Ideas on nationalism in Tagore and Unamuno: A comparative study

Abstract

It is generally accepted that the nineteenth century was the period when the concept of nation-states and the ideology of nationalism emerged in Europe, which later on spread around the world awakening nationalist sentiments in previously colonized people. While by the twentieth century several nation-states did get created, and that became the standard format around which life is organized around the world, many intellectuals have raised important questions against nationalism. Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) from India and Miguel de Unamuno (1864-1936) from Spain are two such names. This paper tries to compare the two keeping their ideas on nationalism as the axis.