J M Kumarappa and the Tagore we forgot

On Tagore’s death anniversary, let us try to retrieve him from the collective amnesia that has overtaken our understanding of his life and his contributions to education and the nurturing of young minds for the future. Many drew inspiration from Tagore -- among them was J M Kumarapppa, whose doctoral thesis at Columbia University examined Tagore’s philosophy of education. Published in 1930, it was titled Rabindranath Tagore – India’s School Master.  

J M Kumarappa was the elder brother of the famous Kumarappa brothers, J C Kumarappa and Bharatan Kumarappa, who bequeathed to us Gandhi’s collected works. According to Deepak Malghan, biographer of J C Kumarappa, Bharatan was trained as a philosopher and Sanskrit scholar. He obtained two doctoral degrees – from Edinburgh and the School of Oriental Studies, London --where he studied the ethics of John Dewey and the Visistadvaita Vedanta theology, respectively. His London dissertation, Ramanuja’s Conception of the Deity, was one of the first modern English-language works to systematically delineate the differences between Adi Sankara’s metaphysical approach and Ramanuja’s realism.

J M Kumarappa’s guide and mentor at Columbia University was none other than John Dewey, known for his My Pedagogic Creed on the education of children. It is no coincidence, then, that J M Kumarappa’s work focused on Tagore’s contribution to the education and holistic development of children. Tagore’s writings and J M Kumarappa’s reflections on them a hundred years ago remain relevant today, as educational policy continues to flounder in empty debates and turf wars between states and the Centre.

The policy muddle shows no sign of resolution. Basic questions regarding the cost and purpose of school education remain unanswered. Today, school education is prohibitively expensive. Government schools in many states are in disrepair, and private schools have become the norm. Even the poor, forsaking their own nutritional needs, seek private schooling for their children. When high-priced fancy private school education dominates the discourse, it is worth recalling what Tagore wrote a century ago—as quoted by Kumarappa: “The spread of education and the bringing of higher influences into human lives are of infinitely greater importance than following the modern fad of efficient and expensive equipment, which is raised to the rank of a fetish, and which, in its conjoint action with our loveless and soulless system of education, has been an enemy of progress and the spread of education in our poverty-stricken country. To make expensive the educational part of poverty-stricken lives would be like squandering all of one’s money in buying moneybags. In our country, the idea will not be accepted that Saraswathi’s seat owes any of its splendour to appurtenances borrowed from Lakshmi.” 

Equally relevant today are Tagore’s views on religion in education and public life. He warned, “Instead of expressing itself as love and service, religion has become a mere destructive formalism destroying the goodwill between the Hindus and Muslims. Formalism in religion is like nationalism in politics. It breeds sectarian arrogance, mutual misunderstanding and a spirit of persecution. Our mediaeval saints, through their light of love and inner perception of truth, could realise the spiritual unity of man. For them, the innumerable barriers of formalism had no existence, and therefore the mutually antagonistic creeds of Hindus and Mohammedans, irreconcilable as they seemed, did not baffle them. If we desire the welfare of India as a whole, Hindu and Moslem must not only unite, but they must come together on a footing of equality—not the personal equality of two rival champions, but equality in regard to the social support at their back.” 

This vision of shared humanity -- and how we treat our fellow human beings -- lies at the heart of Tagore’s concerns about education, citizenship, and nationhood. Deeply intuitive about how children learn, his Shantiniketan experiments made him a forerunner in the insights we have today about the education of children. His views aligned with that of Jean Piaget, whose theories were grounded in the idea that children are not just passive recipients of knowledge but actively participate in their own learning. The two met at a Montessori International Conference in Denmark in 1929. 

Tagore was also a great admirer of Maria Montessori, and she of him, given her deep interest in India. In 1940, escaping fascist Italy, she came to India, and Tagore warmly welcomed her in a letter. She responded, “It is a joy to hear from you and your good wishes, which I warmly reciprocate. As you know, I am a great admirer of your work in education and, along with my countrymen, think it very fortunate indeed that India, at this hour, can get your guidance in creative self-expression.” 

In remembering Tagore today, let us remember his philosophy of life, his contributions to education, and his ideas about meaning in life and happiness as the bedrock of all education.

(The writer is a chemical engineer, environmental economist, writer and Tagore aficionado)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.