Rabindranath Tagore's Ideational Challenges is an analytical attempt
to show that Rabindranath Tagore in his own unique style raised some
troublesome sociocultural issues that constrained the attainment of the
politico-ideological objectives that the nationalists espoused. His
creative texts were not merely literary articulation of the issues but
were powerful responses to the prevalent conceptual parameters on which
humanity rested. Although the poet did not appear to have made such a
claim, his writings dealt with politico-ideologically innovative ideas
about human diversity that naturally fl-ourished in the Indian
subcontinent. By approaching the pertinent sociocultural and
politico-ideological issues from a literary perspective, the poet
seemingly refashioned the dominant views on humanity.
The selected novels and short stories in this book represent a distinct
voice explicit in the politico-ideological message. Keeping this in
view, each chapter is an articulation of the views that Rabindranath
championed while contributing to ushering in a new vision based on his
perception of well-entrenched sociocultural values of the time.