In these times of misplaced nationalism and war-mongering, it's indeed ironic to remember that the poet and Nobel laureate who wrote India's national anthem was remarkably universal in his vision and was untrammelled by the narrowness of caste, class, country and creed. Rabindranath Tagore, whose 164th birth anniversary (born: 1861) falls on May 7 (as per the Gregorian calendar), wasn't a nationalist if judged by today's exaggerated standards, flawed perceptions and twisted definitions.

'Tagore had an all-encompassing vision and a heart that throbbed for every living and non-living creature,' opined Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan in his 'Oxford Series of Lectures'. Some pseudo-nationalists may argue that Tagore just wrote poetry sitting in an ivory tower and didn't participate in India's freedom struggle. They're grossly mistaken. Tagore wasn't an indolent lotus-eater, who just sat on the fence and observed the cavalcade of history pass by doing nothing. On the contrary, he had the courage of conviction to return the knighthood that was bestowed upon him by the Brits following Amritsar's infamous Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919.

He wrote to the Viceroy of India while returning the Knighthood, 'A regime that doesn't have empathy for the innocent protesters is presumed to have no empathy for the decency and niceties of human existence. I, therefore, return the 'honour' to the oppressive and inhuman government.'

It was Tagore who could write, 'Jaati, dharmo nirbisheshe/Aami maanush, nei aamaar kono desh, na kono praanto' (Regardless of caste and creed, I'm but an individual who doesn't belong to any country or........

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