PM’S REMARKS AT THE NAMING OF RABINDRANATH
TAGORE AVENUE
The following is
the text of the remarks by Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee
at the naming of Rabindranath Tagore Avenue in Turkey today:
"I deeply
appreciate the opportunity to participate in this ceremony to
name a road in Ankara after Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. By doing
so, you honour one of India’s greatest poet-philosophers; and
we celebrate another valuable strand of the India-Turkish connection.
Rabindranath
Tagore was not a stranger to Turkey. About eighty years ago, on
its way from Europe to India, his ship docked at Istanbul for
two days. This brief encounter with your country obviously made
a deep impression on him. He sent a request to President Ataturk
for books on Turkish literature and culture, for the library of
his Viswa Bharati University. History records that Kemal Ataturk
sent 41 books to the University. As Chancellor of Viswa Bharati
University, I can confirm to you that these books remain the prized
possessions of the University.
Even though they
never met, there was a strong empathy between Tagore and Ataturk
Tagore admired the nationalism and reformist zeal of Kemal Ataturk.
In a tribute to Ataturk in 1938, he said:
"Kemal set
us an example of a resurgent Asia…he carried out a crusade against
the tyranny of superstition".
This freedom
from superstition was at the core of Tagore’s own universal spirit.
He sought a heaven of freedom for his country, where:
"The clear
stream of reason has not lost its way in the dreary desert sand
of dead habit".
Like many generations
of poets, writers, scholars and reformers in India, Rabindranath
Tagore was also influenced by your great Sufi mystic, Jalalettin
Rumi. Rumi’s message of peace and tolerance, oneness of the human
race and a world without boundaries found a deep echo in Tagore’s
consciousness.
Sufism and Rumi
continue to enrich the links between India and Turkey. A prominent
Indian film director has recently embarked on an ambitious global
project to capture on the celluloid screen the multi-dimensional
life, thoughts and works of this universal humanist. I am sure
this project will receive the encouragement and support of government,
business and the arts community in Turkey.
The Rabindranath
Tagore Avenue in Ankara will remain a symbol of the friendship
between our two peoples. In this, it mirrors the strategically
located Kemal Ataturk Marg in Central Delhi, which runs adjacent
to the official residence of the Prime Minister of India, and
guards the sole public access to it. Both remind us of the intermingling
streams in our history. They also inspire us to seek new convergences
in the contemporary world, which could pave the road of India-Turkey
partnership for the future.
Thank you."
