I was going through facebook and found a fan page with 441 fans, even my sites yellgame.com or bharatbuy.com doesn’t have that many fans (combined) :) . The topic was – Vande Mataram as National Anthem of India Topic stated – India’s national anthem, Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka, was written by Rabindranath Tagore in honor of King George V and the Queen of England when they visited India in 1919. To honor their visit Pandit Motilal Nehru had the five stanzas included. On the quest to find more, this is what i found out which supported the argument. 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 recognized 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. This is what those five stanzas mean that praises the king and the queen – 1st stanza – (Indian) People wake up remembering your good name and ask for your blessings and they sing your glories. 2nd stanza – around your throne people of all religions come and give their love and anxiously wait to hear your kind words. 3rd stanza – Praise to the King for being the charioteer, for leading the ancient travellers beyond misery. 4th 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. 5th 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). BUT THE TRUTH IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT The origin of this controvery gained ground when few newspapers of those time reported that the poem has been written in honour of the visiting monarch i.e King George V. The newspaper reports cited above were misguided, the confusion arising since a different song, written in Hindi by Rambhuj Chaudhary, was sung on the same occasion in praise of the monarch. To defend this controversy Tagore himself wrote: “A certain high official in His Majesty’s service, who was also my friend, had requested that I write a song of felicitation towards the Emperor. The request simply amazed me. It caused a great stir in my heart. In response to that great mental turmoil, I pronounced the victory in Jana Gana Mana of that Bhagya Vidhata [ed. God of Destiny] of India who has from age after age held steadfast the reins of India’s chariot through rise and fall, through the straight path and the curved. That Lord of Destiny, that Reader of the Collective Mind of India, that Perennial Guide, could never be George V, George VI, or any other George. Even my official friend understood this about the song. After all, even if his admiration for the crown was excessive, he was not lacking in simple common sense.” The English Translation of JANA GANA MANA Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people, Dispenser of India’s destiny. Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sind, Gujarat and Maratha, Of the Dravida and Orissa and Bengal; It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas, mingles in the music of Jamuna and Ganges and is chanted by the waves of the Indian Ocean. They pray for thy blessings and sing thy praise. The saving of all people waits in thy hand, Thou dispenser of India’s destiny. Victory, victory, victory to thee. So next time when we stand in movie theather before the movie starts and hear JANA GANA MANA, let us truely understand the real meaning of our national anthem and be proud of it. JAI HIND. Written By: Navin Budhwani Azing online enterprises www.bharatbuy.com www.yellgame.com www.rhinosearch.com

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