The Mahatma and the Poet

  Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore, arguably two of the greatest Indians, were friends. Evidences of them saying nice things about each other and recognizing each other's importance for the country are easily available and one may read the book "The Mahatma and the Poet", a compilation of letters and debates between Gandhi and Tagore, to be acquainted with their mutual admiration for each other. But that's not why one should read this book. The friendship between Gandhi and Tagore wasn't just based on mutual admiration. They had serious disagreements about various political, social and economic issues and neither of them hesitated to be vocal about their opinions.

  The arguments and criticisms by Tagore were on very important issues. While a few were on large philosophical issues, a few were on issues of immediate concern for the country. By 1917-18, Gandhi was already a national figure. Gandhi's ability to mobilize hundreds of thousands of Indians for the independence struggle could clearly be seen during the non-cooperation movement of 1920-21. When Gandhi's Satyagraha became popular, Tagore criticized politicians who mindlessly used Satyagraha for politics. Tagore argued that their "minds were corroded by untruth, they cannot understand what an important thing it is that the Mahatma's supreme love should have drawn forth the country's love". Tagore believed that they had converted Gandhi's message into a "mindless mantra". Gandhi's call to boycott government schools when those were the only option available for children was also severely criticized by Tagore. Tagore was also skeptical of the burning of foreign cloth and advocacy of Charkha as the solution to India's problems. Also, Tagore famously criticized Gandhi's tendency to view everything that's western with severest skepticism. In one of the letters, Tagore tries to convince Gandhi to give up his fast for the sake of larger issues and in another letter, Tagore expresses his shock and displeasure over Gandhi describing the Bihar earthquake of 1934 as God's chastisement of upper-caste Hindus for their oppression of Harijans. While most of Tagore's letters to Gandhi on these issues were translated and published in a Calcutta magazine called Modern Review, Gandhi published his responses in Young India, a magazine that he ran from 1919 to 1932. 

  Thanks to Dr Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, former Vice-Chancellor at Visva-Bharati, Shantiniketan, all these exchanges between the two greats are available in this book, with a nice introduction by the editor . I mentioned earlier that this book isn't supposed to be read just to understand and appreciate the mutual admiration between Gandhi and Tagore. In my view, the book needs to be read to understand how one can put forth one's argument or criticize an opponent's views or actions, however strongly one wants to, without being disrespectful or abusive, without dismissing or disregarding the opponent's point of view. Needless to say, twitter trolls, journalists who shout at the top of their voice, and politicians who hurl abuses at each other everyday have a lot to learn from this book. Moreover, the eloquence with which the letters are written by both these men makes "The Mahatma and the Poet", a thoroughly enjoyable book.