The poem “Where the Mind is Without Fear” was originally written most possibly in 1900 and was later translated into English in 1911. It was written and published in a period when India was under the British rule and was struggling to achieve their political freedom from the same. People were engulfed by pessimism, corruption, disharmony, ignorance and narrow-mindedness. The poet was sorry to see the moral and spiritual deterioration in his countrymen.
 
The period the poem was written in has a direct connection with its theme. The poet thought that freedom cannot be achieved without attaining certain moral and spiritual heights and also, mere political freedom is not so important unless people are able to enjoy it fully. Tagore here prays to the Almighty to lift his country to such a “heaven of freedom” where his countrymen could attain superiority in terms of moral and spiritual aspects of life, where people would be fearless, knowledgeable, united, hard-working, truthful, logical and broad-minded.