Introduction

This book intends to provide a fresh body of interpretation and new insights into Tagore’s vision of the contrasting and yet intersecting ideas of nationalism (Jatiotabad) and cosmopolitanism (Bhiswajibon), and the ambiguities and contestations associated with them. It investigates the external factors – the goings-on in the outside world – in relation to Tagore’s shift in position, from repudiation to enthusiastic endorsement, of both ideas at various points in time; it also speculates upon Tagore’s personal belief system and the internal changes that may have influenced his stance on the two tenets over time. Finally, the book (re)investigates the relevance of Tagore’s ideas on nationalism and cosmopolitanism in relation to the contemporary rise of religious, nationalist and sectarian violence and the spread of right-wing exclusivist-divisive-xenophobic-parochial nationalist politics in both South Asia and the West.