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Primary sourceBook1916

The Home and the World

Rabindranath Tagore · 1916

Tagore's 1916 Bengali novel criticizing the violence of the Swadeshi movement and questioning nationalism.

Written by Tagore, this novel reveals his personal doubts about nationalist violence and the Swadeshi movement.

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Title page of The Home and the World by Sir Rabindranath Tagore, translated, published by Macmillan and Co., Limited, St. Martin's Street, London, 1921. Faint library stamp reading 'Seen by Preservation Services' at lower right.
Rabindranath Tagore, The Home and the World, 1916 (English translation, Macmillan, 1921).

About this source

What it is

A novel written by Rabindranath Tagore, originally published in Bengali in 1916 under the title Ghare-Bhaire. It was translated into English in 1919 by the author's nephew with Tagore's input.

Why it matters

The novel is set during the early 20th-century Indian nationalist movement and the Swadeshi boycott campaign following the 1905 Partition of Bengal. Through its characters, Tagore explores the tension between rational anti-violence and zealous nationalism, revealing his own doubts about the coercive side of the independence movement.

Look closer

  • What do the two male characters, Nikhilesh and Sandip, represent in Tagore's debate about nationalism?
  • Why might Tagore have chosen a love triangle to explore political ideas?
  • What does the novel suggest about women's roles in traditional Indian households at the time?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Rabindranath Tagore on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Title page of the book Gitanjali (Song Offerings) by Rabindranath Tagore, a collection of prose translations made by the author from the original Bengali, with an introduction by W. B. Yeats, published by Macmillan and Co., London, 1913.Book

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Song Offerings

Rabindranath Tagore · 1912

Black and white photograph of Rabindranath Tagore leaving a building, Sigtuna, May 1921.Photograph

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Tagore Leaves the Sigtuna Foundation

Bertil Waldén · May 1921

Title page of Gitanjali (Song Offerings) by Rabindranath Tagore, a collection of prose translations made by the author from the original Bengali, with an introduction by W. B. Yeats. Macmillan and Co., Limited, London, 1913.Book

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Gitanjali

Rabindranath Tagore · 1910

Black and white photograph of Rabindranath Tagore standing with K.B. Westman and M. Björkqvist, Sigtuna, May 1921.Photograph

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Tagore with K.B. Westman and M. Björkqvist

Bertil Waldén · May 1921

Piano sheet music score titled 'Jana Gana Mana' by Rabindranath Tagore, in D minor/F major key with 4/4 time, tempo 96, two staves (treble clef) with dynamics like f, p, ff and a fermata at the end.Document

Primary source

Jana Gana Mana

Rabindranath Tagore · 11 December 1911

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