatred, selfishness, greed, hypocrisy, and
terror have all been bred as a result of nation. These individuals will never
develop into what is known as humankind. The country will continue to morph
into an artificial, non-living body composed of office buildings, steel, and steam
until everything begins to crack, we begin to breathe gas, the atmosphere
continues to deteriorate, and every system fails. Tagore has hope that one day
humans would believe in their brotherhood and self seeking and will be freed
from the shackles of being enslaved by machinery.
Tagore states “And we of the No-Nations of the world, whose heads have
been bowed to the dust, will know that this dust is more sacred than the bricks
that are used to build pride in one’s power. Because this dust is so rich in life,
beauty, and reverence, it should be revered. Even though our hearts were filled
with doubt and fear throughout the entire ordeal, we were unable to blindly
believe in the salvation that machinery offered to man. Instead, we clung to
our faith in God and the truth that is found in the human soul. We shall thank
God that we were made to wait in silence through the night of despair. We had
to bear the insult of the proud and the strong man’s burden. We had to bear
the burden. Yet, despite all of this, we were able to persevere.” Through this,
he intends to convey the message that the sentiment of nationalism, which is

Downloaded by ANIRUDH VG (anirudhvg2005@gmail.com)

 lOMoARcPSD|40300434

prevalent as a result of the establishment of nations, ought to be prioritised

below the overarching concept of the unity of humanism that exists inside us.
Conclusion
As a matter of fact, Tagore used nationalism in its broadest sense.
Considering that he was the champion of internationalism and universal
brotherhood, it is quite natural that he was not in favour of the kind of
jingoistic nationalism that is commonly observed. However, the fact that he
used nationalism in its broadest sense is a matter of fact. As a consequence of
this fact, he and a significant number of other influential thinkers in India and
around the world at the time held opposing viewpoints regarding the problem
of nationalism. There was a disagreement between the ideas of thinkers like
Mahatma Gandhi over the fundamental meaning of nationalism and the
distinction between patriotism and nationalism. However, his concept of
nationalism, which is based on the nationalism of the West, had a significant
impact and generated a great deal of discussion among the most brilliant
minds of the day.

Downloaded by ANIRUDH VG (anirudhvg2005@gmail.com)