No truth without argument, no change without freedom

The two great personalities Rabindranath Tagore, famous for his contribution to the field of literature, and Mahatma Gandhi, renowned for his philosophies of non-violence and satyagraha play key roles in the development of the nation. The two had disagreements in their approach, but they shared a good friendship to openly express their views with each other.

Rabindranath Tagore is popular for his magnum opus “Gitanjali” and his composition of the National Anthem for both India and Bangladesh. Gandhi, the father of the nation for a reason was an anti-colonial nationalist, who adopted the policy of mass disobedience and non-violence as weapons against the colonial rulers. 

What made them differ?

• On Nationalism: Gandhi had strong proponents of the idea of unity, while Tagore believed in being cautious and playing smartly. 
• For Independence: Gandhi actively participated in political movements and mass protests against the Britishers, whereas Tagore focused on cultural and intellectual awakening.
• On Modernization: Tagore was open-minded and selectively adopted Western ideologies and technologies, while Gandhi was a bit critical in approach and advocated traditional Indian ways of living.
• On Education: Tagore focused on the holistic development of individuals, including their intellectual, spiritual, and physical growth along with building creative embodiment. Gandhi believed in moral and ethical education as the core philosophy, where people would learn by accepting their mistakes.
• Gandhi emphasized for practical self-reliance and manual labor, and Tagore was aesthetic and artistic with creative worldviews.

To cite an example from historical records, when there was a severe earthquake in Bihar in 1934. There was disagreement in the views of both, as Gandhi attributed the incident to be a “divine chastisement” of wrongs committed by the upper castes to the Harijans. Tagore refuted, it by saying it was just an accident nothing much.

The two respected each other a lot as Tagore called Gandhiji “Mahatma”, the great soul and the former addressed him as “Gurudev”, the teacher as a salutation. Though the two had different opinions, their motto was the same “To free India from the clutches of the British”. 

Therefore, as Gandhi focused on practical education and non-violence, Tagore followed a liberal approach having a universalistic view of the nation. Both wanted ‘poorna swaraj’, and if India had to be one it needed to be free from bigotry of how the virtues were to be laid. Thus, the key issues of discrete propositions of the two led to a disputation of the country’s political, social, and economic matters.