Besides being a great literatuer, those moderately informed about the life and works of the great son of India cannot doubt the greatness of this towering figure of human civilization. He loved his country and the countrymen; but he always had wider view of things and wanted the country, still under colonial rule, to grow, shedding certain narrow trappings.

A true champion of universal brotherhood, it is in this context, his masterpiece poem ‘Where the Mind is without fear’ and the para-phrases like “that freedom of heaven” and “narrow domestic walls” needs to be understood. Similarly, his penning of immortal words, ‘…… into that freedom of heaven/ Let my country awake’ are also equally significant.

A nationalist and a true friend and philosopher guide to Mahatma Gandhi, Tagore was also against the excessive stress on nationality and the vices of ‘narrow nationalism”. It is in this context, he underlined the importance of realization of cosmopolitan humanism. The phrase “Badh Bhenge dao (Break all barriers)” should be understood in this spirit. It only speaks of the borderless genius of the man that two countries India and Bangladesh have their respective national anthems penned by him. While India took up Jana Gana Mana as the national anthem, Bangladesh chose to opt for ‘Amar Shonar Bangla ….. (My Golden Bengal) in the seventies as its national anthem.

In his concepts of war and imperialism, Tagore condemned the barbaric manifestations of imperialistic arrogance and racial and nationalistic chauvinism. It is not without good reason that he diagnosed war as a result of aggressive nationalism, arms race, glorification of power and other such national vanity.

Today’s World, which is torn apart in many compartments and living under a constant fear of a devastating nuclear war in one corner of the globe or the other, there is rightful realization to make it a global village. More than anything else perhaps, the prescriptions from Tagore on universal brotherhood can be better understood.

The glimpses of his humanitarian touch find reflection in is his work like ‘The Daak Ghar’ (The Post Office). Similarly, his celebrated short story ‘The Child’s Return’ only shows his ability to discover the body and soul of his characters. Tagore succeeded in discovering the physical bodies of his protagonists and gave them heart and soul. In Nastaneer (The Broken Nest), later described as Tagore’s best work of fiction by the translator Mary M Lago, the plot deals with the life and times of a housewife born much ahead of her time. The film maestro Satyajit Ray later made a celebrated film ‘Charulata’ in 1964.

Again, it was his immense love for the countrymen and obviously, the foresightedness and commitment to education in India that he founded Vishwa Bharati University in Shantiniketan in 1901.

The partition of Bengal in 1905 had unnerved him and catapulted him to the peak of national cause. The episode had also brought him closer to the freedom fighters and he made an immense contribution in ensuring communal amity between Hindus and Muslims in particular when he used the cultural festivals like Rakhi and urged population from all religions to tie Rakhi on each other’s arms as a symbol of brotherhood.

His love for humanity and society – more than anything else – came for focus when he also took up the cause of widow remarriage. He also practiced what he prescribed and as a fitting example of that in 1910, he got his son to marry a young widow Pratima Devi. The same year his collection ‘Gitanjali’ was written in Bengali and later the English version published in 1912. He was awarded Noble prize for literature in 1913 and knighted in 1915. But that his heart bled for the nation and the countrymen was exemplified when in 1919, Tagore renounced knighthood condemning the indiscriminate massacre of people at now infamous Jallianwallah Bagh.

Tagore also believed in hating the crime and not the criminal. His reference to Swadeshi Samaj was to ask his people not to win liberation only from the British but also from apathy, indifference and mutual hatred. The homeland is the creation of mind and therefore his poems and his songs always laid emphasis on soul. Therefore, it is rightly said that Tagore’s method of liberation was also an intellectual movement. His goal was not only chasing out the colonial masters but also economic restructuring punctuated with emotional liberation from the British, ultimately leading to the economic and political reforms.

Scholars say, Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore differed in their thinking on the methodology to free India. But both however, shared a fond affinity for one another. Gandhiji called Tagore his 'Gurudev' and it was Tagore who gave the title of Mahatma (Great Soul) to Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi consulted Tagore regarding methods of liberating India regardless of the difference in opinion stating that knowing his best friend was spiritually enlightening and gave him strength to sustain in life.

It is in fitness of things that the Government has announced a nationwide programme to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of the Nobel laureate. Truly Tagore symbolizes in more ways than one India’s rich civilization and cultural heritage. “I assure that this is the event we must celebrate appropriately – so that we are able to honour the great poet in a befitting manner,” rightly remarked the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in Parliament during the recently concluded budget session of the Parliament. A 35-member panel headed by the Prime Minister has been also set up to frame guidelines to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of the Nobel laureate. Several nationwide programmes are being organised this year befittingly as much as the decision of the Indian Railways to run a commemorative train both in our country and also in Bangladesh. (PIB Feature)