Rabindranath Tagore on Education: Select Essays, Addresses, Letters and Short Stories in English Translation

After an introductory discussion on Rabindranath Tagore’s educational thoughts, translations of his writings on education are presented in four sections (essays; public addresses; letters; short-stories), followed by Appendices and Bibliography. The book aims to familiarize readers with the broader spectrum of Rabindranath’s educational philosophy. This book presents English translations of Rabindranath Tagore’s writings on education with a cross-generic selection of public addresses, discursive essays, personal correspondences and short stories, which reflect the evolution of his educational thoughts. Predicated on his distrust of the prevalent didactic pedagogy, his educational formulations envisaged an alternative system which would propel learning towards true enlightenment and pursuit of truth, thereby suiting the needs of the emergent nation. His educational notions, then, were closely interwoven with his vision of nation-building. Rabindranath Tagore’s ideas are still relevant today when contemporary pedagogical practices remain riddled with inadequacies not only in India but elsewhere as well. This is what has prompted the attempt to disseminate his path-breaking educational ideas before a wider readership through English translations of his original Bengali writings.