The Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore
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The Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore (Ashgate World Philosophies Series) (Ashgate World Philosophies Series) by Kalyan Sen Gupta (z-lib.org)
Society, Marriage and Education
21 that Hindus and Muslims can live together without conflict when there is no fear of economic and social domination, e.g. in the army.’ 9 Tagore’s intention is clear – to articulate the religious and social reasons that have contributed to the alienation of the one community from the other, to their mutual distrust, hatred and antagonism. Certainly he was highly critical of religious and ethnic communalism, and in his literary works he tries to create a climate resonant with non-communalist love and sympathy. For example, in his novel Bauthakuranir Hat, 10 the tyrant ruler Pratapaditya sent two pathan Muslims to kill his uncle, Basanta Roy. But what ultimately happened was that one of the pathans was so overwhelmed by the simplicity, cordiality and music of Basanta Roy that he resolved not to kill him, even though he was a kafir. He confessed to Basanta Roy that he and his brother were appointed by Pratapaditya to take his life. But eventually he realized that they could not do it, for while they could destroy the whole world at the command of the king, but they had no right to destroy even a single inch of heaven. We find in the character of the pathan a display of non-communalist respect and appreciation, of humanitarian good sense. Again, in the novel Rajarshi, 11 we find Bilwan Thakur, a Hindu Brahmin, generously serving the people of a Muslim area ravaged by a terrible epidemic. He nursed the sick Muslims, gave them food, water and medicine, and buried the dead. The Hindus were extremely surprised by this conduct of an orthodox Brahmin. But Bilwan replied, ‘I am an ascetic. I have no caste. That I am a man is my only identity. What’s the use of talking about caste when the people are dying, when man is in need of love from man?’ The Hindus hesitated to blame him for his disinterested effort to help the Muslims. They were not sure whether this was good or bad. Their narrow and incomplete religious sense told them ‘It is bad’, but the man within them certified ‘It is good’. Thus Bilwan Thakur, too, embodies the conviction of Rabindranath that what remains in the end is cordial fellow-feeling above all religious dogmas. Yet this non-communalism, this harmony which Tagore so earnestly longs for, does not, as he emphasizes, exist in actuality. He sadly realizes ‘it is not very easy to change the inborn prejudices in the minds of the Hindus and the Muslims against each other, and bring them together’. 12 But Tagore does not lose hope. He still thinks that the rivalry between the two communities can be stopped. In 1926, when he was given a reception by Dhaka University, he explained that one of the reasons for this division was poverty. He would have agreed with the words of a recent writer: Sectarianism, fanaticism, religious assertion or fundamentalism, by whatever name we call it, is not a purely religious phenomenon either. It is as much social … and economic as religious in nature. If a community is economically on the ascendant, it would tend to be liberal and less assertive of its religious beliefs. 22 The Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore However, if a community is faced with hostile circumstances and threats to its existence, it tends to assert its religious zeal to strengthen its defenses. The rise of Hindu, Muslim and Sikh fundamentalism in recent years must be seen in this perspective. 13 Tagore also stresses the importance of education. In ‘Sabhyatar Sankat’ he remarks: ‘In the Moscow city of Russia I have seen how the spread of education has erased religious prejudices and caste-difference, how it has fostered real human relationship.’ 14 Again, in Russiar Chithi (Letters from Russia) he holds: ‘even in Russia there was ugly communal conflict between the Jews and the Christians, but this evil is now a thing of the past here. This has been made possible because of education.’ 15 In response to a Russian student who asked him about the ‘bitter quarrel’ between the Hindus and the Muslims, Tagore replied: There was no such rivalry when I was a child … They were one in the joys and sorrows of their life. The rivalry between them that we are experiencing now has started since our national movement. The main reason for this mutual distrust is utter lack of education. The extent of education that can eliminate this mutual rivalry is yet to be introduced in our country. Which I see in your country. 16 In short, Rabindranath’s point is that education is an effective therapy to cure the disease of religious fundamentalism. For any ideology, religious or otherwise, has its root in the dark chamber of ignorance. Another crucial way to prevent communal rivalry, as Tagore rightly thinks, is to encourage the free flow of social exchange that plays a vital role in removing all misunderstanding. In ‘Hindu Musalman’ he holds that nothing is more unfortunate than to make religion the only basis on which to bind people together. For religion can easily add fuel to an already dangerous tendency towards discrimination. The need of the day is for free and varied intermixing. As Tagore puts it: We should always meet and talk to each other on different occasions. If we go side by side, come closer, it will be easy for us to accept and respect each other as human beings, and not as Hindus or Muslims … That’s why when the Muslim teachers and students used to visit Shantiniketan, we could not feel any difference from them, nor was there anything that could obstruct our relation of love, affection and friendship. 17 To sum up, Rabindranath emphasizes economic improvement, appropiate education and unimpeded social intimacy as the means of achieving cordial human relations. His insight is that the restoration of religion to the sphere of the personal, its depoliticization, is the nettle all Hindus and Muslims must grasp to overcome the ill-feeling engendered by communalism. The way Tagore addresses the problem of communalism, explores the religious as well Society, Marriage and Education 23 as social source of it, and proposes how to come out of this impasse might surely be a lesson to us in our present situation, one still dominated by a politics of hate which often leads to communal turmoil and bloodshed, and thereby stands in the way of human solidarity. Download 467.3 Kb. Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: |
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