Archive · 2 Sep 2026
Tagore’s 1938 Warning About Forest Destruction Still Resonates
Rabindranath Tagore loved nature and believed people depended on forests.
In 1938, he gave a speech about how forests helped life begin and grow.
Trees provide shade, clean air, fertile soil and food.
Tagore said people began cutting down forests carelessly when they built settlements and cities.
He warned that destroying forests could make land dry and dangerously hot.
He also said that forest loss was happening in places such as northern India and the United States.
Tagore believed people should repair the harm they caused to the earth.
He supported planting trees and growing food in ways that give something back to nature.
His message is still important because forests remain connected to human well-being.
Rabindranath Tagore warned about deforestation and environmental damage in a September 2, 1938 lecture.
He argued that forests gave humanity shade, fertile soil, food and stored solar energy.
Tagore linked forest destruction to urbanisation, greed, desertification and extreme heat.
His annual Vriksharopana Utsav tree-planting festival was held alongside ceremonial field ploughing at Sriniketan.
The translated address, titled “Lord of the Forest,” marks its 87th anniversary and remains relevant to today’s environmental concerns.
- Who
- Rabindranath Tagore, a Nobel Laureate, gave the address.
- What
- He warned that deforestation and human greed were damaging forests and threatening life, while promoting tree planting and cultivation.
- When
- September 2, 1938; the article marks the 87th anniversary of the address.
- Where
- At the annual tree-planting celebration at Sriniketan, near Santiniketan in Bengal.
- Why
- Tagore wanted people to recognize their dependence on forests and repair environmental damage caused by settlement, urbanisation and resource use.
- Address
- “Lord of the Forest”
- Speaker
- Rabindranath Tagore
- Date
- September 2, 1938
- Event
- Vriksharopana Utsav, the annual tree-planting festival
- Location
- Sriniketan, a few kilometres from Santiniketan
- Main warning
- Deforestation can contribute to aridity, extreme heat and desertification
- Proposed response
- Plant trees and cultivate land while replenishing what is taken from the earth