Who Was the First Indian to Win a Nobel Prize?
Who was the first Indian to win a Nobel Prize? Discover the inspiring story, achievements, and legacy of this historic award winner.
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India has given the world some of the greatest minds in history, scientists, writers, economists, and thinkers. But there is one name that stands above all when it comes to a very special honour. One man who put India on the global map at a time when the country had no voice of its own. Have you ever wondered who was the first Indian to win a Nobel Prize? Let’s find out
Who Was the First Indian to Win a Nobel Prize?
Rabindranath Tagore was the first Indian to win a Nobel Prize. He was born on 7th May, 1861 in Kolkata (then Calcutta) in India. He was always interested in words from a very early age. He composed poems, stories, songs and plays all in Bengali, his native language.
He studied in England in the late 1870s and after his return to India published several volumes of poetry beginning from the 1880s. But made all the difference was a little book of poems, called Gitanjali.
What Did Rabindranath Tagore Win the Nobel Prize For?
A highly spiritual and emotional set of poems, Gitanjali, literally means "Song Offerings". There are Tagore's own translations of these from Bengali into English. The poems dealt with life, love, nature, and the relationship between man and God in such a simple and pure language as to reach out to people all over the world.
On the morning of November 13, 1913, Tagore received the news that the Nobel Committee chose him for the Nobel Prize because of this book.
Rabindranath Tagore was the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. The prize was given to him for his sensitive and beautiful poetry.
Why Was Tagore Winning the Nobel Prize So Important for India?
Consider the year 1913. India was still being ruled by the British. The country was not known abroad in the field of arts or literature. and then, a man from Kolkata made history by winning the most esteemed literary award of the world.
The achievement not only pulled Tagore into the spotlight but also gave a boost to the country, which was striving to free itself from the rule of the British.
He couldn't travel to Stockholm to get the prize because of the distance and the approaching World War I. The Gold Medal and Diploma were given to the British Ambassador in Stockholm in his name.
What Else Is Rabindranath Tagore Known For?
Tagore started an experimental school in 1901 at Shantiniketan that attempted to combine the best of both India and Western traditions. Later this school became the Visva-Bharati University.
He was awarded a Knighthood in 1915, which he voluntarily returned in 1919 in protest of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar. With this act, he made the world aware that his values were greater than any title.
He is also the author of the National Anthem of India. He also wrote the National Anthem of Bangladesh. He painted. He created more than 2000 songs which are currently known as Rabindra Sangeet.
Rabindranath Tagore was not only India's first Nobel Laureate. He was a testament to Indian thought, Indian language and Indian culture as a force to move the entire world. His words are alive in our anthem, our music and within our hearts even after a hundred years.
READ| GK Quiz on Rabindranath Tagore
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