ritish Viceroy, Lord Chelmsford, to rebuke his Knighthood.

(the letter Tagore wrote to the British Viceroy, Lord Chelmsford, to rebuke his Knighthood. The incident of Punjab sparked the fire.)

Your Excellency,
The enormity of the measures taken by the Government in the Punjab for quelling some local disturbances has, with a rude shock, revealed to our minds the helplessness of our position as British subjects in India. The disproportionate severity of the punishments inflicted upon the unfortunate people and the methods of carrying them out, we are convinced, are without parallel in the history of civilised governments, barring some conspicuous exceptions, recent and remote. Considering that such treatment has been meted out to a population, disarmed and resourceless, by a power which has the most terribly efficient organisation for destruction of human lives, we must strongly assert that it can claim no political expediency, far less moral justification. The accounts of the insults and sufferings by our brothers in Punjab have trickled through the gagged silence, reaching every corner of India, and the universal agony of indignation roused in the hearts of our people has been ignored by our rulers- possibly congratulating themselves for imparting what they imagine as salutary lessons. This callousness has been praised by most of the Anglo-Indian papers, which have in some cases gone to the brutal length of making fun of our sufferings, without receiving the least check from the same authority, relentlessly careful in something every cry of pain of judgment from the organs representing the sufferers. Knowing that our appeals have been in vain and that the passion of vengeance is building the noble vision of statesmanship in out Government, which could so easily afford to be magnanimous, as befitting its physical strength and normal tradition, the very least that I can do for my country is to take all consequences upon myself in giving voice to the protest of the millions of my countrymen, surprised into a dumb anguish of terror. The time has come when badges of honour make our shame glaring in the incongruous context of humiliation, and I for my part, wish to stand, shorn, of all special distinctions, by the side of those of my countrymen who, for their so called insignificance , are liable to suffer degradation not fit for human beings. And these are the reasons which have compelled me to ask Your Excellency, with due reference and regret, to relieve me of my title of knighthood, which I had the honour to accept from His Majesty the King at the hands of your predecessor, for whose nobleness of heart I still entertain great admiration.
Yours faithfully,
RABINDRANATH TAGORE

Calcutta,
6, Dwarakanath Tagore Lane,
May 30, 1919

Tagore- The poet within ( Presentation by Shailesh Parekh on Sept 29-2010)

• Attended Tagore- THE POET WITHIN. A great presentation about Tagore's inspiration from his BHABHI Kadambri Devi and his and her affection for each other. ( Platonic). How His brother Jyotinranath his wife Kadambri Devi and Tagore spent time together.... ( this is around his age of 21!) Also him and his bhabhi sharing and enjoying lite...
time together.... ( this is around his age of 21!) Also him and his bhabhi sharing and enjoying lite...rature, poems, and other intellectual exchanges... After Tagore's wedding after a year or such Kadambari devi committed suicide and how Tagore took his affection for his BHABHI in to OPTIMISM and creativity from her death and her memories and good times together... throughtout his creative life... how he dedicated many of his works to her( after her death) ( in a subtle way - between the lines)... what what a GREAT WORLD CITIZEN and POET Tagore IS (WAS!)... Stay tuned for more reviews. I am going to post review of Festival on my blog http://tagoreconnection.blogspot.com/ - We are also enjoying daily Satyajit Ray movie !!See More

A gujarati Poetry ON Tagore for Tagore- by Chandrakant Desai

Poetry on Tagore ( in Gujarati) by Chandrakant Desai

A letter by Tagore ( Translated in Gujarati)

A Letter by Tagore

Interesting facts about Tagore's hand written manuscripts

Tagore's Hand Written Manuscripts

Tagore's Sahitya Srushti ( Literary World of Tagore)

Sahitya Srushti of Tagore

Chitrangada- Gujarati Translation

Chitrangda