Where the Mind is Without Fear

What does the poet pray to the Almighty for?

Ans. The poet prays to the Almighty to let his country awake. This signifies a yearning for his nation to be
an ideal place, a place where freedom, knowledge, and clear thinking prevails.

What are ‘reason’ and ‘dead habit’ compared to?

Ans. The poem compares reason to a “clear stream” and dead habit to “dreary desert sand”.

What does the poet wish for?

Ans. The poet wishes for a society with the following values-
 Freedom of thought
 Education and knowledge
 Unity and breaking down social barriers
 Honesty and truthfulness
 Constant progress
 Reason and logic

(a) How is the world broken into fragments?

Ans. The people of the world are broken into fragments due to societal barriers like race, religion, caste,
economic class etc.

(b) Explain what the ‘tireless striving’ should be for.

Ans. Tireless striving refers to making continuous efforts for the betterment of oneself and the society. People
must always try to improve themselves and work towards making this world a better place for all.

(c) ‘Where words come out from the depth of truth.’ Explain in your own words.
Ans. “Where words come out from the depth of truth” means people speak honestly and from the heart.

(d) Who is ‘Thee’ in the poem? What does the poet appeal to ‘Thee’ to do?
Ans. In the poem, ‘Thee’ could be God or a higher power which guides humanity. The poet appeals to ‘Thee’ to
let his country be the best it can be.

(e) What qualities does the poet wish to inculcate in his countrymen?

Ans. The poet wishes his countrymen to have below-mentioned qualities –

 Bravery and Confidence
 Honesty and Truthfulness
 Aquiring knowledge
 Constantly working for improvement
 Logical reason over tradition

Is the poem a prayer for India alone?

Ans. No, the poet does not mention that the prayer is for India alone. The poet makes a prayer for his country
but it could be interpreted as a prayer for a place that works towards a better future.

(b) What should the words we speak reflect?

Ans. Our words should be honest and reflect our true thoughts and feelings.

(c) What should people keep on widening? How can it be done?

Ans. People should keep widening their knowledge and using that knowledge to do good things. Knowledge can
be acquired through reading books, exploring different ideas etc.
 (d) From what darkness of night should our nation awake?
Ans. Darkness of night refers to people being illiterate, afraid and fearful. Waking up from this darkness means
moving towards a brighter future filled with knowledge, freedom, and progress.

(e) What attributes of Rabindranath Tagore does the poem (prayer) reflect?
Ans. The poem reflects the following attributes-
 Freedom of thought
 Education and knowledge
 Unity and breaking down social barriers
 Honesty and truthfulness
 Constant progress
 Reason and logic

(f) What effect does the repetition of the word ‘where’ at the beginning of each line?
Ans. The repetition of the word ‘where’ at the beginning of each line emphasizes the poet’s vision of an ideal
world and his longing for his country to achieve that ideal state.

Q.1. “Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high”

(a) Who says this and in which poem? (b) What does the word ‘where refer to? (c)
What else does the poet says in this context?

Ans.(a) Poet Rabindranath Tagore has said this in his poem, “Where the Mind is Without Fear“.

(b) By “where” Rabindranath refers to the “heaven of freedom” where he likes his motherland to be
awakened by God. This freedom means not only political freedom but also moral and spiritual
freedom.

Q.2. “Into that heaven of freedom, my Father let my country awake.”

(a) Who makes this prayer? Whom does he address as ‘my Father’? (b) In what context
does the speaker makes this prayer? (c) How does he conceive that ‘heaven of
freedom”?

Ans.(a) Rabindranath Tagore makes this prayer in his poem “Where the Mind is Without Fear”.

(b) The poet wrote this poem in 1901 when India was under British rule.

The poet prayed for the people of India who were fighting at the time for freedom from British rule.
The poet wanted his motherland to be free in the truest sense.

(c) In Tagore’s heaven of freedom, the mind is without fear and man does not forsake his dignity for
anything. It encourages free pursuit of knowledge, unbiased exercise of reason and frank and
truthful utterance. In true freedom, there must not be any narrow division of race or community and
the mind should untiringly strive to achieve perfection in different fields of thought and action in
life.

Q.3. “Where knowledge is free.”

(a) Who says this and where? (b) What does the word “where refer to? (c) What is
meant by ‘knowledge is free’?

Ans.(a) Poet Rabindranath Tagore has said this. He has said this in his poem, “Where the Mind is
Without Fear”.

(b) By the word ‘where the poet refers to that ideal state of freedom where he wants his country and
countrymen to be awakened by God. This is a state of moral and spiritual freedom and not only
political freedom.

(c) ‘Knowledge is free’ means that one can pursue knowledge without any restriction. No man is
prevented from entering the temple of learning and acquiring knowledge, there being no restriction
or opposition from any authority. In a truly free country men will learn and express themselves, free
from all narrow prejudices.

Q.4. “Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic
walls.”

(a) Who says this and in which poem? (b) What is meant by ‘narrow domestic walls?
(c) What can prevent the world from being broken up into fragments?

Ans.(a) Rabindranath Tagore says this in his poem, “Where the Mind is Without Fear“.

(b) Each race or community has some customs and conventions of its own. These customs and
conventions prevent free communication between one community and another. These are like the
domestic walls which cause narrow divisions among the people of a society.

(c) The poet’s ideal is true freedom. He wants these barriers to be pulled down. The poet wants the
fullest exchange between man and man. He wants that all men should regard themselves as
members of one human family. Thus only true freedom can prevent the world from being broken up
into fragments

Q.5. “Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection.”

(a) Who says this? Whose tireless striving is mentioned here? (b) In what context does
the speaker say this? (e) What does the poet suggest by these words?

Ans.(a) Rabindranath Tagore has said this in his poem, “Where the Mind is Without Fear“.

Tireless striving of the then of a truly free country is mentioned here by the poet.

(b) The poet is speaking here of his ideal of true freedom. In a truly free country man’s knowledge
is unrestricted and his outlook is above all narrow prejudices. In such a free country, man enjoys not
only political freedom but also moral and spiritual freedom.

(c) The poet says that man must make ceaseless efforts to achieve perfection. He wants men to be
active at any task until they achieve perfection. Men should not be half-hearted while working at a
thing; instead they should devote themselves whole-heartedly to bring it to its cherished end. Only
true freedom can inspire such untiring efforts towards perfection.

Q.6. “Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand
of dead habit”.

(a) What is meant by the ‘clear stream of reason”? (b) What is meant by the “dreary
desert sand of dead habit’? (c) Bring out the significance of the quoted lines?

Ans.(a) The ‘clear stream of reason’ means the undisturbed flow of the intellectual faculty of man.
Here reason has been compared to a flowing stream. The stream remains clear so long as it flows
undisturbed. In the same manner, reason remains clear if no dead custom clouds it.

(b) The “dreary desert sand of dead habit” means dry and dull habit based on meaningless customs
and prejudices. A stream flowing into a sandy desert soon dries up. Similarly, the outworn customs
and conventions act like a stretch of sandy desert across the path of reason and choke its natural
flow.

(c) In a truly free country man’s mind is free from all prejudices and superstitions. There the flow of
reason is not obstructed by any blind reverence for old customs and conventions. In other words, in
true freedom, men are guided by clear reason and not by dead conventions

Q.7. State briefly the poet’s ideal of true freedom.

Or

For what kind of freedom does the poet pray to God for his motherland, India?

Ans. The poet prays to God for true freedom for his country and countrymen. This freedom does not
mean mere emancipation from foreign rule. It is the moral and spiritual freedom of man. Men of a
truly free country are without fear, without narrow prejudices. They are noble. dignified and
disciplined. They can acquire knowledge without any hindrance and speak out the truth without any
hesitation. In a truly free country men unceasingly try to achieve perfection in the varied fields of
thought and action. This is the poet’s idea of true freedom and he invokes the Supreme Father to
awaken his motherland into this heaven of freedom.

Q.8. Describe the qualities of the mind of man in a truly free country.

Or

What does the poet say about the mind of men of a truly free country?

Ans. In a truly free country, the mind of men must be fearless and must be free from all prejudices
and superstitions. In such a country, the mind seeks knowledge freely. In an ideal state of freedom
the mind strictly adheres to reason without paying any heed to old customs and conventions. There
the human mind is sincere, outspoken, and it untiringly tries to attain perfection in every field of
life. The poet also wants great adventures of the mind into boundless realms of thought and action
under the divine guidance of the Supreme Father.
Q.9. How does Rabindranath describe the present state of his country?

Ans. The poet is very much dissatisfied with the present state of his country. He finds that an
atmosphere of fear prevails throughout the country. The minds of the people are chained by
ignorance. People also suffer under the dead weight of old, outdated customs. A thousand barriers
of caste, creed and religion create disunity among the people. Ignorance and superstitions have
paralysed our reason and judgement. There are a thousand barriers to knowledge. Thus the people
are prevented from seeking knowledge and truth. And, even when they arrive at the truth of
something, fear prevents them from openly expressing it. In short, the unfortunate people of our
country have forgotten that they are human beings. They live the life of beasts under the dark
shadow of fear and ignorance.

Q.10. “Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand
of dead habit.”

-Explain

Ans. Rabindranath uses this fine comparison in his poem Where the Mind is without Fear. Every
comparison has two aspects. In this comparison these two aspects are made up of two metaphors.
On the one hand ‘reason has been identified with a ‘clear stream’. On the other hand dead habit’ has
been identified with a dreary desert’. Thus here is a comparison between reason being smothered by
outdated customs and a stream being lost in the desert sand.

Q.11. How does Rabindranath describe the domestic walls? What do they do to the
world ? If the home has walls, what is the world like?

Ans. Rabindranath describes the domestic walls as ‘narrow’.

These narrow walls break up the world into fragments.

Just as the domestic walls separate the homes from one another, differences of social and religious
customs keep the nations of the world aloof from one another,

Q.12. Explain in your own words the kind of freedom that Rabindranath wishes his
country to achieve.

Ans. In the poem Where the Mind is without Fear, the poet prays to God to wake his country into
a world of ideal freedom. The whole poem is an exposition of what the poet means by this freedom.

The poet wishes that knowledge should be free in his country. He further wishes his countrymen to
be free from the dead habits of custom. In that world of freedom, truth will reign supreme and
everyone will strive towards perfection. In that country of ideal freedom, reason will not be
swallowed by dead customs. In that world of freedom, the people, in their thoughts and actions, will
be led by God himself. This is the kind of freedom the poet wishes his country to achieve.