What was the difference between Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore in their approach towards education…

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What was the difference between Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore in their approach towards education and nationalism?

Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

Gandhi tied education and nationalism to village self-reliance and mass struggle, while Tagore stressed creative freedom, East-West synthesis and humanity above the nation. Gandhi's Nai Talim of 1937 centred learning on a craft, whereas Tagore's Visva-Bharati of 1921 aimed to join East and West.

**Introduction**

Gandhi called Tagore "Gurudev" and both rejected colonial education, but their debates of the 1920s, such as "The Call of Truth" and "The Great Sentinel" (1921), reveal two paths: the village and the struggle for Gandhi, the free individual and humanity for Tagore.

**Difference in Approach to Education**

1. **Purpose**: Gandhi's Nai Talim, adopted at Wardha in 1937, made a productive craft the centre of a self-supporting school, while Tagore sought the all-round growth of the mind through art and nature.
2. **Method**: Gandhi stressed labour and discipline, whereas Santiniketan's open-air classes prized freedom, and "The Parrot's Training" mocked rote learning.
3. **Horizon**: Basic Education served village self-reliance, while Visva-Bharati (1921) was built as a meeting place of East and West, though both valued the mother tongue and Tagore served villages through Sriniketan.

**Difference in Approach to Nationalism**

SKETCH: comparison | Gandhi and Tagore on Nationalism
a: Gandhi
b: Tagore
- Mass satyagraha :: Moral, cultural awakening
- Boycott and charkha :: Constructive self-help
- Swaraj for the poor :: Humanity above nation
- Indian roots first :: East-West synthesis

1. **Mobilisation**: Gandhi built a mass movement through Non-Cooperation and the boycott of foreign cloth and schools, which Tagore feared would breed blind obedience.
2. **Critique of the nation**: Tagore's Nationalism lectures (1917) and Ghare Baire warned that aggressive nationalism worships power, and he placed humanity above patriotism.
3. **Charkha debate**: In "The Cult of the Charka" (1925) Tagore doubted spinning could free India, while Gandhi saw it as work, dignity and swaraj in practice for the poor.

**Conclusion**

Gandhi was the nationalist who kept his windows open without being blown off his feet, and Tagore the humanist who feared a closed nation. Together they gave India a struggle both rooted and universal.

What was the difference between Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore in their approach towards education and nationalism?

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