Class 10 English 1.1 Where the Mind is Without Fear – Complete Notes & Answers
Unit One – 1.1 Where the Mind is Without Fear
Warming Up! – Questions and Answers
Question 1
Q.1. Pair up with your partner and match the terms with their given meanings.
| Column 'A' | Column 'B' |
|---|---|
| (1) Humanism | (e) A rationalistic outlook towards humans rather than a divine or supernatural one. |
| (2) Patriotism | (c) Quality of being patriotic; vigorous support for one's country. |
| (3) Internationalism | (d) State or process of being international. |
| (4) Liberalism | (b) Holding liberal views. |
| (5) Environmentalism | (a) Concern about and action aimed at protecting the environment. |
Answer:
1 – (e), 2 – (c), 3 – (d), 4 – (b), 5 – (a)
Question 2
Q.2. Poems in English are of different types.
Taking the help of a dictionary/internet guess and write the type of poem against its description.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| (i) A long story-poem, often mythical. | Epic |
| (ii) A short story poem with a message. | Ballad |
| (iii) A poem of 14 lines. | Sonnet |
| (iv) A song-like poem. | Lyric |
| (v) A poem with no uniformity of rhyme, rhythm etc. | Free verse |
| (vi) A poem set in picturesque, rustic background. | Idyll |
| (vii) A sad poem, lamenting death of a loved one. | Elegy |
| (viii) A 5-line short funny poem with rhyme-scheme aabba. | Limerick |
| (ix) A poem written, just to create humour. | Humorous |
Where the Mind is Without Fear – Margin Questions and Answers
Q.1. What does the poet pray to the Almighty for?
Answer: The poet prays to the Almighty for complete freedom of his country from fear, ignorance, divisions, narrow-mindedness, falsehood and harmful traditional customs.
Q.2. What are ‘reason’ and ‘dead habit’ compared to?
Answer: ‘Reason’ is compared to a clear stream, while ‘dead habit’ is compared to a dreary desert sand.
Q.3. What does the poet wish for?
Answer: The poet wishes for a country where people are fearless, knowledgeable, truthful, united, rational and constantly striving for perfection. He wishes his country to awaken into the heaven of freedom.
Where the Mind is Without Fear – Words and Meanings
| Word / Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| narrow domestic walls | Division on the basis of religion, caste, class and colour in societies and between countries of the world. |
| tireless striving | Continuous efforts and struggle. |
| stretches its arm | Aims at achieving a goal. |
| dead habit | Old traditional rituals and customs that are harmful. |
| ever-widening | Forever broadening one's outlook. |
| heaven of freedom | Condition of total freedom of good thoughts, good words and good deeds, while respecting those of others. |
Where the Mind is Without Fear
— Rabindranath Tagore
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by Thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
– Rabindranath Tagore
📖 1.1 Where the Mind is Without Fear
🌸 English Workshop – Questions & Answers
1. Write down lines from the poem as a proof for the following.
(a) Tagore wishes for a nation where people are truthful.
Answer: “Where words come out from the depth of truth”
(b) The poet would like everyone to work hard to reach their goal and in the long run to reach perfection.
Answer: “Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection”
(c) The poet wishes that everyone in his country holds his head high in dignity.
Answer: “Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high”
(d) The poet dreams of a nation where knowledge should be free to all.
Answer: “Where knowledge is free”
(e) The poem is a ‘prayer’.
Answer: “Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.”
2. Match the expressions with their meanings.
| No. | Column A | Answer | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| (1) | The head is held high | (c) | A person with self-respect and proud of possessing it |
| (2) | Narrow domestic walls | (d) | Narrow mindedness |
| (3) | Knowledge is free | (e) | Education is given to all |
| (4) | Depth of truth | (b) | Sincerity of heart |
| (5) | Mind is without fear | (a) | A fearless person |
| (6) | Stretches its arms | (h) | Aim at perfection |
| (7) | Clear stream of reason | (g) | Clear thinking |
| (8) | Dead habits | (f) | Dried up, infertile land of sands |
| (9) | Ever widening thought and action | (i) | Broadening the outlook and attitude |
Answer: (1) – (c), (2) – (d), (3) – (e), (4) – (b), (5) – (a), (6) – (h), (7) – (g), (8) – (f), (9) – (i)
3. (A) Answer the following questions in your own words.
(a) How is the world broken into fragments?
Answer: The world is broken into fragments by narrow domestic walls. People are divided on the basis of religion, caste, class, colour, language, region and other differences.
(b) Explain what the ‘tireless striving’ should be for.
Answer: ‘Tireless striving’ should be continuous effort and struggle to achieve one's goals and reach perfection. People should never stop making efforts to improve themselves and society.
(c) ‘Where words come out from the depth of truth.’ Explain in your own words.
Answer: It means that people should always speak the truth. Their words should be sincere and should come from an honest heart rather than from falsehood or selfish motives.
(d) Who is ‘Thee’ in the poem? What does the poet appeal to ‘Thee’ to do?
Answer: ‘Thee’ refers to God, the Almighty. The poet appeals to God to guide the people of his country towards ever-widening thought and action and awaken the country into the heaven of freedom.
(e) What qualities does the poet wish to inculcate in his countrymen?
Answer: The poet wishes his countrymen to be fearless, truthful, knowledgeable, united, rational, broad-minded, hardworking and respectful. He wants them to strive continuously towards perfection.
3. (B) Write your own response and justify, where needed.
(a) Is the poem a prayer for India alone?
Answer: No, the poem is not a prayer for India alone. Though Tagore speaks about his own country, the ideals expressed in the poem are universal. He wishes for a world where people are fearless, truthful, educated, united, rational and broad-minded. Therefore, the prayer is meaningful for all countries and people.
(b) What should the words we speak reflect?
Answer: The words we speak should reflect truth, sincerity and honesty. They should come from the depth of our hearts and should not be based on lies or selfish motives.
(c) What should people keep on widening? How can it be done?
Answer: People should keep widening their thoughts, knowledge, outlook and actions. This can be done by gaining knowledge, accepting new ideas, thinking rationally, respecting others and removing narrow-mindedness.
(d) From what darkness of night should our nation awake?
Answer: Our nation should awake from the darkness of ignorance, fear, narrow-mindedness, social divisions, falsehood and harmful traditional customs. It should awaken into a state of freedom, knowledge and reason.
(e) What attributes of Rabindranath Tagore does the poem (prayer) reflect?
Answer: The poem reflects Tagore's patriotism, spirituality, humanism, broad-mindedness and progressive thinking. It also shows his love for truth, freedom, knowledge and humanity.
(f) What effect does the repetition of the word ‘where’ at the beginning of each line?
Answer: The repetition of the word ‘where’ creates emphasis and gives the poem a prayer-like rhythm. It highlights each quality that Tagore wishes to see in his ideal nation and makes the poem more powerful and memorable.
📖 1.1 Where the Mind is Without Fear
🌸 English Workshop – Questions & Answers
4. Complete the Table
Q.4. Read the poem carefully and complete the table after the discussion in pairs.
| Concepts in the Poem | Present Situation | Expected / Ideal Situation |
|---|---|---|
| (1) Mind | Mind is full of fear | Fearless mind |
| (2) Head | Head is often bowed down | Head held high with dignity |
| (3) Knowledge | Knowledge is not equally available to all | Knowledge is free and available to all |
| (4) Words | Words may be false or insincere | Words come from the depth of truth |
| (5) Habit | People follow harmful old traditions | People follow reason and reject harmful customs |
| (6) Thought and action | Thoughts and actions may be narrow | Ever-widening thought and action |
5. (A) Complete the Following Sentences
(a) When the mind is without fear and head unbowed, we enjoy __________ freedom.
Answer: complete
(b) When knowledge is free, every citizen enjoys the right to __________ and __________.
Answer: learn and think
(c) We can prevent __________ injustice when we pull down discriminatory walls of caste, class, religion etc.
Answer: social
(d) Constant effort and strife leads to __________.
Answer: perfection
(e) Logical thinking and reasoning can put a stop to __________.
Answer: harmful traditional customs and superstitions
(f) Tagore appeals to God to make his country a __________.
Answer: heaven of freedom
5. (B) Fill in the Blanks
(a) Students should keep themselves aloof from __________.
Answer: narrow-mindedness and harmful traditional customs
(b) When __________ everyone will be literate.
Answer: knowledge is free
(c) It is a social duty of every student of the modern world to uproot __________ from societies.
Answer: social evils
(d) Students must develop __________ outlook and attitudes.
Answer: broad-minded
(e) In the world of sycophancy, students must __________.
Answer: speak the truth
6. Find Out the Examples of ‘Metaphor’ from the Poem
Q.6. Find out the examples of ‘Metaphor’ from the poem.
Answer:
- “Clear stream of reason” – Reason is compared to a clear stream.
- “Dreary desert sand of dead habit” – Dead habits are compared to a dreary desert.
- “Heaven of freedom” – The ideal state of freedom is compared to heaven.
7. Compose Your Own Poem
Q.7. Almost every line of the poem begins with the word ‘Where’. Compose your poem regarding ‘Ideal School’. Begin your lines with the word ‘Where’.
🌟 Ideal School 🌟
Where every student learns without fear,
Where teachers guide with love and care,
Where knowledge is free for everyone,
Where learning is joyful for everyone,
Where truth and kindness light the way,
Where hard work is valued every day,
Where questions are welcomed with delight,
Where every child can dream and write,
Where minds grow broad and hearts grow kind,
Where new ideas open every mind,
Where students strive to do their best,
Where an ideal school becomes a place of success.
8. Appreciation of the Poem
Q.8. Read the poem and write an appreciation of the poem in about 12 to 15 sentences.
Appreciation of “Where the Mind is Without Fear”
The poem “Where the Mind is Without Fear” is written by the great Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore. The poem is a prayer to God for an ideal and free nation where people are fearless, truthful, knowledgeable and broad-minded. The poem is written in free verse, so it has no fixed rhyme scheme. Tagore uses several figures of speech such as metaphor in “clear stream of reason” and “dreary desert sand of dead habit”, repetition of the word “Where”, and personification in “tireless striving stretches its arms”. The central idea of the poem is to create a nation free from fear, ignorance, narrow-mindedness, falsehood and harmful traditions. My favourite line is “Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high” because it inspires us to live with courage, confidence and dignity. I like this poem because it gives a beautiful vision of an ideal nation and encourages us to become truthful, rational, hardworking and responsible citizens. The message of the poem is that we should work together to build a society based on freedom, truth, knowledge, unity, reason and continuous progress. Overall, the poem is inspiring, meaningful and relevant even today.
9. Speech – “India of My Dreams”
Q.9. Imagine that you have to deliver a speech on the occasion of Independence Day or Republic Day in the school assembly. Prepare a speech to deliver on “India of my dreams”.
🇮🇳 India of My Dreams 🇮🇳
Good morning respected Principal, teachers and my dear friends.
Today I am going to speak on the topic “India of My Dreams.” My dream is to see India as a peaceful, prosperous and developed nation. I wish to see an India where every child gets quality education and every citizen gets equal opportunities. There should be no discrimination on the basis of caste, religion, language or gender. I dream of an India where people respect one another and live together in unity. Our country should be clean, green and free from pollution. We should use science and technology for the welfare of society. Every citizen should respect the Constitution and perform his or her duties honestly. We should work hard, remain truthful and help those who are in need. The youth of India should use their knowledge and talent for the progress of our nation. If every citizen contributes sincerely, we can make our dream India a reality. Let us work together to build a strong, united and beautiful India.
Jai Hind! Thank you.
10. Read the Short Story Written by Rabindranath Tagore
Q.10. Read the short story written by Rabindranath Tagore “The Kabuliwala” or “The Home Coming”. Visit the website and collect more information about Rabindranath Tagore’s life and work.
Answer / Activity:
Read any one of the stories “The Kabuliwala” or “The Home Coming” and collect information about Rabindranath Tagore's life and literary works.
Rabindranath Tagore was a great Indian poet, writer, philosopher and educationist. He was born in 1861 and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. He was the first non-European to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. His famous works include Gitanjali, The Home and the World, The Postmaster, The Kabuliwala and Gora. He also wrote the national anthems of India and Bangladesh.
1.1 Where the Mind is Without Fear – Complete English Workshop
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