Tagore writes "The Postmaster" in the early part of his writing career.  The story is first published in May 1891.  In 1890, Tagore had been immersed in the process of writing a great many works on a large scale.  It was in this period where one could see some of his most intense works produced in a prolific quantity.  Part of this motivation was to write for a family journal, "Sadhana."  One could see the short story nature of "The Postmaster"  and other works entering into such a setting in terms of the work being published. Yet, it was in May of 1891, when a new magazine called "Hitabadi" professed to feature prominent writers in its midst highlighted Tagore's "The Postmaster" as part of its lineup.  It is here where the story is published.  The work had already featured elements of his own experience that represented personal experience brought out in the literary forum. Tagore had already been to England a couple of times and had grasped the fundamental difference between rural and urban India, a dynamic that emerges in the short story between Ratan and the postmaster.  Into an ever changing dynamic of what India was and where it could be going, Tagore's story is published in May of 1891.