Sean Bala reviewed Nationalism by Rabindranath Tagore
Review of 'Nationalism' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
According to Ramachandra Guha, there are three primary founders of modern India: Mahatma Gandhi, B.R. Ambedkar (the father of the India Constitution), and Rabrindranath Tagore. However, Tagore is often overshadowed by the first two much to the detriment of India and the world as a whole. Tagore was a rare polymath - an accomplished author, playwright, poet (first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature), musician (only person who authored two national anthems), choreographer, and, in his last decade, an accomplished painter. But this little volume of three speeches show Tagore as a shrewd political commentator whose voice deserves to be heard. The three speeches on Nationalism in Japan, Nationalism in the West, and Nationalism in India revolve around his definition of nationalism as an organizing principle that stifles life and the spirit. His analysis, especially about nationalism and violence, are still just as relevant today. I especially recommend …
According to Ramachandra Guha, there are three primary founders of modern India: Mahatma Gandhi, B.R. Ambedkar (the father of the India Constitution), and Rabrindranath Tagore. However, Tagore is often overshadowed by the first two much to the detriment of India and the world as a whole. Tagore was a rare polymath - an accomplished author, playwright, poet (first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature), musician (only person who authored two national anthems), choreographer, and, in his last decade, an accomplished painter. But this little volume of three speeches show Tagore as a shrewd political commentator whose voice deserves to be heard. The three speeches on Nationalism in Japan, Nationalism in the West, and Nationalism in India revolve around his definition of nationalism as an organizing principle that stifles life and the spirit. His analysis, especially about nationalism and violence, are still just as relevant today. I especially recommend this for anyone interesting in politics either in India or the West.