China is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first visit to the Asian nation in April 1924 by great Indian poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter (during the age of Bengal Renaissance) Rabindranath Tagore (May 7, 1861 – August 7, 1941) at a time when India was under British Rule and China was struggling to free itself of foreign control.

Dev Raturi, a China-based Indian actor and entrepreneur, recently penned an essay to commemorate the event in Global Times. He wrote: “Tagore’s journey to China in 1924 not only marked a significant moment in China-India relations, but also served as a catalyst for cultural exchanges and understanding between our two great civilisations.” He added: “Tagore’s visit to China offered a ray of hope amid a backdrop of political and social turbulences. His message of cultural synthesis and human values echoed deeply with Chinese scholars, inspiring a renewed appreciation for the richness of Asian heritage and the importance of mutual respect and understanding.”

Speaking at the May 15-16, 2019 event – titled ‘Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilisations’ – in Beijing, Helga Zepp-LaRouche, the founder of the LaRouche Movement’s Schiller Institute, used a quote of Tagore during his famous dialogue with Albert Einstein. The Indian poet and philosopher told Einstein: “When our universe is in harmony with people, we feel the eternal that we know as truth, as beauty.”

Meanwhile, Raturi mentioned: “One of the remarkable encounters during Tagore’s visit was with Tan Yunshan, a Chinese scholar and friend of Tagore, who later visited Shantiniketan, Tagore’s home village in the eastern Indian Province of West Bengal, at the poet’s invitation. Tan, a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, played a pivotal role in fostering China-India cultural relations, contributing to the deepening friendship between the two nations.”

He added: “Noble laureate Tagore’s legacy in China has only grown stronger over the decades. His works are widely taught in Chinese schools, and his ideas continue to inspire a new generation of Chinese scholars and thinkers. Tagore’s emphasis on the importance of moral progress and spiritual unity has resonated deeply with the Chinese people, offering a timeless message of hope and inspiration in today’s world.”

Raturi stressed: “We will establish Tagore centres for cultural understanding and civilisational dialogue, in line with Tagore’s vision of promoting genuine human love and mutual respect between nations… Let us seize this opportunity to celebrate our shared heritage and reaffirm our commitment to a future of peace, prosperity and mutual understanding.”

The Executive Intelligence Review (EIR) weekly newsmagazine published this article on June 3, 2024. Read the original article.

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Facebook

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Twitter

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Linkedin

Contact us: kousdas@gmail.com

Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das