Tagore: Critique of Nationalism

Nationalism has always been a relevant and contested domain. The idea has been enriched over the period of time with scholarly interventions in a sustained manner. From the Western civilization to the post-colonial societies, debates on Nationalism have various connotations and interestingly they all are different from each other. In India, we can trace multiple voices of nationalism ranging from Gandhi, Tilak, Ambedkar, and many more. For some the whole trajectory of nationalism has been a unifying process where people across different identities come together for a common objective that is national interest. For thinkers like Tilak or Savarkar, nationalism played a crucial role in unifying people against British rule and mobilizing people across different regions and identities to even sacrifice their lives in the service of the nation. <div> <span>As we discussed above, we do not have one dominant voice when we talk of nationalism. Rabindranath Tagore emerged as one of the most popular critics of the idea of nationalism that had gained currency during the anti-colonial struggle. For Tagore, the very term ‘nationalism’ is derived from the word ‘nation-state’ that has given birth to concepts like capitalism and mechanization. Nationalism, according to Tagore, is anti-Indian and goes against the principles of Indian civilization. In his famous writing ‘Ghare Baire’, he expresses his perspective of nationalism and demonstrates how nationalism is antithetical to the community feeling that is inherent in the roots of Indian civilization. For Tagore, capitalism and the mechanization of humans are affronts to the Indian tradition of pluralism, tolerance, and autonomy. Similarly, For Ambedkar any idea in the name of nationalism that tries to subvert the interests of the marginalized in the name of national interest was not acceptable at all.</span> </div>