Birth Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore:
The Prime Minister paid tribute to Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore on Pochishe Boishakh, which fell on 9th May in 2026.
- Pochishe Boishakh, the 25th day of the Bengali month of Boishakh, is celebrated as Rabindranath Tagore’s birth anniversary in the Bengali tradition.
- Rabindranath Tagore was born on 7th May 1861 in Kolkata into the prominent Tagore family associated with the Bengal Renaissance.
- He became the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 for his work Gitanjali.
- He composed “Jana Gana Mana”, the National Anthem of India, and also wrote “Amar Sonar Bangla”, the National Anthem of Bangladesh.
- His major works include Gitanjali, Ghare-Baire, Gora, Chokher Bali and Kabuliwala.
- Tagore supported the Swadeshi movement during the Partition of Bengal in 1905 and used songs to promote unity and self-reliance. He renounced his British knighthood after the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in 1919
- He criticised aggressive Western-style nationalism and advocated an inclusive, ethical and humanistic nationalism rooted in universal values.
- He founded Visva-Bharati University at Santiniketan, promoting holistic and culturally rooted education.
- Tagore enriched Indian society through literature, music, art, education and nationalist thought, while advocating universalism and humanism.
