Rabindranth was perhaps India's most prolific and most influential man of letters ever. Tagore consistently spoke up against the inequalities perpetrated by the British Raj. But, while a great deal of his writings was patriotic (the national anthems of both India and Bangladesh were written by him) he never quite saw eye to eye with the majority of the nationalist leaders. This selection from Tagore's speeches and writings on the nation includes an early piece, 'The One Nationalist Party' (1908), his famous renunciation of nationalism, 'Nationalism in India' (1917), the biting sarcastic 'The Cult of the Chakra' (1925) and the final lecture he delivered, 'Crisis in Civilization' (1941).
