Deconstructing Universalism: Tagore's Vision of Humanity

Abstract

In the article, I consider the debates on the issue of universality in contemporary Postcolonial and Poststructuralist Studies. I particularly draw on Rabindranath Tagore's ethical writings on universality to demonstrate its influence on the recent revival of Universalism in postcolonial literary scholarship. In terms of organization, the first section of the article takes up some recent reflections on colonialism and universalism. This allows us to turn, in the second section, to Tagore's prescient observations on universalism in his socio-political writings on India. The final section then explores Tagore's views on Universalism in greater detail through a close reading of his short play, The Post Office.