Tagore’s Pioneering Approach and Entrepreneurial Role in Rural Transformation: Lessons from his Experiments and their Relevance Today

Abstract

This paper makes a thorough review of the landmark developments in historical evolution of Tagore’s ideas and approaches on rural transformation to bring out the pioneering and distinctive features of his entrepreneurial role. Tagore being the first Indian not only to write on but also to practice the principles of cooperation, no wonder Gandhi came to him in 1940 to take lessons on this subject. Through citing of several such historical evidences, this paper attempts to show how Tagore performed the role of a social entrepreneur with strong commitment to and conviction in principles of cooperation, decentralized bottom up approach, thinking globally but acting locally, while taking a holistic approach towards life through promotion of health, education and culture alongside income and employment opportunities. This is in sharp contrast to the prevailing emphasis on either isolated government schemes, or on isolated market and private profit oriented entrepreneurs. While several historical limitations may have severely constrained the success of Tagore, the paper concludes by highlighting several apparently successful examples across the length and breadth of the country, which seem to be speaking for the relevance and significance of Tagore’s approach in today’s context.