new organisation in London in March 1910. This was The India Society. Its sole aim was to correct the warped western perception of India and promote Indian art and literature through talks, publications and a journal. One of the direct outcomes of their concerted efforts was the publication of Tagore’s mystical poem, the ‘Gitanjali’ in 1912. The India Society and Rothenstein and his friends were also behind the warm welcome accorded to Rabindranath Tagore when he visited Britain in 1912. In addition, they played an active role in the selection of Tagore for the award of the Nobel Prize in Literature for his ‘Gitanjali’ in 1913.It is now more than a hundred years that a warm welcome was given in Britain not only to Sarojini Naidu and 

Rabindranath Tagore in the early 1900s but also to Swami Vivekananda a little earlier. This symbolised the awakening of Britain and the west to the priceless gems in the fields of philosophy and wisdom that India could offer to the world. 

Their visits were also marked with admissions by eminent western thinkers of the early 20th century such as Romain Rolland and Ananda Coomaraswamy, that after chasing materialism and power, it was high time that the West turned its gaze towards Indian philosophy and thought and took up the pursuit of higher goals that were in consonance with mankind’s spiritual nature and would lead humanity towards peace and harmonious living. 

Today, when the world seems to be increasingly edging towards intolerance, violence and hatred, perhaps it is time once again for the Powers that be, to pause and, casting aside crafty Power games and chasing after monetary gains, to look at the world through the spectacles of Humanity that ancient Indian philosophy has been advocating through its poets and seers from Time immemorial. 

Dr Kusum Pant Joshi is a historian and Chief Researcher/ Press Officer for South Asian Cinema Foundation(SACF), London.