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Why Kalyan Singh is right to criticise India's national anthem

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Kumar Shakti Shekhar
Kumar Shakti ShekharJul 08, 2015 | 18:33

Why Kalyan Singh is right to criticise India's national anthem

When Rajasthan governor Kalyan Singh said on July 7 that the word "adhinayak" in the national anthem should be replaced with "mangal" as it praises "Angreji Shashak" (English rulers) of pre-Independence period, it was not the first time that our "Jana Gana Mana" had come under controversy. In fact, it first courted controversy on the day it was sung by Rabindranath Tagore for the very first time on December 27, 1911 at the Calcutta session of the Congress.

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The Congress was then dominated by the moderates. They decided to felicitate King George V and Queen Mary, who visited Calcutta on December 30, for annulling the partition of Bengal. Tagore was requested to write a song for the session specially convened to felicitate the royal couple. While Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya's "Vande Mataram" from Anand Matth was sung on the first day of the session, Tagore sang "Jana Gana Mana" on the second day. A resolution was also passed declaring loyalty to King George.

The Anglo-Indian English media widely reported that "Jana Gana Mana" was a tribute to the king. The controversy kept erupting intermittently. Tagore, too, in a letter written about 26 years after the Calcutta session, explained the reason behind composing the song. He said it was written in distress after an official in the king's service, who was also his friend, requested him to write a poem in George's felicitation.

It was only in 1939 that Tagore, Asia's first Nobel prize winner for literature, rejected the charge that he had written "Jana Gana Mana" to praise King George. "I should only insult myself if I cared to answer those who consider me capable of such unbounded stupidity," he wrote, adding that the song praised the "lord of destiny" and not the king.

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Till "Jana Gana Mana" was almost officially declared as the national anthem, "Vande Mataram" was accorded primacy over the former. It was always sung in the Constituency Assembly. There was always a debate too in the Constituent Assembly over "Jana Gana Mana" versus "Vande Mataram".

"Vande Mataram" lost to "Jana Gana Mana" primarily because of the opposition from Muslims because it invoked bowing to "Motherland" or "Bharat Mata". "Vande Mataram" is opposed even now by the Muslims on the ground that Islam teaches bowing to none except Allah.

The issue was settled just two days before the first Republic Day, when first President Rajendra Prasad announced adoption of "Jana Gana Mana" as the national anthem. But he added that "Vande Mataram" would be accorded the same place.

In the Constituent Assembly meeting held on January 24, 1950, Prasad said, "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.

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"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. I hope this will satisfy the members," he concluded amidst applause.

Curiously, even "Jana Gana Mana" invokes "Maata" (mother) but it finds mention in the fourth stanza. Except for the first stanza, none of the other four stanzas are sung as national anthem. It is still a matter of contention whether Tagore referred to "Bharat Maata" or goddess or Queen Mary when he wrote "Maata".

Controversy has dogged "Jana Gana Mana" on other issues like inclusion or exclusion of regions. There have been petitions in courts to include regions like Kashmir and the Northeast in the national anthem. It is criticised for having left out these regions. Tagore is said to have included only British-ruled regions of India in his song.

While the Northeast was not under the British domination, Sindh in Pakistan finds mention because it was under their rule. Voices have been raised to drop Sindh as it no more is in India. For the moment, the matter has been settled by courts which have said Sindh ought to be taken not as a region but as a language and the community which speaks it lives in India.

Rajasthan governor may have stirred a hornet's nest by questioning the word "adhinayak" in the "Jana Gana Mana Adhinayak Jai ho..." because it praises "angreji shashak" (British rulers), but he is certainly not off the mark by demanding that it should be amended and replaced by word "Jana Gana Mana Mangal Gaaye".

Last updated: July 10, 2015 | 16:29
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