Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s2.t20.8

v2.c10.s2.t20.8

Tagore was born in Calcutta (present-day Kolkata) in the state of West Bengal, India on May 7, 1861. Calcutta was then the capital of British India, and was also India's cultural centre. At that time, India was in the midst of a surging tide of the socio-religious reform movement, literary reform movement and the nationalist movement with Calcutta as the centre. These three major movements ushered in a major reform movement, which came to be known as the Bengal Renaissance. It was a period of gradual awakening of India's national sentiments under the rule of the British colonialists, and was thus an important historical turning point from a traditional society to a modern society. Tagore's grandfather - Prince Dwarakanath Tagore (1794-1846), a friend and staunch supporter of Raja Rammohan Roy, not only gave his wealth generously and wisely, but also supported important social reform and progressive movements of the day. His father Debendranath Tagore was a leader of the Brahmo Samaj, a new religious sect in 19th century CE Bengal that believed in the ultimate monistic basis of Hinduism as laid down in the *Upanishads*.