Mind Without Fear Analysis

Hi Drew,



So I finally get to hear from you. It is so good that you are spending time doing community service. In fact, doing something for needy is thought to be one of the greatest things to do in all cultures. I myself did some community service in school by teaching at a school for the underprivileged. It was indeed a life changing experience, as you have put it.



I also see that you have read the poem and your interpretation is bang on target. However, I shall give you an elaborate explanation (line-by-line) about what sense it makes in an Indian context.



Rabindra Babu, as Tagore is lovingly called, wrote in Bangla and English. He was a scholarly man of his time and people looked up to him for guidance in Bengal. The poem is written in the pre-independence era (that is, during British Colonial Rule) and you are correct to point out that the poem places great hopes for the future of India. The word "Geet" means song in many Indian languages including Bangla (=Bengali) and Hindi (National language of India). "Geetanjali" means a tribute in songs. Originally written by Tagore in rhyming Bangla verses, it was later translated by him into English.



I will put the poetry lines in RED and the explanation in BLUE so that it is easy for you to understand.



Here is what I make of the poem:



Mind without Fear


Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high


During the British Rule in India, the natives were treated in many derogatory ways. Signboards such as "Indians and Dogs are not allowed" were common in many places including Railroad carriages. Generation after generation, Indians had taken this discrimination to be their destiny and they continued to serve the British with lowered self-esteem as they thought they had no choice but to do so. Tagore, who was a revolutionist in more ways than one, and a father figure in India's Bengal Province, was hopeful that Indians will shun their racist rulers' rule and they shall instill in themselves self-pride and confidence of being the architects of their own future. Through the means of this poem, which was read by many in Colonial India, he hoped to enlighten a spark in them so that they would have the fighting spirit in themselves and with confidence in themselves, they would overthrow the British, to be the masters of their own land.



Where knowledge is free

It is a well known fact that in third world countries like ours, education is restricted to the few people who can afford it. During the colonial times, it was common practice by the British Government to deny admissions to the ethnic Indians. The British were busy in plundering Indian resources and wealth, and their last priority was social upliftment of Indians, education being one areas which they chose to conveniently ignore. Only few ethnic Indians belonging to the lower end of British aristocratic hierarchy could gain education, so that they could be kept as loyal servants to British interests. Large masses of people were deliberately kept uneducated by the British so that they could not rise against the British Colonial Rule. Girls were denied education (even today in rural India) as it was thought that educating them was a waste of money, as they would finally marry off and go away. The priests also restricted education to a chosen few from the upper classes of the caste system. The end result was that there were actually very few educated Indians, and illiteracy was rampant. Tagore wanted education for all. His line of thought was "India will be free only if Indians are educated". Hence the emphasis on "free knowledge".



Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls


These lines are strictly in reference to the various forms of discrimination, which were common during the pre-independence era. The "Narrow domestic walls" are actually the divisions that the Indians made among themselves (Tagore considered India to be a home, and the narrow domestic walls to be divisions among its people). Tagore wanted that Indians should unite in the efforts to over-throw the British Rule in India, and unless they did so, they would never be able to achieve independence.

In pre-independence India, it was a common practice for people to discriminate among each other on the basis of caste. The caste-system is one of the biggest evils India faces till today in some parts where modern education is not popular and in remote rural areas, particularly among the tribal people. People from the higher castes (Brahmins=Priests, Kshatriyas=Warriors, Vaishyas=Traders) looked down upon the lower castes (Shudras=Untouchables). They would refuse the lower caste people basic human dignity and make their life miserable. Even among the higher castes, there was much hatred for each other, and inter-caste alliances were uncommon. Gandhi was an advocate of caste-equality and he named the Untouchables as "Harijans" (men of the Lord).

There was also much suspicion and mistrust between the Hindus and Muslims. Originally they were united but later "Divide and Rule" policies of some religious extremists and the British Government itself, made them hostile towards one another, thinking of each other as enemies and not friends. The political ends of the extremists and also the British were met when the Indian Subcontinent was divided into the predominantly Hindu India and predominantly Muslim Pakistan [which later was broken into Pakistan and Bangladesh due to unrest in the latter against Pakistani upper hand in political affairs. The Indian Government played a key role in the liberation of Bangladesh by comprehensively defeating Pakistan in a 1971 war on the request of the Bangla leaders.] Gandhi was against this division but when extremists run the show, moderate voices like his are often downcast.

Even in the households per se, there were discrimination between the men and women. Women were thought to be the weaker sex and were often on the receiving end of discrimination by men. They were refused a higher standard of life like men, and kept to serve men like servants. Many women were not allowed to see the light of the day as they were to wear veils all through their lives. Treatment was not sought for diseases for women. In fact female infants were killed after birth as they were thought to be a "burden" on the family resources as their marriage would require dowry to be taken to the in-laws house (common even today in rural areas and a reason for unfavorable sex ratios, in some places it is difficult to find a bride because female infanticide and feticide is common).

Tagore thought that a reformation of India to overcome all these divisions would be necessary to put up a united front to the British and force them to leave India. It is a separate matter that his voice was largely ignored when the extremists came to the centre stage of Indian politics and they were only concerned in gaining power among their own groups. For them it was least important if India remained united or got divided. A mass uprising during World War II ousted the British in 1947, although India could not longer remain united as each one wanted a share of their own after the British left.

Where words come out from the depth of truth

This line is with reference to the virtues of Truth. Tagore thought that a Nation can be prosperous if its foundations are laid on truth (as much as a building can stay intact if its foundations are laid on concrete, rather than on quicksand). He basically wanted that Indian leaders should have Truth as a central dogma while pursuing their goal of independence from the British. Only if the efforts are truly directed towards the ouster of the British, rather than having an upper hand over each other, India could achieve independence. Also, all efforts of the Indian masses should be to work selflessly towards the goal of independence (altruism) rather than expecting anything in return for their efforts to do so.

[It is an Indian belief that one who is true to oneself is true to the World. Gandhi, who is the Father of the Nation, was the prime advocate of Truth, and has written a book "My Experiments with Truth", in which he has outlines "Satyagraha"- a method of peaceful resentment to injustice. India is really fortunate to have had such virtuous men as leaders during her infancy as an independent nation. But for their concrete virtues, enshrined in our constitution, we would have been nowhere near what we are today. Thanks to such thorough gentlemen, who have raised a billion children to their current status in the World.]

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection

Indian talent and scientific achievement really suffered during the British Rule. The industries were shut down and farm produce was taken at throw-away prices to the UK. India's economy was in ruins and her people poor and illiterate. Poverty had induced stagnation. There was no motive for any achievement among the "tired Indian masses", who had been weakened by a 200 year old colonial grip. Destiny was a cruel joke for Indians. Tagore wanted to undo this spell which the British had caste over India and he wanted Indians develop scientific temper and work towards their betterment rather than taking everything lying down. He wanted each person to work for the betterment in their field. If everybody achieved something or the other, the Nation would cumulatively gain a lot. Slowly Indians would have the motive to outdo the best, and it is this passion, which would take India to a higher level in world order.



Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit


"Dead Habit" is in reference to all the discrimination, evil and stagnation that India was ridden with during the pre-independence era. Tagore wants to suggest that reason, which is ever clear, should be kept supreme when people act. It is not to be superseded by the evils which plague the society. If people act with righteousness and reason, there is no way they can not achieve what they aimed for. But deviations from reason, under evil influences, could end up in the targets remaining un-achieved. So reason must reign supreme in the minds of Indians when they plunge themselves into the gigantic task of Nation Building rather than evils which fragment the Nation.

Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action---
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.


In these lines, Tagore calls upon the almighty, as if somehow to guide the Indian mindset. He wants that somehow Indians should be put into action after waking up from their age-old Colonial slumber. They should widen their thinking from narrow thought and their actions should speak much louder for their words and thought. It is only then that India will be able to achieve the Supreme Goal of Independence and Freedom. Freedom will feel like heaven, Tagore opines.

I should hope that the poem is now clearer than ever for you. That said, I am now looking forward to having more questions from you based on the Indian culture and social setup. Your interest in India is really encouraging for me to answer questions for you.

Meanwhile, I (ppp2003_aseem@hotmail.com) have added you on Windows Live Messenger on the address given by you (hypebeastsk@hotmail.com). I look forward now to a real time conversation with you on Windows Live. India is 15 and a half hours ahead of Hawaii time, which means, if you talk to me some day at 7:00 pm (Hawaii time), then it would be 10:30 am (India Time) out here. This is a convenient time for me to chat with you. Please do let me know the day in advance and I will surely be there to talk to you.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon,

ASEEM.