Facts about "Jana Gana Mana" - Just a thought for the National Anthem! How
well do you know about it?

I have always wondered who is the "adhinayak" and "bharat bhagya vidhata",
whose praise we are singing. I thought might be Motherland India! Our
current National Anthem "Jana Gana Mana" is sung throughout the country.

Did you know the following about our national anthem, I didn't.

To begin with, India's national anthem, Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka, was
written by Rabindranath Tagore in honour of King George V and the Queen of
England when they visited India in 1919.

To honour their visit Pandit Motilal Nehru had the five stanzas included,
which are in praise of the King and Queen. (And most of us think it is in
the praise of our great motherland!!!)

In the original Bengali verses only those provinces that were under British
rule, i.e. Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat, Maratha etc. were mentioned. None of the
princely states were recognised which are integral parts of India now
Kashmir, Rajasthan, Andhra, Mysore or Kerala. Neither the Indian Ocean nor
the Arabian Sea was included, since they were directly under Portuguese
rule at that time.

The Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka implies that King George V is the lord of the
masses and Bharata Bhagya Vidhata is "the bestower of good fortune".

Following is a translation of the five stanzas that glorify the King:

First stanza: (Indian) People wake up remembering your good name and ask
for your blessings and they sing your glories. (Tava shubha naame jaage;
tava shubha aashish maage, gaaye tava jaya gaatha)

Second stanza: Around your throne people of all religions come and give
their love and anxiously wait to hear your kind words.

Third stanza: Praise to the King for being the charioteer, for leading the
ancient travellers beyond misery.

Fourth stanza: Drowned in the deep ignorance and suffering,
poverty-stricken, unconscious country? Waiting for the wink of your eye and
your mother's (the Queen's) true protection.

Fifth stanza: In your compassionate plans, the sleeping Bharat (India) will
wake up. We bow down to your feet O' Queen, and glory to Rajeshwara (the
King).

This whole poem does not indicate any love for the Motherland but depicts a
bleak picture. When you sing Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka, whom are you
glorifying? Certainly not the Motherland. Is it God? The poem does not
indicate that.

It is time now to understand the original purpose and the implication of
this, rather than blindly sing as has been done the past fifty years.

Nehru chose the present national anthem as opposed to Vande Mataram because
he thought that it would be easier for the band to play!!! It was an absurd
reason but Today for that matter bands have advanced and they can very well
play any music. So they can as well play Vande Mataram, which is a far
better composition in praise of our dear Motherland India.

Wake up, it's high time! Shouldn't Vande Mataram be our National Anthem?