Rabindranath Tagore
1861–1941 · Indian (Calcutta/Bengal) · Bengal Renaissance / Indian Independence Era
Known for: Bengali polymath—poet, novelist, composer, painter. First non-European Nobel Laureate (1913). Wrote national anthems of India and Bangladesh
Tagore was born into a wealthy, cultured Bengali family and became India's most influential cultural figure. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 for Gitanjali, becoming the first non-European laureate. He composed over 2,000 songs (Rabindra Sangeet), painted prolifically, and wrote novels, plays, essays, and short stories.
He founded a university (Visva-Bharati), championed Indian independence while criticizing nationalism, and returned his knighthood after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. He was cosmopolitan, spiritual, and deeply humanistic—a towering figure who reshaped Bengali culture.
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