Gandhi and Tagore: Similarities & Contradictions
Gandhi and Tagore: Similarities & Contradictions The differences in opinion and attitude between Tagore and Gandhi are familiar to the modern Indian historians. Tagore’s letter to the Mahatma at the inception of the Non-cooperation Movement, condemning it as asceticism and ‘indulgence of frightfulness’ which found ‘a disinterested delight in any unmeaning devastation,’ ‘a struggle to alienate our heart and mind from those of the West’, ‘an attempt at spiritual suicide’ has been quoted often enough as clinching evidence of their very basic disagreement regarding the road to a better future for India. 1 The poet was also sceptical concerning other features central to Gandhi’s agenda, like the latter’s prescription that everyone should spin as a part of their daily routine. Tagore failed to see what would be gained by people better suited for other work struggling to become spinners. Besides the two most eminent personalities of modern India projected two very different
