The Gift of India

Introduction

The poem โ€œThe Gift of Indiaโ€ by Sarojini Naidu is a patriotic poem that glorifies the contributions and sacrifices given by the sons of soil i.e. the Indian soldiers who served in World War 1 and also laments their loss.

During that World War period, around 1 Million Indians served in the British Army on the foreign lands. Thousands of them wounded and hundreds of thousands never returned back. The poem consists of four stanzas having 6 lines each and the rhyme scheme is in the pattern of AABBCC.

Poem

Stanza 1

The speaker here is either Mother India or collective of Indian mothers whose sons fought wars. The mother raises a rhetorical question that has she denied clothes, food or gold i.e. has the Mother India ever denied anything when the world asked for?

She answers herself that she has given theย priceless treasuresย i.e. her sons who wereย torn from my breastย i.e. separated from her to fight inย the East and the West.ย 

In the next line, she says that she has given the sons of her injured womb (because the sons were inseparable from her yet they were separated.)ย to the drum-beats of the dutyย i.e. for doing duty and the duty wasย the sabres of doomย i.e. fighting in the war.

Thus in the stanza 1, Mother India tells the world that she has never denied anything to the world and not even her sons which are priceless. They were separated from her to fight and die in deadly wars.

Stanza 2

Mother says that her sons areย gathered like pearls in their alien graves.Theย means that they were buried with each other in foreign countries. They are sleeping silently along the persian wavesย and are scattered like shells onย Egyptian sands.

They are lying there with pale but brave foreheads and broken hands. Their bodies are scattered like blossoms (flowers) which have been trimmedย by chanceย on the meadows ofย Flanders and Franceย which have turned red with their blood.

Stanza 3

Stanza 2 is full of rhetorical questions. Mother India asks if they canย measure the grief of the tearsย which she weeps every day or theyย can understand the griefs and sorrows which she has or the pride that thrills her heart which is though weeping and a little hope which she has because of her painful prayers (for the safety of her sons) and also the sadness which she sees beyond theย torn red banners of victoryย (because it costed her sons).

Stanza 4

The speaker says thatย whenย the terror and the tumult of hateย i.e. deadly war will end,ย and life be refashioned on anvils of peaceย i.e. the life will go to normal in the peace time (anvils of peace).ย 

At that time, the people will remember and thank out of love and respectย the comrades who fought in dauntless ranksย i.e. the brave soldiers who fought with fear. The people will alsoย honour the deeds of the deathless ones.ย And they will remember theย blood of herย martyred sonsย for eternity.

Click here to read all the important questions and answers of this poem.