Skip to main content

Those who say Jana Gana Mana was composed in veneration of King George V are parroting bogus allegations

Rajasthan governor Kalyan Singh recently created a huge flutter by demanding that the national anthem's wordings "Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka Jaya He" be replaced by "Jana Gana Mana Mangala Jaya He", because Adhinayaka stands for King George V. Well-known commentator Kanchan Gupta traces the origin of Jana Gana Mana to refute the argument*:
What is now the National Anthem of the Republic of India is the first stanza of a five-stanza Brahmo Sangeet or psalm.
It was composed by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore on December 11, 1911, in adulation of Param Brahma -- He who is the True, the Good, the Infinite; the Eternal Lord of the Universe; the Omniscient, the Omnipresent, the Omnipotent; the Formless, Changeless, Selfcontained and Perfect Almighty.
For the Brahmo Samaj, whose members adhere to Adhi Dharma, anchored in the dazzling enlightenment of the Upanishads, Param Brahma is the only Ishwar, the One Supreme Spirit, the Author and Preserver of our existence, the Eternal Light that guides us when darkness descends, the Lighthouse that guides us through the stormy sea of life. He presides over the destiny of our wondrous universe, hence also the destiny of Bharat.
This brief background is necessary to understand the context of the song composed by Tagore, its spirit and its lofty ideals. In veneration of Him, the splendours of Bharat are celebrated. The message transcends region and border; it unites us in a universal psalm in praise of He who bestows us with life and everything that is Righteous, Virtuous and Illuminating in life. The indiminishable principles of Equality, Fraternity and Justice, the three pillars on which the majestic Republic of India stands today, flow from the core of the song composed by Tagore.
The first time 'Jana Gana Mana' was sung before an audience was in Calcutta on December 28, 1911, during the 27th session of the Indian National Congress which had a tradition of beginning its proceedings with a song. (Tagore sang Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's 'Vande Mataram' at the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress.) Subsequently, 'Jana Gana Mana' became one of the anthems of the freedom movement, the other being 'Vande Mataram' which was both a soul-stirring call and song.
Next year 'Jana Gana Mana' was sung during Maghotsab. There are records which tell us it was the opening hymn at the Foundation Day of Adi Brahma Samaj of which Tagore was the mentor and guiding spirit. Such was the response to the song that it was formally included in the list of Brahmo Sangeet sung as part of Brahmo liturgy.
In 1919 Tagore went on a tour of the southern provinces of Bharat. He spent some days at Theosophical College in Madanapalle as a guest of its principal James Cousins. Tagore sung 'Jana Gana Mana' at the college Assembly and explained its philosophical meaning to the students and teachers. An ecstatic Cousins adopted it as the college prayer.
Tagore knew the limitations of a liturgical psalm composed in Classical Sanskitised Bengali in a land as linguistically diverse as Bharat. He spent the next few days translating 'Jana Gana Mana' and writing down the notations of its tune, a task in which he was helped by Margaret, wife of James Cousins, trained in Western classical music. He called the translated version in English 'The Morning Song Of India'.
Tagore's translation of Jana Gana Mana
After Bharat's independence when a National Anthem had to be chosen for the Republic of India, the choice was between Tagore's 'Jana Gana Mana' and Bankim's 'Vande Mataram', both of which had by then become symbols of the freedom movement, inextricably woven into the soaring spirit of Bharat.
What weighed in favour of 'Jana Gana Mana' is that it had already been set to a martial tune by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose who had used a Hindustani version of Tagore's song, 'Subh Sukh Chain' as the Anthem of his Provisional Government and INA. On august 15, 1947, when Jawaharlal Nehru unfurled the Tricolour on the ramparts of the Red Fort, Capt Ram Singh Thakur and his orchestra played 'Subh Sukh Chain' to the INA's tune.
'Vande Mataram', on the other hand, was, and continues to be sung, as a hymn to the Motherland. Setting it to a martial tune would rob it off its spirit and denude its soul.
On January 24, 1950, President Babu Rajendra Prasad made the following statement in the Constituent Assembly:
"There is one matter which has been pending for discussion, namely the question of the National Anthem. At one time it was thought that the matter might be brought up before the House and a decision taken by the House by way of a resolution. But it has been felt that, instead of taking a formal decision by means of a resolution, it is better if I make a statement with regard to the National Anthem. Accordingly I make this statement. The composition consisting of the words and music known as Jana Gana Mana is the National Anthem of India, subject to such alterations in the words as the Government may authorise as occasion arises; and the song Vande Mataram, which has played a historic part in the struggle for Indian freedom, shall be honoured equally with Jana Gana Mana and shall have equal status with it."
Thus did Tagore's 'Jana Gana Mana' become the National Anthem and Bankim's 'Vande Mataram' the National Song of the Republic of India.
***
Apart from some minor elaboration of the guiding faith of Brahmos to make the language more contemporary and comprehensible, all of this is based on published material available in the public domain. I have merely put it together to present a comprehensive and brief comment.
I wish stalwarts of Bharat's politics and commentariat, the intelligentsia and the naive who are easily persuaded by bunk like 'Jana Gana Mana was composed in veneration of King George V', would care to check facts before parroting bogus allegations. Google Guru is always there to teach them in a few minutes what should have been a lifetime lesson taught in schools.
Unfortunately, when children are taught to venerate the Nehru Dynasty and worship dynasts as the custodians of Bharat's destiny, it is not surprising that little or no popular knowledge exists of all that is sacred, among them the National Anthem and National Song of the glorious Republic of India.
---
*Excerpts. Courtesy: https://www.facebook.com/Coffee.Break

Comments

TRENDING

Savarkar 'criminally betrayed' Netaji and his INA by siding with the British rulers

By Shamsul Islam* RSS-BJP rulers of India have been trying to show off as great fans of Netaji. But Indians must know what role ideological parents of today's RSS/BJP played against Netaji and Indian National Army (INA). The Hindu Mahasabha and RSS which always had prominent lawyers on their rolls made no attempt to defend the INA accused at Red Fort trials.

Delhi HC rules in favour of retired Air Force officer 'overcharged' for Covid treatment

By Rosamma Thomas*  In a decision of May 22, 2023, the Delhi High Court ruled in favour of petitioner Group Captain Suresh Khanna who was under treatment at CK Birla Hospital, Gurugram, between April 28 and May 5, 2021, for a period of eight days, for Covid-19 pneumonia. The petitioner had to pay Rs 3,55,286 as treatment costs, but the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) only reimbursed him for Rs 1,83,748, on the basis of government-approved rates. 

'Enough evidence' in Indian tradition to support legal basis for same-sex marriage

By Iyce Malhotra, Joseph Mathai, Sandeep Chachra*  The ongoing hearing in the Supreme Court on same-sex marriage provides space for much-needed conversations on issues that have hitherto remained “invisible” or engaged with patriarchal locker room humour. We must recognize that people with diverse sexualities and complex gender identities have faced discrimination, stigma and decades of oppression. Their issues have mainly remained buried in dominant social discourse, and many view them with deep insecurities.

Religious divide 'kept alive' with low intensity communalism in Gujarat's cultural capital

By Rajiv Shah  A fact-finding report, prepared by the Mumbai-based non-profit, Centre for Study of Society and Secularism (CSSS), has cited the Vadodara Ram Navami violence of March 30 as yet another example of how, after the BJP consolidating its hold on political power in Gujarat post-2002 riots and at the Centre in 2014, the nature of communal riots has changed, underlining, as opposed to high-intensity violence earlier, now riots have become “more sub-radar and at a smaller scale, more localized”.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Caste, impact on Ayodhya area 'halting' BJP rulers to act against Brij Bhushan Singh

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  Finally, the #WrestlersProtest has got international attention. The United World Wrestling (UWW),  condemning the treatment and detention of wrestlers and expressing its disappointment over the lack of results of the investigations against Brij Bhushan Singh, accused of sexually harassing women wrestlers, has urged the "relevant authorities to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation."

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam*  The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)

76% Odisha govt school infrastructure in dilapidated state, 'undermine' RTE norms

By Our Representative  As many as 75.86% (5,421) elementary schools in Odisha do not possess a playground, depriving students of physical activity opportunities. Also, 75.68% (5,408) of schools require minor or major repairing, undermining the norms and standards stipulated in the Right to Education (RTE) Act.

Can India's water management infrastructure address gender vulnerability issues?

By Monami Bhattacharya, Megha Gupta, Mansee Bal Bhargava*  The climatic pattern of the earth is evolving and changing for a very long time, but in the recent times spanning this century, the change has been drastic which has raised serious concerns to all. Climate criss is also clearly manifested as gender crisis where women are more vulnerable besides being more voiceless to raise the issue. India is marked as a highly climate-vulnerable nation. In addition, the gender disparity in the patriarchal society seems deeply and naturally ingrained among all.