Universalism And Colonialism In Rabindranath Tagore, By Rabindranath Tagore

It became evident that the British could maintain the empire only at enormous cost. At the end of the Second World War, they saw the writing on the wall, and initiated a number of constitutional moves to effect the transfer of power to the sovereign State of India. For the first and perhaps the only time in history, the power of a mighty global empire 'on which the sun never set', had been challenged and overcome by the moral might of a people armed only with ideals and courage.

British rule was tough on many Indians. Gandhi, an Indian born lawyer, believed in freedom and peace for his people. He once experienced racism when he was kicked out of a train in Europe. He changed people’s point of view without breaking the law, which was tough for him. Gandhi made his nonviolent movement work through the use of determination, peaceful civil disobedience, and being a powerful leader.

In 1757, Great Britain extended its empire into India. This occupation would not fully end until 1947. In the time between, there were many movements by the Indian people to gain independence from the British. The movement that finally succeeded in winning India’s independence was led by one of the most influential figures of the 20th century, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Gandhi’s methods for fighting against the occupation of the British were very different from those of any of the freedom movements before. And that was why it worked. Gandhi did not agree with the general reasoning of the time: that conflicts could be solved through negotiation and forceful resistance.1 Rather, his faith led him to go

India was under imperialistic rule by the British Empire or the “Bristish Raj” from 1858 to 1947.The region under British control—commonly called “India” in the British period included areas directly administered by the United Kingdom as well as the “princely states” ruled by individual rulers under the paramount of the British throne. In my recent visit to London precious jewels and Indian made goods are displaced in Windsor castle under high security. Most of the goods accumulated from India were under Queen Victoria’s reign; the other monarchs who were reigning during this imperialistic time were Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII, and George VI. W.E.B Dubois writes in “the Souls of White Folks,” “We see Europe’s greatest sin precisely where we found Africa’s and Asia’s,—in human hatred, the despising of men; with this difference, however: Europe has the awful lesson of the past before her, has the splendid results of widened areas of tolerance, sympathy, and love among men, and she faces a greater, an infinitely greater, world of men than any preceding civilization ever faced.” England took advantage of its darker counterparts by showing superiority through color, religion, and technological advances.

One question I have on the topic of Britain’s reign over India is why Indians were discriminated against. On page 42, a young British girl says to Vidya at the airport, “Don’t touch me, blackie! Look where you’re going, you crow!” On page 38 Vidya’s father scoffs sarcastically, “Only white people have the brains to be officers. We are too stupid, of course.” Why did Britain hate the citizens of the country they had taken over? Was it to keep them in line, to say if they dare go against them the discrimination would get worse? If the British thought the Indians were so horrible, why did they take over their country, take their resources and take volunteers to fight on their side of the war? It made no sense that Britain would occupy their country

I know this because although britain claimed to gift India and her people with an absence of killing, and mutual respect, the British people have proven otherwise with the Amritsar massacre, and violent threats. To elaborate, Dr. Lalvani claims that there was a “noticeable absence of killings”, but this contrasts to the fact that in 1919, General R. E. H. ordered 50 Indian soldiers to open fire upon 20,000, killing 400 and injuring 1,200. This is important because it directly contrasts Dr. Lalvani’s previous claim that India had a noticeable absence in killings, with 400 being the dead. Finally, Dr. Lalvani claimed that there was mutual respect between Indians and britons. But, on the contrary, “Britain’s own cloth manufacturers conspired to cut off the fingers of bengali weavers and break their looms” (Document 3). This is very important because threats of violence and destruction of property against Indians is absolutely not

Mr. Cook makes a strong case in his attempt to understand the causes and contributing factors behind the segregation along race, class and gender lines which were so prevalent in British ruled India, but also strictly observed within Britain and her other colonies. In “Conflicting Ideologies in British India, 1875-1900” he cites factors both specific to India, in particular the suppressed revolt of 1857, and those more external, like the “hardening racism” in Europe. The substantial losses, both financial and in human lives, associated with the revolt of 1857 resulted in a significant decline in trust and an increasing hesitancy to risk “antagonizing Indian sensibilities”. Since the revolt was viewed as retaliation for British attempts to Westernize India, this fearful reluctance to continue along the path previously envisioned by some which ultimately resulted in Britain’s empowerment, modernization and civilizing of the native Indians to a place of independent governance and administration, became less appealing but also served as additional justification for European society’s changing perception of race. The elite Anglicized Indians had not only dared to challenge British authority and administrative processes, but they had dared to utilize their Western teachings to do so. This clearly barbaric application of treasured knowledge, which the British perceived they had bestowed upon the fortunate Indians as a gift, was viewed as further proof of the inability to

As I talked about earlier in this paper Gandhi was immersed in his culture and in his family traditions. They played a huge part in the journey of his life and in even planning significant parts of his journey like his marriage, career path and moral development. His life experiences also played a big role in how he developed his moral reasoning such as when he encountered prejudice on the train and as a result

This incident began his life long battle against all discriminations. Although he debated returning to India, his duty came first. “It would be cowardice to run back to India without fulfilling my obligation. The hardship to which I was subjected was superficial-only a symptom of the deep disease of colour prejudice. I should try, if possible, to root out the disease and suffer hardships in the process. Redress for wrongs I should seek only to the extent that would be necessary for the removal of the colour prejudice.”

Within the works of, “To Techers,” by Rabindranath Tagore, the reader is introduced to Tagore’s personal story of why he created his school. Tagore is a man who believed that the current educational system is poisoning children's minds, due to the lack of creativity the child receives when learning from non-active lectures. Tagore starts by giving his life story of when he was a child. However, He describes his schooling atmosphere as a type of prison where the only way for him to escape was to finish learning as soon as possible. Because Tagore had despised the educational system, he had created his own school, where students would learn in a natural atmosphere. To do this, he implemented dramatic performances, decorations for the different seasons, and brought in musicians to play freely amongst the school. Even Tagore had produced his own songs and writings to show his students the lively atmosphere of school. He believed that schooling should not be a prison, but a way for many to come together and understand other's in the fullest sense. Tagore had the idea of not a university, but a meeting place for students of all countries and religions to come together to find spiritual unity, or as Tagore puts it, “I have in mind not merely a University, for that is only one aspect of our Visva-Bharati, but the idea of a great meeting place for individuals from all countries where men who believe in spiritual unity can come in touch with their neighbors,” (Tagore 44). To put it

During Gandhi’s trip to South Africa, he faced discrimination and debasement of which he was unused to. He was thrown off of the train on his journey as he would not comply with the order for him to leave first class. Furthermore, hotels would not allow his entry due to the colour of his skin. He was suddenly more aware of the plight and the status of his race in the eyes of the British colonists. In his interactions with the locals and other scholars and reformers, he began to understand his own beliefs of independence and non-violent protestation through non-conformity. Also, as he gained adherents, he learned of his abilities in leadership and his charismatic personality. Without these interactions, Gandhi wouldn’t have understood and developed such strong beliefs as he

Once again, he wanted to show to his friends, comrades and all India that they needed to free there self from the cast segregation, and have a respect for all humans at the same time they were searching from freedom. He taught them that no job or task, therefore man was less important that another, and dignity is not related to money or status.

This essay will focus on the decolonisation of India by the British Empire and the problems they encountered. It will also aim to bring recognition to the struggle decolonisation brought upon the world after World War II. Pierce states that “after the War concluded, a worldwide process of decolonisation commenced in which Britain granted independence to all of its major colonies, beginning notably in India” (Pierce, 2009). India had struggled with uprisings and conflicts for the many years of British occupation but when Gandhi began sharing his social efforts; the perceptions of colonialism began to change leading to the collapse of the British colonial Empire. Gandhi began changing the lives of regular Indian’s with his popular visions, he also advocated for the people of India in a non-violent

In South Africa, he involved himself in an attempt to end discrimination against the minority Indians residing there. During this course, he developed “satyagarha”, which translates into “soul force”, or an approach of non-violence resistance, against the British governments in South Africa. In the years following the World War I, Gandhi became a leading figure in India for his struggle to achieve independent from the mighty British rule. His willingness to tolerate the punishments and the prison confinement earned him the title of “ Mahatama”, a “great soul” in India in 1914. (Mohandas Gandhi, 2015)

E.M. Forster’s classic novel “A Passage to India” tells the story of a young doctor, Dr. Aziz, and his interactions with the British citizens who are residing in India during the time of the British Raj. Throughout the novel, the reader gets many different viewpoints on the people and the culture of India during this point in history. The reader sees through the eyes of the Indian people primarily through the character of Dr. Aziz, and the perceptions of the British through the characters of Mr. Fielding, Adela Quested, and Mrs. Moore. Through the different characters, and their differing viewpoints, the reader can see that Forster was creating a work that expressed a criticism that he held of the behavior of the British towards their Indian subjects.