Introduction Rabindranath Tagore was born in Calcutta, West Bengal on the seventh of May in the year 1861. Unlike most of the nineteenth and early twentieth century Bengalis, Rabindranath’s family had quite benefited from the imperialistic British East India Company and had obtained a considerably large business interest and property. Rabindranath Tagore’s grandfather, Dwarkanath Tagore and father, Debendranath Tagore, both were religious men and supporters of the Brahma Samaj Movement started by Dwarkanath Tagore’s contemporary, Rammohan Roy as a religious reform movement in 1828. Later, in 1863, to spread the religious reform movement Dwarkanath Tagore established ‘Shantiniketan’, a meditation centre and guest house. Although the Tagore family was a staunch follower of Hinduism and loyal to the Indian culture, they funded a lot of studies in medicine and science in the West and also encouraged Western education. This is an important fact to keep in mind as Rabindranath Tagore’s beliefs and ideas were shaped by this and his work on nationalism also gives a hint of the balance he tried to maintain between tradition and experiment.
On Rabindranath Tagore's 'Nationalism'
On Rabindranath Tagore's 'Nationalism'
On Rabindranath Tagore's 'Nationalism'
Introduction Rabindranath Tagore was born in Calcutta, West Bengal on the seventh of May in the year 1861. Unlike most of the nineteenth and early twentieth century Bengalis, Rabindranath’s family had quite benefited from the imperialistic British East India Company and had obtained a considerably large business interest and property. Rabindranath Tagore’s grandfather, Dwarkanath Tagore and father, Debendranath Tagore, both were religious men and supporters of the Brahma Samaj Movement started by Dwarkanath Tagore’s contemporary, Rammohan Roy as a religious reform movement in 1828. Later, in 1863, to spread the religious reform movement Dwarkanath Tagore established ‘Shantiniketan’, a meditation centre and guest house. Although the Tagore family was a staunch follower of Hinduism and loyal to the Indian culture, they funded a lot of studies in medicine and science in the West and also encouraged Western education. This is an important fact to keep in mind as Rabindranath Tagore’s beliefs and ideas were shaped by this and his work on nationalism also gives a hint of the balance he tried to maintain between tradition and experiment.