Mr Kalyan Singh, Little Knowledge,They Say, is Dangerous

A rustic BJP ideologue like Kalyan Singh cannot be expected to appreciate Rabindranath Tagore as a nationalist.

A file picture of Kalyan Singh and Rajnath Singh during a sit-in protest at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. (Photo: Reuters)

When Swami Vivekananda was touring North India, a group of young men came to see him. They represented the cause of protecting cows. Swamiji asked them why they were seeking a ban on cow slaughter. They responded that cow was their mother. “That I can see,” was all Vivekananda muttered. The anecdote explains the gulf between an intellectually-oriented Hindu and those who are cadres. Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh belongs to the latter category.

In an article some time ago, historian Ramchandra Guha wrote about the lack of right wing intellectuals in India, saying: “There is a distinction to be drawn between intellectuals and ideologues, who are more interested in promoting their political or religious beliefs than in contributing to the growth of knowledge. The writings of ideologues are rarely based on serious or extended research.”

If Kalyan Singh is now viewed as a BJP ideologue, his utter lack of knowledge on Rabindranath Tagore’s five-stanza poem “Bharata Bidhata” and the context in which it was composed illustrates how idiotic such ideologues are. First, let us go through the poem for the uninitiated ones. Kalyan Singh thinks that the ‘adhinayaka’ mentioned in the song was King George V. Clearly, he never had the occasion to read the whole poem. Had he done so, he would perhaps have read the beginning of the third stanza:

“The way of life is sombre as it moves through ups and downs,

But we, the pilgrims, have followed it through ages.

Oh! Eternal Charioteer, the wheels of your chariot

Echo day and night in the path.”

Tagore’s Explanation

File picture of Rabindranath Tagore . (Photo: Reuters)

Can any mortal king, let alone George V, explain the description of the Eternal Charioteer? Even Tagore wrote in 1939, “I should only insult myself if I cared to answer those who consider me capable of such unbounded stupidity as to sing in praise of George the Fourth or George the Fifth as the Eternal Charioteer leading the pilgrims on their journey through countless ages of the timeless history of mankind.”

Indian Press’ The reason for this controversy was the slavish British Indian press of the time. Reporting on December 28, 1911, about the Congress convention in Calcutta, The Statesman said: “The Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore sang a song composed by him specially to welcome the Emperor.” The Englishman too reported that “The proceedings began with the singing by Rabindranath Tagore of a song specially composed by him in honour of the Emperor.”

On the other hand, the Amrita Bazar Patrika, an Indian newspaper, reported the same day that “The proceedings of the Congress party session started with a prayer in Bengali to praise God (song of benediction). This was followed by a resolution expressing loyalty to King George V. Then another song was sung welcoming King George V.” And The Bengalee said: “The annual session of Congress began by singing a song composed by the great Bengali poet Ravindranath Tagore. Then a resolution expressing loyalty to King George V was passed. A song paying a heartfelt homage to King George V was then sung by a group of boys and girls.”

Congress’ Description

Even the report of the annual session of the Indian National Congress of December 1911 stated this difference: “On the first day of 28th annual session of the Congress, proceedings started after singing Vande Mataram. On the second day the work began after singing a patriotic song by Babu Ravindranath Tagore. Messages from well-wishers were then read and a resolution was passed expressing loyalty to King George V. Afterwards the song composed for welcoming King George V and Queen Mary was sung.”

The second song in praise of George V was composed by Jatindra Mohan Tagore, a relative of the great poet. The eight-line song began with “Hail Noble Prince! All hail to Thee!”

Katju’s Comment

Former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju. (Photo courtesy: Twitter)

The BJP rustics are the not only ones to be blamed. Some time ago, former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju said that in 1937 Rabindranath Tagore wanted to project himself as a patriot and wrote in defence of the poem. He had in mind the letter Tagore wrote to Pulin Bihari Sen in 1937 (November 10).

The letter says: “A certain high official in His Majesty’s service, who was also my friend, had requested that I write a song of felicitation towards the Emperor. The request simply amazed me. It caused a great stir in my heart. In response to that great mental turmoil, I pronounced the victory in Jana Gana Mana of that Bhagya Vidhata (God of Destiny) of India who has from age after age held steadfast the reins of India’s chariot through rise and fall, through the straight path and the curved. That Lord of Destiny, that Reader of the Collective Mind of India, that Perennial Guide, could never be George V, George VI, or any other George. Even my official friend understood this about the song. After all, even if his admiration for the crown was excessive, he was not lacking in simple common sense.”

Why would Tagore, at the ripe old age of 76, want to project himself as a nationalist? If he was a steadfast friend of the British crown, why did he return the knighthood in 1919 in the wake of the Jalianwala Bagh massacre? Besides, why was Shantiniketan, the school Tagore set up in Birbhum in Bengal, blacklisted by the British government? Little knowledge is said to be dangerous. But of course that has not come in the way of being appointed as a judge or a governor.

(The writer is an independent analyst)