Rabijibani 8 by Prashanta Kumar Pal [Hardcover]

The eighth volume of Rabijibani has been published. This volume covers the period from 1327-29 Bengali years [1920-23]. Just before this, in Jallianwala Bagh in Punjab, the brutalities of the British rulers were witnessed. Yet, despite this, Mahatma Gandhi and all the Indian political leaders were silent, symbolizing impotence due to the fear of punishment. At that time, even as a poet, Rabindranath Tagore vehemently rejected the ‘Sir’ title awarded to him by King George V of England and sent a fiery letter to Viceroy Chelmsford. The British, in their imperial arrogance, officially disregarded this letter, and Rabindranath remained 'Sir' in the eyes of the British government for life. However, this letter became a document of human dignity worldwide, condemning the British arrogance and their supposed ‘civilization’.

Rabindranath, transcending the narrowness of nationalism, aimed to unite all nations and cultures. To this end, on 23rd December 1918, he founded Visva-Bharati. To promote its ideals, he traveled extensively across India and also aimed to spread these ideals abroad. In early 1920, during his visit to Ahmedabad and Bombay at Gandhi's invitation, he was urged by the Parsi businessman Bomanji to travel to England. At this time, the Hunter Commission Report, which investigated the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, was under consideration by the British Parliament. Bomanji hoped that Rabindranath's presence in England would influence the discussions in Parliament. However, his hopes were dashed as the British policymakers imposed light sentences on the culprits. Rabindranath, disillusioned, left England in disgust and moved on to continental Europe.

In Europe, his vision of universal unity was warmly received. Observing this acceptance, Rabindranath's original plan of creating a Centre of Indian Culture expanded into an Appeal for an International University. He wished to establish an institution whose ideal would be “Yatra Vishwam Bhavatyekaneeram” (where the whole world becomes one family). Aware of the difficulty in carrying the weight of such a massive project alone, he established a council and handed over the responsibility of Visva-Bharati to the people.

This foundational history of Visva-Bharati is detailed in the first three chapters of the present volume, outlining the efforts and challenges during its early days.