Bigotry tries to keep truth safe in its hand with a grip that

"Bigotry tries to keep truth safe in its hand with a grip that kills it." These profound words by Rabindranath Tagore convey a timeless truth about the nature of bigotry and its devastating impact on truth. Tagore warns us that the very attempt to protect and preserve the truth through bigotry—through rigid, narrow-minded beliefs—actually suffocates it, stifling its ability to grow, evolve, and transform. The quote illuminates how prejudice and dogma can disguise themselves as protectors of truth, but in reality, they trap it, holding it in a vice-like grip that kills its freedom and light. The more tightly one holds to a truth through bigotry, the less room there is for new insights, growth, or understanding.

In the ancient world, the pursuit of truth was seen as a noble and sacred endeavor. Socrates, the father of Western philosophy, championed the idea that the truth must be sought through reason, dialogue, and the willingness to question even the most deeply held beliefs. For Socrates, truth was not something to be grasped and held tightly; it was a living and dynamic force that required openness and humility. The bigotry Tagore speaks of is the antithesis of this quest—it seeks to stop the search for truth, locking it away in a cage of preconceived notions and unwillingness to embrace uncertainty or change. Socrates himself was put to death for challenging the status quo, for daring to ask questions that made people uncomfortable, that broke their comfortable illusions about the world. This conflict between truth and dogma continues to echo through the ages.

Take, for example, the Renaissance period, when the truths of science began to challenge the religious dogmas of the time. Figures like Galileo Galilei and Nicolaus Copernicus made revolutionary discoveries that shook the foundations of the geocentric model of the universe. Yet, the Catholic Church—guardians of what it believed was divine truth—reacted with bigotry, condemning these new truths as heretical. The truth of a heliocentric solar system, despite being proven with overwhelming evidence, was suppressed for centuries in the name of protecting tradition. Galileo’s life was turned upside down as he faced inquisition, trial, and forced recantation, not because his science was wrong, but because dogma had taken hold of truth and refused to let it go. In this way, the Church’s grip on truth ultimately suffocated the very progress it was meant to protect, leading to centuries of scientific stagnation.

This pattern of bigotry holding back truth can also be seen in the history of social justice movements. For centuries, the truth of equality, the truth that all people are deserving of the same rights and dignity, was suffocated by the grip of racism and slavery. In the United States, the institutionalized bigotry of slavery sought to hold the truth that all men are created equal at bay, just as it denied basic humanity to millions of people. It was not until the voices of abolitionists like Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and Sojourner Truth rang out with unyielding clarity that the shackles of bigotry began to loosen. These leaders did not hold to the lie of racial superiority, and in their resistance to dogma, they forced the world to confront the truth that had long been buried by ignorance and fear. Truth, when freed from the grip of bigotry, has the power to liberate.

Even in contemporary times, we see this struggle between truth and bigotry playing out. Consider the way climate change has been treated by certain political and industrial forces. Despite the overwhelming evidence from scientists, there are still those who, motivated by economic interests or entrenched beliefs, continue to deny or distort the truth about the environmental crisis. In this case, bigotry—the refusal to acknowledge the overwhelming evidence of human-caused climate change—limits our ability to act on the truth, preventing us from creating meaningful solutions. The truth, like the torch, shines ever more brightly when subjected to the shake of scrutiny, but when held by the hands of those with a vested interest in ignorance, it is dimmed and distorted.

The lesson in Tagore’s words is one of openness and courage. To truly engage with truth, we must let go of the tight grip of prejudice, dogma, and fear. Bigotry, whether in the form of racism, scientific denialism, or cultural intolerance, kills truth because it closes the mind to the possibility of new insights, new understandings, and new realities. We must be willing to question our own assumptions, to listen to those who challenge the status quo, and to confront the discomfort that comes with truth. This requires not only intellectual honesty but moral courage—the courage to stand up for what is right, even when it contradicts the comfortable, established beliefs of our time.

As we move forward in our own lives, let us remember that truth is not something to be guarded jealously and tightly, as though it were a fragile object. Instead, it is a living force that grows brighter when shared, when tested, and when subjected to the shaking of honest inquiry. Let us seek truth not by clinging to the past or the dogmas of others, but by being open to new insights, new ideas, and new possibilities. Only in this way can we ensure that the truth will shine, clear and powerful, for all to see. The grip of bigotry may seek to stifle it, but the truth, when allowed to breathe, will always find its way into the light. Let us be the ones who let it shine.