The Knight who gave up his Knighthood for India…!

The disproportionate severity of the punishments inflicted upon the unfortunate people and the methods of carrying them out, we are convinced, are without parallel in the history of civilised governments…The time has come when badges of honour make our shame glaring in their incongruous context of humiliation, and I for my part wish to stand, shorn of all special distinctions, by the side of my country men.

From a Letter written to Viceroy, Lord Chlemsford; RABINDRANATH TAGORE.

The writer of our National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana is also the Knight who once renounced his Knighthood for India. Rabindranath Tagore was the first Indian as well the first lyricist to receive the Nobel prize in Literature. He played a significant role in building up the base of Literature in India. His 161^th Birth anniversary was celebrated on 7 May 2021.

Today when India is facing a pandemic and every political leader is trying to maintain their supreme image, Rabindranath Tagore is being remembered for how he renounced his Knighthood against the wrongs done to fellow Indians. After the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in 1919, every Indian leader was shocked and the whole nation was mourning the act done by the British Officer, General Dyre. At that time of mourning every great leader of India condemned the atrocities. And in response to the Massacre, Rabindranath Tagore renounced his Knighthood.

Tagore always opposed the idea of Imperialism. He supported the Indian Nationalists and criticized the presence of British administration as ‘political symptom of our social disease’. He also wanted the youth of the nation to develop and thus established ‘Santiniketan’ in 1901. He wrote the songs like ‘Chitto Jetha Bhayshunyo’ (Where the Mind is Without Fear) and ‘Ekla Chalo Re’ (If They Answer Not to Thy Call, Walk Alone) presenting the tensity of the Indian Independence movement to the British Administration.

Rabindranath Tagore is very well known for his poetry collection, ‘Gitanjali‘ (was awarded the Nobel prize in literature in 1913), his poems like ‘Manasi’, ‘Sonar Tori’ (Golden Boat), ‘Balaka’ (Wild Geese). He has also written many songs like our National Anthem, ‘Jana Gana Mana’ which is first of the five stanzas of the Brahmo hymn ‘Bharot Bhagyo Bidhata’ that Tagore composed. The song which was written to criticize the partition of Bengal in 1905 was later adopted as the National Anthem by Bangladesh. Sri Lanka’s National Anthem is also inspired by Tagore’s work.

Every leader must learn from Rabindranath Tagore that it is not the prestige and the awards that matter but our brothers and sisters of the Nation. Amidst this pandemic, the leaders must pay heed towards the people of the nation and not on creating or announcing different propagandas.

Here are a few lines from the famous song written by Rabindranath Tagore to keep you motivated through the day:

Jodi shobai phire jae, ore ore o obhaga, shobai phire jai [If everyone walks away, O unlucky one, everyone walks away]
Jodi gohon pothe jabar kale keu phire na chae, jodi gohon pothe jabar kale keu phire naa chaai—
Tobe pother kata [If no-one looks back towards the (your) unpredictable path, then with thorn pricked (of the path) bloodied feet]
O tui roktomakha chorontole ekla dolo re [walk alone
If no-one heeds your call – then walk alone]

Jodi tor dak shune keu na ashe tobe ekla cholo re [If there is no-one responding to your call – then go on all alone]