Rabindranath Tagore and the Indian Renaissance
'Now the door has opened.../ ... none shall be turned away/ from the shore of this vast sea of humanity/that is India', wrote Tagore, the poet and cultural nationalist, whose poem was to be echoed in India's national anthem.
The stereotype of 'the Unchanging East' obscures more than it explains. Yet, equally unhelpful in the Asian context is the Victorian concept of Progress or in our own day Development (they are much the same) envisaging an onward evolution towards an 'advanced' material culture. This error was perceived long ago by an Indian thinker when he wrote:
You have to judge progress according to its aim. A railway train makes its progress towards the terminus station – it is a movement. But a full grown tree has no definite movement of that kind. Its progress is the inward progress of life. It lives, with its aspiration towards light tingling in its leaves and creeping in its silent sap.
To continue reading this article you need to purchase a subscription, available from only £5.
Start my trial subscription now
If you have already purchased access, or are a print & archive subscriber, please ensure you are logged in.
Please email digital@historytoday.com if you have any problems.