Myth: Jana Gana Mana was composed as national anthem.
Most people believe this. Many others, who have gone through the recent and earlier controversies and court cases, believe that Rabindranath Tagore composed the poem to be sung at King George V's coronation durbar in Delhi. Both are wrong.
Indeed King George V, soon after his coronation in England visited India accompanied by Queen Mary. Viceroy Hardinge organised a durbar, not in Calcutta which was British India's capital, but in the old Mughal capital of Delhi. Earlier in 1877 Lord Lytton had held a durbar in Delhi following the proclamation of Queen Victoria as Empress of India. On the coronation of Edward VII, Lord Curzon had also held a durbar in Delhi in 1903. On both the occasions, the emperor or empress was represented by the viceroy at the durbar. IN 1911, the emperor was visiting India for the first time.
At the durbar, George was to make two major proclamations which were kept secret till the actual proclamation was made. One, to annul Viceroy Curzon's controversial partition of Bengal. Two to shift British India's capital to Delhi.
The Congress then decided to hold its 28th annual AICC session in Calcutta concurrent to the coronation durbar in Delhi. That was not an act of rebellion (the Congress was still seeking only better representation in the empire and its institutions of governance), but one of loyalty. The session would begin on December 26 and they wanted to devote the second day to speeches welcoming the king-emperor to India. They wanted an appropriate song for this.
Congress leaders requested Rabindranath Tagore. Indeed, Tagore was a loyal subject of the empire, but found that the king-emperor was not inspiring him. One morning he got up, thought about the Almighty and wrote the lines of Jana Gana Mana. Immensely pleased with himself he went downstairs and told one of his disciples: "Here is a poem which I have written. It is addressed to God, but give it to Congress people. It will please them. They will think it is addressed to the King."
This was revealed by Tagore's friend and poet W.B. Yeats in a letter to one Lady Gregory in America. Yeats was told about this by the disciple himself.
The song was sung at the Congress session in Calcutta, and not at the coronation durbar in Delhi. The Congress session concluded with singing of R.D. Choudhary's song Badshah Hamara. The next day's newspapers covered the AICC session and reported that Tagore's poem specially composed in honour of the emperor was sung there.
Later in 1919, Tagore set the song to music an English version of the song during a visit to Besant Theosophical College, then run by Irish poet James H. cousins, in Madanapalle in present Andhra Pradesh. He was helped in this by Cousin's wife Margaret. This notation is still being followed.
There was also the fact that 1905-1920 was the radical phase of Tagore. The spirit of rebellion had broken out in Bengal following the partition and the poet too was caught between loyalty and rebellion. Indeed, the colonialists did try to co-opt him. Though he received the Nobel in 1913 and was Knighted soon afterwards, Tagore of 1911 was not a pliant poet. After the Jallianwalabagh massacre of 1919, he returned his knighthood. Critic SK Dasgupta in a controversial article in Mainstream has also debunked the doubts over the national anthem.
Even after the Congress started demanding swarajya and independence, the song continued to be sung at AICC sessions along with Vande Mataram. While the British objected to Vande Mataram as seditious, they did not mind Jana Gana Mana which was even sung in schools. On January 24, 1950, Jana Gana Mana was officially adopted by the Constituent Assembly as the Indian national anthem.
Interestingly, Tagore can claim to the author of the national anthems of two countries. His earlier poem Amar Shonar Bangla was later adopted by Bangladesh as its national anthem.
(ends)(COURTESY TO 'THE WEEK'', 2009 ANNUAL ISSUE)
Just read it is important
'Jana Gana Mana'
- Just a thought for the National Anthem! How well do you know it?
Our national anthem, 'Jana Gana Mana', is sung throughout the country. Did you know the following about it?
I didn't. I have always wondered who is the 'Adhinayak'and 'Bharat Bhagya Vidhata', whose praise we are singing. I have always thought it mightbe Motherland India!
To begin with,Jana Gana Mana, was written byRabindranath Tagore inhonorofKing George Vand theQueen of Englandwhen they visited India in 1919. To honour theirvisit,Pandit Motilal Nehruhad five stanzas included that are inpraise of the King and Queen. (And most of us think it is in praise of our great motherland.)
In the original Bengali verses only those provinces that were underBritish rule, i.e., Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat, Maratha, were mentioned. None of the princely states, which are integral parts of India now, such as Kashmir, Rajasthan, Andhra, Mysore and Kerala, were recognized.
Neither the Indian Ocean nor the Arabian Sea were included because they were directly under Portuguese rule at that time.
Jana Gana Mana implies that King George V is the lord of the masses and Bharata Bhagya Vidhata, or 'the bestower of good fortune'.
Here is a translation of the five stanzas that glorify the King.
Stanza 1:
The (Indian)people wake up remembering your good name and ask for yourblessings and they sing your glories (Tava shubha name jaage; tava shubha aashish maage, gaaye tava jaya gaatha)
Stanza 2:Around your throne, people of all religions comeand give their love and anxiously wait to hear your kindwords.
Stanza 3:Praise to the King for being the charioteer, forleading theancient travellers beyond misery.
Stanza 4:Drowned in deep ignorance and suffering, this poverty stricken, unconscious country? Waiting for the wink of your eye and our mother's (the Queen's) true protection.
Stanza 5:In your compassionate plans, the sleeping Bharat (India) will wake up. We bow down to your feet, O Queen, andglory to Rajeshwara (the King).
This whole poem does not indicate any love for theMotherland, but depicts a bleak picture of it. When you sing Jana Gana Mana, whom are you glorifying? Certainly, not the Motherland. Is it God? The poem does not indicate that. It is time now to understand the originalpurpose and the implication of this, rather than blindly sing as has beendone the past 60 years.
Maybe we should shift to Vande Mataram or Saare Jahan Se Achcha, which are far better compositions in praise of India.
Please don't break the chain -- let's see how many people get to knowabout this.
BE PROUD TO BE INDIAN.
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