Was the Indian National Anthem written to

praise British emperor?

Introduction:

There is controversy everywhere in India, somewhere somebody is

always offended about either what has been said or written. The
Indian national anthem is no exception to that. Recently, the most
debated of all matters is nationalism and guess who got dragged into
the controversy? Rabindranath Tagore’s compilations including the
first five stanzas of the national anthem.

Ministers seems to have lost the whole cause of their position and
instead of focusing on what needs to be done in order to take India to
new heights, they are digging history and making issues out of things
that is really none of their business.

The stanza, ‘Jana gana mana adhinayaka jaya he’ is being asked to
be replaced by ‘Jana gana mana mangala jaya he.’ Another political
group has a problem with the word ‘Sindh’ on grounds that it is no
longer a state in India. After standing to honour the hymn every time it
plays for the entire life, now we would be told to no longer stand up to
Jana gana mana if and when it ceases to be the national anthem or
gets replaced.

Yes:

1. History: Jana gana mana was written by Rabindranath Tagore in

the year 1911. Coincidently, or maybe purposely it was also the year
when King George V and the Queen of England visited India. It is
being said that Pandit Motilal Nehru wanted the five stanzas included
in order to honor them. The destiny of India was apparently in their
hands and as rulers, they were the ‘bhagya vidhata’ or the bringers of
good fortune for the country back then.

2. Partial inclusion of states: It is worth a mention that the original

Bengali version of the national anthem talks of only those provinces
that were under the British rule in those days. Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat,
Maratha were only mentioned as the destiny of those provinces were
in the hands of British emperor. The princely states that are now
integral part of India, like Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, and
Kerala were not mentioned. This makes it even more skeptical that
the stanzas were actually dedicated to the Emperor and not our
motherland.

3. What happened to our oceans? The Indian Ocean and the

Arabian Sea are not mentioned in the lines because they were
directly under Portuguese rule those days. Emperor George is
praised throughout the poem as being the master of our countrymen
and on whom the destiny of our land depended.

4. Translation as some claim it to be: The direct translation of the

five stanzas are clearly glorifying the Emperor’s rule.

Stanza 1: The people of India wake up remembering your good

name (Emperor’s) and ask for your blessing while singing hymns of
your glory.

Stanza 2: Around your throne, people of all religion come and give
their love and anxiously wait to hear your kind words.

Stanza 3: Praise to the King for being the charioteer, for leading the
ancient travelers beyond misery.

Stanza 4: Drowned in deep ignorance and suffering, this poverty

stricken, unconscious country. Waiting for the wink of your eyes and
our mother’s (the Queen’s) true protection.

Stanza 5: In your compassionate plans, the sleeping India will wake
up. We bow down to your feet, O Queen, and glory of to the King.

5. Grief stricken picture: Not only does the anthem sings praise of

the Emperor and the Queen but also paints a sad, poverty stricken
picture of our country. It gives a hint that we were underdeveloped
and backwards, looking upon the colonial rule for bringing us
development and inventions that could make us a better nation.
Bowing at the feet of the ruler, we are still singing the plea of mercy
from those who ruled us and made us slaves for an entire century.

No:

1. Just various interpretations: How is anyone supposed to know

the true meaning of the stanzas that were written more than a 100
years ago? A poem when interpreted after the death of the poet
usually gets various interpretations from people who read and deduce
the poem from their own point of view. The interpretation with the
context of praising the emperor is just one of them. There are other
interpretations like the one that refers to praising God for good fortune
in India and yet another one that talks about praises for the
motherland.

2. Yet more historical facts: Tagore is said to have written the first

draft of Jana gana mana in Bengali in the year 1908. That was far
before the King and Queen planned their visit to India. It was sung at
an assembly of Indian National Congress on 27 December 1911
while King George visited India on 30 Decemeber 1911.

3. States: The states that are mentioned in the stanzas are the ones
that defined the borders of India back then. Sindh constituted the
borders those days and those states were inside the lines. Those
arguing about Tamil and Andhra not being included are totally
ignoring the word ‘Dravida’ which implies the whole of Southern
region. States like Andhra and Tamil were not formally recognized
back then.

4. Situation back then: The poverty stricken picture that is painted in

the stanzas is only depicting the situation that prevailed back then.
Famine stricken nation with hopelessness was the scenario those
days clearly.

Conclusion:
When we hear the national anthem and stand to attention, it is not
because we are moved by the meaning of each word but the
symbolic significance that it holds for us. It stirs a feeling of unity. It
stings our patriotism and the feeling of being together despite being
different from each other.

Since Rabindra Nath Tagore is no longer alive, we know different

interpretations will be there unconfirmed of its subject but fighting
after some words without any confirmation is a sad thing to do.