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Celebrating 150Celebrating 150thth Birth Anniversary ofBirth Anniversary of GurudevGurudev RabindranathRabindranath TagoreTagore
IIT PatnaIIT Patna
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way Into the
dreary desert sand of dead habit
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.
Rabindranath Tagore, born on 9th May 1861
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Tagore beyond cultTagore beyond cult
Educationalist
Composer of our National anthem
First Indian to win Nobel Prize
Novelist PlaywrightPoet
Philosopher
Painter
Rural Planner
Religious Reformer Philanthropist
Teacher
Activist
Statesman Political Visionary
Linguist
Administrator
Choreographer
Entrepreneur
Economic Reformer
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Debate withDebate with BapuBapu
Formerly, in Europe, peopleploughed their lands mainly by
manual labor. Now, one man
can plough a vast tract by
means of steam engines and
can thus amass great wealth.
Formerly, when people wanted
to fight with one another, they
measured between them their
bodily strength; now it is
possible to take away
thousands of lives by one man
working behind a gun from a
hillThis civilization is irreligion,
and it has taken such a hold on
the people in Europe that
those who are in it appear to
be half mad. According to the
teaching of Mohammed this
would be considered a Satanic
Civilization. Hinduism calls it a
Black Age.
It must be shunned.It must be shunned.
Hind Swaraj
Independence is not merely forproducing ones own cloth. To
eradicate the root of captivity
from our mind we need
knowledge, we need science. I
do not want my house to be
walled in on all sides and my
windows to be stuffed.
to call upon man to make the
easiest of offerings to the
smallest of gods is the greatest
of insults to his manhood. To
ask all the millions of our
people to spin the Charkha isas bad as offering the tomato
to Jagannath.
Religion or politics cannot
replace economics as they
cannot feed people or give
them a better livelihood.
European civilization has
promoted all aspects of
freedom wealth and power
but neglected human dignity.
The Call of Truth
self-sufficient
village basedeconomy
minimal use of
modern technology
limiting our needs
co-operative
economic movement
understanding the
technology and using
it with dignity
endless quest for
knowledge
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DramaDrama MuktadharaMuktadhara -- Politics of Big DamsPolitics of Big Dams
State of Uttarakut ruled over people of Shivatarai
Uttarkut restricted trade of Shivatarai by putting wall on Nandisankata pass
River Muktadhara connected Shivatarai with Uttarakut on which Uttarakut built a Dam
Shivatarai people destroyed the wall and started free exchange of trade and labour
with outer world
Uttarakut king decided to dry up Shivatarai by controlling flow of Muktadhara
Uttarakut prince joined Shivatarai people and demolished the dam
Tagore praised great Vibhuti of human
innovation
Advocated for free exchange of trade and
labor
But asserted that life and environment is
gift of god and human cannot take that
away from others
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AchalayatanAchalayatan-- BrahminicalBrahminical Accumulation ofAccumulation of
KnowledgeKnowledge
An academy that practices learning without understanding
knowledge without application
Access restricted for commoners, burocratic hierarchy in education
Training minds as per kings order.
Guru came with an army of labors and peasants destroyed the hierarchyGuru ordered the academy to open for commoners as it is the doer who
needs this knowledge primarily
Tagores philosophy was deep routed in Upanishada where quest for knowledge is thesole drive for human action. Knowledge is immortality.
Knowledge cannot be acquired without action and application
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RaktakarabiRaktakarabi-- Conflicts within CapitalismConflicts within Capitalism
Denounces a system where the sole motivation is profit
Exploitation comes not only in terms of underpayment and
oppression but also from disrespect to human identity:
treating man as machine, uprooting man from nature
Labours protest, king came out and joind the to rebels
Burocracy opposed the king, opposed the changes- king
utters: My machines do not obey me
I have no doubt in my mind that the West owes its true greatness, not so much to its marvellous
training of intellect, as to its spirit of service devoted to the welfare of man. Therefore I speak
with a personal feeling of pain and sadness about the collective power which is guiding the helm
of Western civilisation. It is a passion, not an ideal. The more success it has brought to Europe, themore costly it will prove to her at last, when the accounts have to be rendered.
The civilisation appears to me as sandwiching mankind by stones up and bottom. Though it
appears shining from outside, natures own laws are being neglected and once nature will come
out with its own justice and take revenge.
East and West
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Blessings of a Technological WorldBlessings of a Technological World
In Asia, Japan was first to realize that to confront the mighty Europe they also have to
be equal in technical power. They assimilated European technology but not mimicked it.
In Japan
I have come to my last pilgrimage. I heard about enormous difficulties for them but I have seen them
overcoming difficulties. They progressed with advancement in technologies and distributed the fruit
among many. The arid lands of far places like Turkmenistan is chosen for industrialization and they
sent unskilled local labors to big industries for advanced training. They are spending huge money for
overall education and also looking after complete development of human being. I saw so many
schools and dispensaries in Moscow. And every thing is possible as profit is not their main motif.
Letters from Russia
Introduction of small scale industries in SreeniketanAgro-engineering
Gandhiji on IISC Inauguration Ceremony: Just as some of the experiments in your laboratories go on
for twenty-four hours, let the big corner in your heart remain perpetually warm for the benefit of the
poor millions. I tell you, you can devise a far greater wireless instrument, which does not requireexternal research ,but internal and all research will be useless if it is not allied to internal research,
which can link your hearts with those of the millions.
So, great minds think alike