When I was asked to review Biswajit Roy’s book Palestine, Arab-Jewish Relations and Rabindranath, the very first thought that came to my mind was that, at a time when the whole world is watching Israel attack Palestine day after day, and images of children being killed arrive every day, one cannot read this book without thinking of the present.
As I began writing this review, I repeatedly found myself thinking of Biswajit Roy and the many conversations I had with him on this subject. He is no longer among us. But those who read his work in the years to come will surely understand how much painstaking effort went into this book by the poet, writer, essayist and journalist Biswajit Roy.
History has shown us that whenever authoritarian and fascist governments have come to power, they have destroyed human lives in their own time. But their destruction does not end there. They often leave consequences that devastate generations to come as well. That is why this book has been dedicated to the children killed in Palestine and Israel.
There is a profound sense of humanity embedded even in the title of the book, and it offers a glimpse of what lies within. That is precisely why the author brings Rabindranath Tagore into this discussion. To understand Tagore’s thoughts on Palestine and Arab-Jewish relations, it is essential to understand his understanding of the history of Eastern and Western civilisations, as well as his critique of the modern Western nation-state and its politics.
Tagore opposed British imperialism in colonial India, but at the same time he also strongly opposed the exploitation, plunder and oppression of Asia, Africa and Latin America by European powers. During his travels across Europe and America, Tagore repeatedly criticised the arrogance of an aggressive white civilisation, the growing militarism of the modern state, and the mechanical civilisation and consumerist society that accompanied it.
At the same time, Tagore’s understanding of religion and his conception of God were fundamentally opposed to the idea of self-serving religious establishments confined to temples, mosques, churches or other places of worship. This comes through clearly in many of his writings. For Tagore, God was not a war-mongering emperor. That is why, at his beloved Visva-Bharati, he made arrangements for the teaching of Comparative Religion.
One of his aspirations was also to overcome the narrow-mindedness and mutual ignorance surrounding religion and culture among ordinary people in India, despite the centuries of coexistence between Hindus and Muslims. The Indian civilisational tradition, he believed, was fundamentally at odds with the concept of the nation-state. Tagore regarded the very idea of the “nation” as a Western invention.
Although there is no clear evidence of Tagore having had direct engagement with the literature and politics of West Asia, his correspondence and various studies provide strong indications that his ideas influenced intellectual and political circles in the wider Arab world and West Asia at the time. It is these strands that the author of this book has attempted to trace.
In 1920–21, while Tagore was in London, he met Thomas Edward Lawrence, one of the key organisers and catalysts of the Arab Revolt against the Ottomans. The book refers to this meeting. Lawrence reportedly said that because of the betrayal by the British government, Tagore was even reluctant to travel to Arab countries. Tagore, he suggested, believed that there was a latent barbaric instinct among Western people. According to Lawrence, Tagore believed that the only way to deal with the British was to return their blows with twice the force with which they had struck.
Rural Reconstruction in Bengal, Palestine and Tagore
We have perhaps never thought about the connection in quite this way: rural reconstruction in Bengal, Sriniketan and Palestine.
During the period between the two World Wars, sections of Jewish immigrants in Palestine worked to reclaim agricultural land in predominantly desert regions. They developed farms and orchards, undertook various initiatives for farmers and placed emphasis on the development of rural industries. These efforts attracted Tagore’s attention.
The book explores whether Tagore drew upon such experiences in formulating his own ideas about rural reconstruction at Santiniketan and Sriniketan.
His vision centred on a deep affection for the roots of rural life, the revival of traditional agriculture and crafts, and the creation of a connection between educated urban modernity and traditional farmers and artisans. The book investigates whether Tagore developed or enriched some of these ideas through his engagement with developments in Palestine.
There is evidence that he communicated with leaders of the Jewish Agency, one of the principal Zionist organisations of the time, sharing detailed proposals and plans in this regard.
Tagore, Einstein and the Search for a New Human Being
In the early 1940s, towards the end of his life, when Tagore was writing The Crisis in Civilisation, he was searching for a new human being. He was looking for new friends.
The poet expressed both anxiety and apprehension about whether the West would ever be able to shed its arrogance of racial superiority and truly accept the people of the East.
The book offers an interesting example in this context. The apprehension expressed by Tagore was echoed by the world-famous scientist Albert Einstein.
In 1952, when Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel, he said that he was not a man of politics. Yet he wrote to his daughter Margot that if he became President of Israel, there were certain things he would have to say to Israeli citizens—things they might not necessarily like to hear.
This is where Tagore and Einstein seem to converge. Somewhere, the idea of a common human ethic places two people from two different countries on the same platform.
Palestine: History, Geography and the Present
Biswajit Roy has attempted to present the history, geography and entire timeline of Palestine with considerable intensity and, at times, painful directness.
If readers go through this book carefully, they will be able to understand the history as a whole and, in doing so, gain a better understanding of the present: why these attacks are taking place and why so many people are dying. India’s role can also be understood more clearly through this historical framework.
That is what makes this book particularly important at the present moment.
Bringing one of the most complex and sensitive issues in the Middle East between two covers is, in itself, a valuable endeavour. Anyone seeking to understand the history, politics, religious ideologies and international relations surrounding the region should read this book.
In recent years, millions of people have taken to the streets in Europe, America and many other parts of the world in protest against the war in Gaza and what they describe as genocide. Among them have been deeply religious people as well as those who oppose organised religion; humanist Jews and Christians; and Arabs who stand for peace.
As an analysis of a historical consciousness shaped by hostility between communities and identities, this book is an extremely useful text.
Those who have not yet lost faith in the possibility of people coming together across religious boundaries should certainly read this book.
Tagore’s idea of creating an Arab-Jewish Commonwealth in Palestine could become a shared aspiration for people in both West Asian societies who belong to minorities and who seek justice and peace.
Against the backdrop of growing communalism and religious nationalism in the Indian subcontinent, Tagore’s ideas may acquire renewed relevance. Biswajit Roy has left us with the possibility of a much deeper discussion on these questions in the future.
Surely, someone will take this work forward. One can hope that others will continue exploring these questions and engage with them in greater depth.
The book is highly readable and presents a complex subject in a relatively simple and accessible manner. There are, however, a number of typographical errors, which I hope the publisher will correct in subsequent editions.
I have had to write this review rather quickly, and there are undoubtedly several aspects that I may have left unmentioned. But I believe readers will pick up this book, read it, and continue the debate around these questions in the years to come.
To understand the history and geopolitics of the Middle East through the ideas of Rabindranath Tagore, Palestine, Arab-Jewish Relations and Rabindranath is a book that deserves to be read.
