Tagore’s thinking undoubtedly was way ahead of his time. His contribution to literature is incomparable- perhaps for the first time the rest of the world was exposed to Indian literature at an unprecedented scale- thanks to Tagore. His command of Bengali as well as ease in English were both truly remarkable. His views can be fathomed from a number of his stories. In the ever-green Chokher Bali, through the sensitivity of relationships, he explored the relationships between individuals, constantly touching on themes like adultery, widowhood, patriarchy and child marriage. In Maanbhajan, the deserted wife picks up the pieces and reinvents herself- shunning the idea that women need to depend on men financially and socially. In Aparichita, unreasonable demands of dowry are shunned, and the protagonist finds her own way in the world. One of the most complex characters also has to be the portrayal of women in Punishment- a woman blamed by men for a crime she did not commit. Her embracing of her fate and loss of trust in everyone (except her mother) provokes the reader to open up a whole new paradigm of thinking. Tagore’s vision and understanding of agency and independence marked his work throughout. His idea of the human- and of the nation-state both carried this.
Tagore constantly questioned the importance of caste in India’s discourse. In his poem, The Sacred Touch published in the Harijan, he writes ‘inspire us with love; overcoming pride of self, and let our devotion for thee banish all enmity.’ In his drama Chandalika, he shunned untouchability as being inhumane- a principle held by Gandhi too. Both Gandhi and Tagore in fact communicated extensively- discussing matters of importance, and disagreeing on key issues at times. After the massive earthquake in Bihar, Gandhi was known to have said that this was retribution for the prevalence of untouchability in the province. Tagore wrote to him- sharply criticising his ‘unscientific’ response to the tragedy.