The Gift of India: The Theme of Patriotism
Question: Analyse ‘The Gift of India’ as a patriotic poem filled with deep love for motherland.
Answer: ‘The Gift of India’ is a patriotic poem, which os highly filled with the sentiments of Sarojini Naidu towards the Indian soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the British cause during the First World War. It was through this poem that Sarojini Naidu wanted to pay a tribute to the martyred Indian soldiers and arouse the spirit of nationalism among the Indians.
In this poem, Naidu gave the voice of her patriotic spirit by personifying Mother India. She beautifully expressed the feelings of grief and pain for the loss of the lives of her sons and even pride for their bravery and selfless sacrifice.
In the beginning of the poem, Mother India laments the loss of Indians resources which the British were exploiting for their own selfish interests and wealth.
Mother India asks the British if she has withheld any of her resources from them like
“Rich gifts of raiment or grain or gold ?”
More than these she has given her “Priceless treasure” : her sons to whom she has given birth after suffering great pain, to serve the British, on the call of beating drum of war.
She says
“Priceless treasure torn from my breast”.
Mother India’s heart bleeds for her sons, who have been torn away from her bossom ruthlessly and deployed in foreign land to serve the British interests.
Sarojini Naidu has portrayed a heart rending picturemof the dead soldiers in battlefield.
” Gathered like pearls in their alien graves
Silent they sleep by the Persian waves”.
The brave Indian soldiers displayed their courage and strength on battlefield and died unknown and unlamented in their graves in foreign land. They died in a land far away from their country and even their bodies could not get the comfort of finally resting in their own motherland.
She further says –
“They lie with pale brows and brave broken hands”,
Their bodies – motionless and disheveled – bodies on the blood stained battlefield have been compared with withered beauty of flowers, cut down carelessly and scattered on
“On the blood brown meadows of Flanders and France”.
The battlefield has become brown because of blood stains of my innocent sons.
The speaker further asks the British that can you measure the pain and grief of tears of a mother ? Can you feel the pride over the bravery of her son which overpower the feeling of despair ?
She believes that the prayer is the only source of hope and solace for the anguished hearts filled with sorrow.
” the hope that comforts the anguish of Prayers ?”
She hopes that one day “the terror and the tumult of hate shall cease” when the war will over and peace will be established in all over the world, the only tribute that could be paid to these dead soldiers is not to forget their sacrifice, they made for the cause of freedom and
“Remember the blood of my martyred sons!”
It is indirectly a call for all Indians to remember with love and honour the heroic deeds of the martyrs, who sacrificed their lives so that our motherland can be freed from the British rule.
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