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Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake
Rabindranath Tagore
Summary:-
The poem, "Where the mind is without fear" is a mental picture of Tagore's country where people live fearlessly and they can hold their head high with dignity. A country where knowledge is not restricted by narrow ideologies and reason governs all of men's actions. Where truth is uncorrupted and man's mind is always progressive. That is the heaven that the poet wants for his country.
Tagore wishes for his countrymen to have a fearless mind as a mind full of fears is an oppressed mind, it is an influenced mind and does not have the freedom to go ahead with its choices. Hence, a fearless mind would indicate that Indians were not suppressed by the British and could live with dignity.
The poet prays for his countrymen to live with self respect and dignity for the British had robed India out of its pride and dignity by reducing it to a slave nation. The wish of Tagore seeing us,Indians hold our head high can only come true if we all live with our honour and dignity intact.
By saying that knowledge should be free, the poet meant that education should not be the possession of the rich and affluent, it should be accessible to all. As Francis Bacon once said, "Knowledge is power as it gives man the power to understand the world around him and build a better world." Hence, Tagore says that knowledge should be free. Tagore also meant that knowledge should be free from the restrictions of different preconceptions, superstitions and racism. This was relevant keeping in mind the deep rooted caste system prevailing in the country. Knowledge was a liberty given only to the upper castes. The lower castes were denied the right to be educated. Moreover, girls were deprived of this facility which was extended to a male.
The phrase, " Narrow domestic walls" means community divisions in society or different narrow minded compartments on the basis of caste, creed, gender and class. The consequence of dividing the world of man on the given basis has led to a fractured and fragmented society. There is disunity and hence progress can never be achieved. Therefore, the mental make-up should be free from superstitions and gloomy practices, and the poets country should live in the true spirit of brotherhood.
According to the poet, when Indians would rise above the inequalities of caste, creed, racism and religion, India would be a powerful nation.
Tagore wishes for that the words spoken by his countrymen always should "come out from the depth of truth" which means that the words of truth should be spoken without any fear and should be able to reach out to everyone.
The statement, "Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection" means that where people work hard and make every effort to work hard and reach perfection in their work continuously. Mans efforts have been personified as tirelessly stretching its arms to touch perfection, implying that in all that man undertakes there should be an aim to achieve excellence in life.
Reason is a logical and scientific mind. The poet prays that the logic of his fellow Indians should not be caught in the web of old and undesirable customs and superstitious rituals like the practice of sati, nor should irrelevant conventions decay the course of judgement. Reason has metaphorically been compared to stream that is not murky or muddy but clear and flowing onward, and orthodox habits are compared to a desert for its not progressive. This stream should not become lifeless and end up in the desert sand. So the reasoning of mind should not become muddy with orthodox customs. It should have the ability to sort out the right practices from the wrong.
Tagore wishes that his countrymen's mind should be directed by god into progressive thought and action. This means that mans thinking should progress with times and his actions should reflect this progression.
The poet wishes the minds of his countrymen should be fearless so that their head can be held high . He also wishes that the mind of man is always guided forward by almighty into progressive though and action.
In the lat statement "Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake" , the word awake has been used because of the pre-existing society before independence. During that time, India was slumbering in an immoral state where differences existed between man and man and narrow minded traditions had taken away mans reasoning. Tagore wished that his countrymen should awaken to a new "heaven of freedom", which is something led by the blessings of god. A country where every thought and action of citizens is an ideal one. A country which is free in every aspect is nothing less than heaven for Tagore.