The Gift of India by Sarojini Naidu - The lament of an anguished mother Avani Mittal 12th Grade

Sarojini Naidu, the Nightingale of India, and a Freedom Fighter who fought for India’s independence, wrote ‘The Gift Of India’ from the perspective of Mother India and from the perspectives of thousands of mothers who had sent their sons into battle selflessly. Over ten lakh Indian soldiers had fought for the British in the First World War. Mother India in this poem proclaims the 'rich gifts of raiment’ so selflessly given to the West, including her sons who were martyred in World War I. Sarojini Naidu was a prominent figure in the Indian National Movement and through her poetry, she had often tried to arouse the feelings of patriotism and a sense of pride among her countrymen.

In this poem, the poet addresses the British, who were the colonial masters of India and who looted and plundered her resources in order to provide for their own country. Naidu becomes the voice of a lamenting mother who asks the British to 'offer memorial thanks' to her martyred sons, who lengthily eulogized the sacrifices of their own soldiers and offered empty platitudes for Indian soldiers.

At the outset, Mother India asks the British if there is anything else left in her and within her that the British require, for she has been 'flung' to the four...