The first line of the poem, a part of which is the title itself, holds a very significant meaning.

“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high”, ‘fear’ in this line refers to the fear
inculcated in the minds of Indians under the British rule. Here the poet is speaking about the
miserable life led by people dominated by the British. The poet envisions India as a country
where the people’s minds are free from fear and they live a dignified life. He also wants to
convey that freedom can be attained only when the mind is fearless and the head is held high
with respect and dignity.
In this line “Where knowledge is free” the poet says that gaining independence would also give
them the freedom to acquire knowledge and be self reliant which was restricted during the
British rule.

“Where the world has not been broken up into fragments

By narrow domestic walls”, here the poet speaks about the various evils that crept into the
society at that time. The British used the divide and rule policy by creating rivalries among
different sections of the society. ‘Narrow domestic walls’ refers to the walls of religion, race,
caste and creed created by the people. It may also refer to the various superstitious beliefs that
prevailed in the society during that time.

“Where words come out from the depth of truth”, implies that the poet envisioned his
countrymen to live their lives with honesty and utmost truth.

“Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection”, here personification has been
used for ‘tireless striving’. The poet says that one’s goal should be to attain perfection i.e. to be
an ideal country and all those years of struggle would finally reach its goal of attaining freedom
and perfection.

“Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
into the dreary desert sand of dead habit”, the poet uses metaphor for reason and habit. He
refers to reason as a ‘clear stream’ that is pure and not contaminated. Here, he is speaking about
the thoughts of people which he says should be clear, noble, honest and free from all sorts of
corruption. ‘Dreary desert sand of dead habit’ also refers to the evils in the society like the
superstitious practices that lack logic and reason.

“Where the mind is led forward by thee

into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.”
In the last three lines the poet prays to the Almighty for his guidance and support to attain
independence. The poet wishes his countrymen to be led forward by their noble thoughts and
actions. He refers to freedom as a heavenly place and addresses God as Father, asking him to
awaken his people and help them reach that glorious place.

Summary:
Rabindranath Tagore was saddened by the miserable lives of his countrymen under the British
rule and the state of his country in their struggle for independence. In this poem, he shows his
love for his country and prays to God to help them attain freedom.
The poet envisions India as a country where the people live without any kind of fear or
oppression and hold their head high with pride, dignity and self reliance. He also says that
knowledge should be attained without any restriction. There should be no discrimination based
on caste, creed, race or religion. India must reach towards its goal of attaining freedom and being
an ideal nation. The countrymen must possess noble thoughts and do away with all the
superstitious beliefs that defy logic and reason.
The poet prays to God, seeking his support and guidance for his countrymen to have noble
thoughts and actions. He asks God to awaken them into this heaven like place of an independent
nation.

Theme:
The poem was composed in the early 1900s when India was struggling for independence from
the British rule. It is the poet’s prayer to the Almighty, seeking his guidance and support to help
the countrymen attain freedom. The poem is patriotic in nature. The poet expresses his love for
his country and speaks about the vision he has for India and its people. Through his poem he
gives us an idea about the kind of life people were living during the British rule. The stringent
rules, policies, economical and political uncertainty were some of the factors that caused fear in
the minds of Indians. They could not live a dignified and respectful life in their own country.
Obtaining a proper education was restricted for various classes of the society, causing illiteracy
among people and making them believe in superstitions. The British used the ‘divide and rule
policy’ against the Indians to make them fight among themselves. There was discrimination
based on caste, creed, race and religion.

It was during this struggle for independence, the poet says that he envisions a country where
there is no fear in the minds of people and education is attained by all. The people are
enlightened and do not create walls of discrimination. He wants his countrymen to be honest and
thoughtful. He prays to God, seeking his guidance for attaining independence and awakening his
countrymen into that beautiful heaven of freedom.

Where the Mind is Without Fear is one of the most powerful works by Bengali writer,
Rabindranath Tagore. This simplified English language translation is 11 lines, without a rhyme
scheme. The original Bengali version of the poem is called, Chitto jetha bhoyshunyo, and was
published in 1910 before India gained its independence from Great Britain and was in the midst
of protests and demonstrations against British rule.

Poem Summary
This poem is a contemplation of a state of being, a place in time, and a way of living into which
the author, Tagore, wishes his country, India, would awaken. The first nine lines of the poem
present a number of statements in which begin with the word, “Where…” These statements are
each positive attributes which Tagore is hoping India will achieve. The poem resolves by
finishing all of these sentences, and Tagore making a plea to his Father, for his country to wake
up into “that heaven of freedom.”
In this poem Tagore lays out the tenants of what could be called a utopian society.

Where the Mind is Without Fear Analysis

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free

The poem begins with these two short lines which are the basis of the hopes that Tagore has for
his country. These partial sentences, along with the following six are finished by the last line of
the poem in which Tagore explains, these are places into which he wishes India would wake up.
That a change will come over the country and it will be able to move to a more culturally and
politically free period. Specifically in which, “the mind is without fear.” This being the title line
of the poem, its importance cannot be ignored. It is one of the most important tenants of Tagore’s
dream India. One must be able to live without fear of the repercussions of their thoughts, as well
as living without fear of physical harm coming to them as they live their lives. The second half
of this first line adds on to the importance of the first half, not only must one be able to live
without fear of physical repercussions of what they believe, they must also be able to be proud of
their beliefs, be able to express them freely in open society.

The second line of the poem turns to knowledge, in this perfect India, all knowledge must be
free. There cannot be barriers, keeping the middle and lower classes from seeking out new
information and bettering their lives.

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments

By narrow domestic walls

The third statement describing this ideal world refers to home and societal life and the way in
which women and men are separated, and how narrow their differences are. This idea of walls
can also be expanded to once again include different classes of people, a problem faced by the
Indian people for decades. Because of the way in which one class is separated from another in all
the facts of life, from where and how they live, to where they work and who they work for, the
world has become fragmented into small groups that do not interact or touch in any way.

Where words come out from the depth of truth

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfectio

The next line of the poem references a more philosophical factor in Tagore’s utopian India. The
words that spoken, no matter who by, must come from the very depth of truth. This is a way of
living that is very controversial, and of which many might say would have the adverse effect.

But in Tagore’s world, absolute truth is a necessity. The sixth line of the poem presents an idea
that many would agree with without much criticism, that if one works hard, or strives tirelessly,
one will eventually reach perfection. Perfection, or whatever goal one has in mind. Hard work
would always pay off, another addition to Tagore’s goal for India.

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit

The next two lines are more complex. In this scenario that Tagore has set up in these line he is
referring to the trouble that one will run into when they start on a path reasonably and with a goal
in mind, but then fall into a habit and are unable to reach what they were striving for. Tagore
uses a “clear stream” as a metaphor for reason, it flows easily and cleanly. It is good for
everyone. This stream of reason has “not” in Tagore’s world, “lost its way,” by venturing into
habit. To balance this metaphor, he compares a dreary desert to “dead habit.” One must be
willing to change, to try new things in his utopian India.

Where the mind is led forward by thee

Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

The last three lines of the poem make clear reference to Tagore’s desire to blend Western and
Indian poetry together. He states one final element of his society, one which can be interpreted in
multiple ways. The mind of the people must be led forward by “thee.” In this line he could be
referring to God, as he does in the next line, or perhaps he references his previous statements as a
whole. He is, in a way, adding on to the previous lines, stating that this stream of reason must be
“led forward…” The last two lines conclude all of the partial sentences that make up the bulk of
the poem. The mind must be led forward into “ever-widening thought and action.” The mind
must not be culled in any sense of the word, it must be allowed to expand without limits, and act
on the notions it believes to be best. This world that he has crafted he now refers to as “that
heaven of freedom.” He asks “my Father” presumably God, to let his country wake into this
heaven.

what is the poet’s concept of true freedom in ‘Where the Mind is Without Fear’ by Rabindranath
Tagore? or, What is the ‘heaven of freedom’ according to the poet?

Question Tags: Where the Mind is Without Fear

3 Answers
Jayanta K Maity Staff answered 11 months ago

By ‘Heaven of Freedom’ Tagore wanted to mean the realization of freedom at its best. Mere
political freedom was not enough to Tagore. He realized the need for the feeling of freedom to be
felt, and the consequences to be reflected in the production and progress of the nation.

According to the poet, to make our country a heaven of freedom, the people should be fearless,
knowledgeable, truthful, rational, hard-working and broad-minded. They should possess the
good human virtues to avoid any harm done to themselves and to other. Moreover, people often
get stuck by the superstitious beliefs or the class and caste divisions among themselves. These
irrational elements in the society limit our thoughts and actions, thus curbing the possibility of
any advancement of the nation. In such a situation, the poet’s beliefs and realizations were really
effective to set a movement in the right direction.

Jashan preet answered 8 months ago

Poet wants that the people should not be narrow minded, have progressive thinking so that they
can make our country a heaven on the Earth. They should achieve perfection and for this they
should do a lot of hard work. They should wake from slumber and help India become a heaven
of freedom.

Anamika Jain answered 5 months ago

The ‘Heaven of freedom’ which the poet refers to in this poem, is the heaven he visualizes his
country as, after it attains freedom. a country united under one banner not broken up into smaller
sections by prejudices and superstitions that were prevalent at that time. He visualizes the a
country which is not divided by cast, creed, gender, religion or language, a country which is not
suppressed and everyone has the right to voice their opinion, he visualizes a Utopian world
where he and his countrymen could experience the true meaning of freedom. He prays for a
country where free education is imparted to everyone, and not just those who could afford it.
This ‘Heaven’ would have an education system which wouldn’t curtail free thinking and only
encourage learning which included learning texts. He wishes for a country whose countrymen
were not lethargic but instead they were continuously trying to strive for perfection and achieve
their goals