Rabindranath Tagore in 1908: ‘I will never allow patriotism to triumph over humanity as long as I live’

The creator of the national anthem and his views on nationalism, “freedom of mind” and opinions “forcibly made alike”.

Rabindranath Tagore (Illustration: Subrata Dhar)

In 1908, Rabindranath Tagore wrote a letter to his friend, A M Bose, and said, “Patriotism can’t be our final spiritual shelter. I will not buy glass for the price of diamonds and I will never allow patriotism to triumph over humanity as long as I live.” Three years after he wrote this letter — part of Selected Letters of Rabindranath Tagore, published by Cambridge University Press in 1997 — his composition, Jana Gana Mana, was sung for the first time at the Calcutta session of the Congress. Now, 105 years later, as a Supreme Court bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Amitava Roy makes it mandatory for movie halls to play Jana Gana Mana and for people present to stand up as part of their “sacred obligation” to the national anthem, Tagore’s composition has come to symbolise nationalism — something the Nobel laureate was not only critical of, but had famously described as “carnivorous and cannibalistic”.

How climate change is transforming the Arctic’s underwater soundscape

A male ribbon seal at the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve in Alaska (Photo: Josh London/NOAA)

Oceanographer Kate Stafford uses underwater microphones (called hydrophones) to record the daily sounds of the chilly, chilly waters off the coast of Alaska. For years, she and her team at the University of Washington have been studying the sounds of the Arctic Sea in hopes to better understand the lives of the animals that call this place home.

We have so many machines. Why are there still so many jobs?

Photo: Matthew Hurst/Flickr

At TEDxCambridge, MIT economist David Autor explores why decades of automation hasn’t led to near-complete job loss for humanity. Machines, he says, don’t necessarily replace humans in the workplace, but instead complement our expertise, judgment, and creativity.

World's Largest Cluster of Sinkholes Discovered

Forty-nine sinkholes were found in China by researchers, who say the features have more secrets to tell.

Watch: These newly discovered natural sinkholes in China contain primitive forests and giant flying squirrels.

Leah Remini claims Tom Cruise tried to use her to stop CBS report on Scientology

Leah Remini claims that Tom Cruise asked her to use her influence at CBS to bully the network out of airing a negative story about the Church of Scientology.

“I got pressure to call Les Moonves at CBS to try and get a ‘60 Minutes’ report squashed,” Remini, a former Scientologist, said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “I got a call from the church and Tom to call Les Moonves and use my influence to squash the story.”