Nationalism (Hindi/हिंदी में)

Описание: Rabindranath Tagore’s book “Nationalism” is a small set of talks from 1916–17. It has three parts, and the talks were given in the United States and in Japan: “Nationalism in the West,” “Nationalism in Japan,” and “Nationalism in India.” The book asks a big question: What is a nation, and what does it do to people? Tagore’s answer is simple. A nation is not the same as a land or its people. A nation, as he uses the word, is a system made by people for power and profit. It can turn living men and women into parts of a machine. When that happens, love, art, and free thought fade.

In “Nationalism in the West,” Tagore looks at Europe and America in the time of World War I. He sees strong states trying to rule trade and land. He says this kind of nationalism is like a factory engine. It runs fast and loud, and it eats up both nature and human hearts. It puts success and wealth first and calls this “duty.” It needs fear and hate to keep going. It teaches people to think of outsiders as less. Tagore says this path ends in war and pain. When we worship the flag more than the person, we lose our own best self.

In “Nationalism in Japan,” Tagore visits a country he loves for its art, order, and beauty. He praises the care Japan gives to craft, music, and nature. But he worries that Japan may copy the West too much. If Japan chases only speed, steel, and power, it may lose its soul. He urges Japan to use science and skill, but to keep its heart open to kindness and truth. A culture is great not when it frightens others, but when it shares gifts and lifts up the weak.

In “Nationalism in India,” Tagore turns to his own home. India is huge and full of many faiths, tongues, and ways of life. He says India should seek freedom from foreign rule, but not by learning hate. Real swaraj, or self-rule, is not only a new flag or a new set of rulers. It is freedom of the mind and growth of the village and the school. It is fair work, simple living, and care for the poor. India should build unity from her deep spirit of welcome. She should not copy the West’s hunger for raw power.

Across the book, Tagore sets “Nation” against “Society.” Society is living and warm. It grows from families, schools, farms, songs, and play. It binds people with trust. The Nation, in his sense, is a planned tool for gain. It counts, it trains, it keeps reports. It asks for our hands and our time, and even our lives, but it cannot love us back. Tagore does not reject love of one’s home. He rejects the cult of the Nation that makes us forget our shared human face.

Tagore also speaks about education. He built a school at Santiniketan where classes met under the open sky. He wanted learning to shape the whole person—body, heart, and mind. True education helps us see the world as one. It teaches work with joy, and art with purpose. A narrow school that feeds only the Nation’s needs leaves us poor in spirit.

What does Tagore want instead of harsh nationalism? He wants a world of working together, where free peoples meet as friends. Trade should serve life, not rule it. Science should heal and create, not arm and divide. Leaders should be helpers of the common good. He dreams of a union of hearts, where each culture keeps its color but learns from the rest. The struggle of our age, he says, is not East against West. It is living humanity against the dead weight of the machine-like Nation.

Not all readers agreed with him. Some thought only strong, tight nations could survive. Tagore answers that fear makes us small. Courage is not in the fist, but in the open hand. He knows that love of country can inspire brave deeds. But he asks us to put love of all people first. When we do that, our country also grows in true honor.

“Nationalism” is short, but rich. It gives us a mirror to test our own time. Do we prize people over profit? Do we welcome strangers? Do our schools form free minds? Tagore’s voice is calm, yet firm. He calls us to human dignity, to local care, and to world friendship. More than a hundred years later, his warning still speaks. Nations need citizens. The world needs neighbors. Tagore asks us to be both.


00:00:00 NATIONALISM IN THE WEST
00:49:59 NATIONALISM IN JAPAN
01:34:24 NATIONALISM IN INDIA