Short Questions
Part – 1
(a) Referring closely to the poem ‘The Gift of India’ relate what Mother India says about her brave sons.
Answer : In the poem, ‘The Gift of India’ the speaker is Mother India, who is personified as a human being. It is she whose voice is heard in the poem. As a loving and caring mother, she recalls how her brave sons were snatched from her and were entrusted to the British masters. They did not know that they were fighting for. They only yielded to the ‘drum beat of duty’ and fought till the last. This was the most precious gift of India.
Mother India, in an anguished tone, recalls how the Indian soldiers fought bravely and laid down their lives thousands of miles away from their homes in foreign lands. When they died, their dead bodies lay unattended on the grassy fields of Flanders (Belgium) and France. The unattended bodies of those soldiers were like the flowers which are cut down casually and which lie scattered only to be trod upon mercilessly.
They are strewn like blossoms mown down by dance
On the blood-brown meadows of Flanders and France
Those dead bodies were like priceless pearls scattered by the Persian sea:
Gathered like pearls in their alien graves
Silent they sleep by the Persian waves.
Mother India then imagines that the deaths of her brave sons would not go in vain. Their sacrifices would ensure a world in which terror and hate would come to an end. The brave sons of India who sacrificed their lives deserve to be remembered and commemorated. Memorials should be erected with a sense of gratitude in the memory.
(b) What idea does the poem give you of the role of Indian soldiers during British rule?
Answer : The poem ‘The Gift of India’ explicitly speaks about the important role of Indian soldiers during World War I when India was under the British rule. Indian soldiers were very sincere and duty conscious. They were soldiers in the real sense of the term. They did not know the cause for which they were fighting in foreign lands. They had in mind the call to duty. They could not ignore it. They were truly brave and courageous. They fought to the last. They sacrificed their lives. Their dead bodies lay scattered on the fields of Flanders (Belgium) and France. It is, however, sad that their commanders or masters did not attend to them and perform their last rites with due respect and gratitude. No memorial has ever been raised to remember them. The poet, in the voice of Mother India, is however certain that the supreme, selfless sacrifices made by Indian soldiers would not go in vain.
(c) In what way is the poem a celebration and yet suffused with pathos?
Answer : Mother India remembers the sacrifices made by her brave sons in a proud, celebratory tone. She addresses the erstwhile rulers of India and proudly reminds them the gifts they had received from her – rich clothes, grains and gold. However, the priceless gifts they received were her brave sons – the brave Indian soldiers. Her sons fought for them and laid down their lives in foreign lands. They were really brave and devoted soldiers. They fought without knowing the cause for which they were fighting.
Mother India is exultant and proud while talking of the bravery of her sons. But soon her voice is suffused with pathos. She laments over the gruesome killings of thousands of Indian soldiers on battlefronts during World War I. She visualizes the horrible scenes of dead bodies of Indian soldiers lying scattered on the fields. She pays a glowing tribute to their bravery. She declares that in history no other country than India has made such a priceless gift to any country. The heart of Mother India is heavy with grief at the deaths of her brave sons. No one can measure the tears of grief of their mothers.
Thus, the poem is celebratory in a way and yet it is suffused with pathos.
Part – 2
(a) The poem ‘The Gift of India’ exhorts us to honour bravery and establish a peaceful world. Discuss with close reference to the text.
Answer : During the First World War (1914-1918) which forms the background of the poem ‘The Gift of India’ by Sarojini Naidu, thousands of Indian soldiers perished in alien lands on the bidding of their British masters. They fought bravely even though they had no cause, but only a duty to fight. They laid down their lives. Their dead bodies lay scattered in fields, unattended. The sorrows and sufferings of Mother Indian can never be comprehended.
The poet hopes that soon the surge of hate and violence would come to an end. Life would be refashioned on the strong foundations of peace:
when the terror and the tumult of hate shall cease
And life be refashioned on anvils of peace,
The poet has the feeling that the rulers have forgotten the sacrifices of Indian soldiers who fought and laid down their lives on the battlefronts, far away from their country in distant lands in Asia, Middle East and East. Their sacrifices cannot and should not be forgotten. Brave soldiers who die fighting deserve to be honoured and remembered. The poet believes that those Indian soldiers who fought for their British rulers should be remembered for generations to come. Their sacrifices would not go in vain.
To the comrades who fought on the dauntless ranks,
And you honour the deeds of the dauntless onces,
Remember the blood of my martyred sons!
(b) How does the poem ‘The Gift of India’ express anti-war sentiments?
Answer : ‘The Gift of India’ clearly records how wars consume the precious lives of young soldiers. During World War I, thousands of Indian soldiers laid down their lives on foreign soils. Their dead bodies lay scattered, unattended. No one was there to arrange last rites for them with respect and gratitude. The poet uses brilliant smiles to convey her dislike of war and what it stands for. The lines that strike us the most are:
they are strewn like blossoms mown down by
chance
On the blood-brown meadows of Flanders and
France
One is moved to read the snatching away of sons from the bosoms of their mothers and the mothers’ intense grief over their demise. The rhetorical questions provide the answers themselves:
Can ye measure the grief of the tears I weep
Or compass the woe of the watch I keep?
The dead bodies of the soldiers lying unattended on the blood fields of Flanders (Belgium) and France are compared to the scattered flowers that nobody cares for. That they have been as precious as pearls scattered by the sea-beaches conveys the enormity of the loss. This sense of loss conveys to us the poet’s anti-war sentiments quite forcefully.
(c) What makes you like of dislike the poem? Give reasons.
Answer : ‘The Gift of India’, in traditional form, is a powerful anti-war poem. It consists of 24 lines and is not divided into regular stanza. It employs the complete form which is suitable in the context of the subject-matter of the poem. Like any other poem of Naidu, it also makes good use of similes and metaphors.
The poem appeals to us mainly because of its sentimental subject. The way the poet has handled a forgotten subject is brilliant. We are moved by the apt comparisons used in the poem : the dead soldiers compared to scattered shells on sands, or to flowers cut down casually. ‘Priceless treasures’ is an apt metaphor for the precious lives of Indian soldiers. The rhetorical questions such as ‘can ye measure the grief of the tears I weep’ is quite moving, and arouses the feelings of grief in us.
The poem is an apt reminder to all of us that we should recognise and honour the sacrifices made by brave Indian soldiers in forgotten wars.
Long Questions
Question 1 : Discuss the poem ‘The Gift of India’ by Sarojini Naidu as an anti-war poem. Give examples from the text.
Answer : ‘The Gift of India’ by Sarojini Naidu gives expression to her hatred of war and violence. Thousands and thousands of soldiers are killed, maimed or wounded during the war which is often fought to satisfy bruised egos. During World War I the British who ruled over India sent about one million Indian soldiers to distant lands to fight against the German and its allied forces.
In the poem Sarojini Naidu recalls how Indian soldiers, snatched from the breasts of their mothers, laid down their lives without knowing why they were fighting. They fought bravely, however they were not treated well by their British masters. The poet envisions terrifying scenes of dead bodies of Indian soldiers lying unattended on the battlefields:
They lie with pale brows and brave, broken
hands,
they are strewn like blossoms mown down by
chance
On the blood-brown meadows of Flanders and
France.
This is a beautiful image that captures horror involved in any war. Thousands of dead bodies lie scattered like the flowers cut down casually. These dead bodies are not buried properly.
The poet, representing Mother India, gives vent to her sorrow over so many unhonoured deaths of Indian soldiers, and asks the erstwhile rulers of India in an almost choking voice:
Can ye measure the grief of the tears I weep
Or compass the woe of the watch I keep?
During the war brave sons of brave mothers die, but the rulers remain unmoved. They do not recognize the sacrifices of young men and fail to fathom the sufferings of their mothers who continue to wait for the return of their sons knowing well that they cannot return.
The poet wants that those who get killed should be shown proper respect, and memorials should be erected in their memory.
In short, the poem by Naidu is an implicit protest against waging meaningless wars which take a heavy toll of precious human lives. It is an anti-war poem, though its focus is different.
Question 2 : Give a critical appreciation of Sarojini Naidu’s poem ‘The Gift of India’. In what way does the poem appeal to you? Discuss.
Answer : ‘The Gift of India’ by Sarojini Naidu is an elegy. It is a tribute to thousands of Indian soldiers who laid down their lives during World War I (1914-1918) on the behest of the British who ruled over India then. About a million Indian soldiers were sent to distant lands. Thousands of them lost their lives. Shockingly, their dead bodies lay scattered in pools of blood, unattended:
Silent they sleep by the Persian waves,
Scattered like shells on Egyptian sands,
They lie with pale brows and brave, broken hands,
they are strewn like blossoms mown down by chance
The sentimental tone adopted by the poet is justifiable in the context. As a representative of Mother India, she reminds the British, the erstwhile rulers of India, that they had received many gifts from India. The brave sons who fought and died as martyrs on their bidding during World War I constitute another gift. The poet hopes that the sacrifices of Indian soldiers would be remembered with gratitude. However, the reality is that the rulers, be they Britishers or Indians, seldom care to remember the brave dead soldiers. At times they only pay lip-sympathy or at the most erect some memorials which remain neglected after a while.
This poem by Naidu consists of 24 lines and is not divided into regular stanzas. It uses the couplet form which is suitable in the context of the subject-matter of the poem. Like any other poem of Naidu, it also makes good use of similes and metaphors.
The poem appeals to us mainly because of its sentimental subject. The way the poet has handled a forgotten subject is brilliant. We are moved by the apt comparisons used in the poem : the dead soldiers compared to scattered shells on sands, or to flowers cut down casually. ‘Priceless treasures’ is an apt metaphor for the precious lives of Indian soldiers. The rhetorical question such as ‘can ye measure the grief of the tears I weep’ is quite moving, and arouses the feelings of grief in us.
In short, ‘The Gift of India’ is Naidu’s apt reminder to all of us that we should recognize and honour the sacrifices made by brave Indian soldiers in forgotten wars.
Question 3 : What is in the background of ‘The Gift of India’ by Sarojini Naidu? In what way this poem is a tribute to brave Indian soldiers who laid down their lives in the World War I?
Answer : ‘The Gift of India’ by Naidu is a tribute to those brave Indian soldiers who laid down their lives during the World War I (1914-1918). The poet addresses the British who ruled over India during that period, and on whose bidding about one million Indian soldiers went to distant lands in Europe, the Middle East and Asia to fight for them. About 75,000 of these soldiers became martyrs, and over 70,000 were seriously injured. They were, according to the poet, a gift of Mother India to her rulers. Indian soldiers proved their worth. However, they were not treated properly. Their dead bodies remained unattended. The brave soldiers, after some time, were conveniently forgotten by the rulers.
Torn from their mother’s breasts, the sons of India were entrusted to their British masters. They did not know for what they were fighting. They yielded to ‘the drum-beats of duty’ and fought till the last. This was the most precious gift of India – richer than the gifts of garments, grain or gold.
The poet, in an anguished tone, recalls how the most precious gift of India was received. Thousands of miles away from their homes, the Indian soldiers fought bravely and laid down their lives. But their dear dead bodies lay unattended on the grassy fields of Flanders (Belgium) and France. In a beautiful image, the poet says that the unattended dead bodies were like the flowers which are cut down casually and which lie scattered only to be trod upon:
they are strewn like blossoms mown down by
chance
On the blood-brown meadows of Flanders and
France
Paying glowing tribute to the dead Indian soldiers, the poet compares their dead bodies to priceless pearls scattered by the Persian sea:
Gathered like pearls in their alien graves
Silent they sleep by the Persian waves.
The poet, then, imagines that the deaths of Indian soldiers would not go in vain. Their sacrifices would ensure a world in which terror and hate would cease to exist. The war would come to an end and peace would prevail. Love and memory would be the foundations of this new, peaceful world:
when the terror and the tumult of hate shall cease
And lie be refashioned on anvils of peace,
The poet seems to remind everybody – the English as well as Indians – that those who laid down their lives sincerely and honestly deserve to be commemorated. Their sacrifices should be acknowledged and honoured. Memorials shold be erected with a sense of gratitude in their memory.
The poem ends on a serene, hopeful note. The coming generations of Indians would remember the brave sons of India who laid down their precious lives to the call of duty.