Question

Rabindranath Tagore surrendered knighthood in protest against ------?
a. Martial law in the Punjab
b. Jallianwala bagh tragedy
c. Rowlatt act
d. All the above

Answer 1

Hint:
 A new phase in the nationalist movement began in 1919 following the passage of the Rowlatt Act and the decision by the Mahatma to launch the Satyagraha movement for its repeal. As a strategist, he did not call for a movement against the Montford reforms or in favour of Swaraj, namely self-government within the empire. His Eglitrop focused on the Rowlatt Act. In Punjab and Delhi, the movement turned violent and Gandhi also thought of suspending it "that the occasion has come when I should offer the satyagraha for the violence that has happened to me".


Complete solution:
In 1919, Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) received a letter from Mahatma Gandhi, which wrote about the need to oppose the Rowlatt bill when disillusioned with the British. Tagore's response was mixed. While agreeing with Gandhi that there was a need to protest against the bills. He also feared that this might spread hatred among the races.

He called it 'Himalayan blunder'. Tagore closely watched the events as he was concerned with its outcome. But when Gandhi had deviated from the movement, he sent him an open letter on 12 April. It was published in the Indian Daily News on 16 April. The letter was an important document reflecting the poet's thought process and concerns.

He started addressing Gandhi as 'the beloved Mahatmaji' and said that "power is irrational in all its forms; It is like the horse that blinds the carriage. The moral element in this represents only the person who drives the horse. Passive resistance is a force that is not necessarily moral in itself; It can be used against truth as well as against it. The danger inherent in the force becomes stronger when it is likely to succeed until it becomes a temptation.

This was a serious indictment of a movement that was started without proper preparation. Tagore revived the irrationality of power which was a major concern since the time of Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679). He raised questions about the use of passive resistance as a tool and the possibility of its degeneration. He could also hypothesize that such a movement had two long-term negative effects, which failed to reach its desired end (a) increased state repression that would give terrorism a grip and (b) total demonetisation and Will lead to disappointment.

He sent Charles Freer Andrews (1871–1940) to Gandhi requesting him to organize any kind of protest against the massacre, but Gandhi replied that he did not want to embarrass the government. This was when Tagore volunteered to renounce the title of knighthood and sent a letter to the Viceroy stating that "the time has come when the badge of honour is shameful in the context of our humiliation, and I am in my favour" I want to stand up.


Hence, the correct answer is option B.

Note:
The Daily Herald observed that the poet was neither pro-German nor anti-British, but a sign that Indians would not relinquish their rights to any title. The Manchester Guardian commented that "if we don't act now, we are a disgraced people". But subsequent events proved that for Gandhi, the Khilafat became more important than the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.