Just a thought for the National Anthem! How well do uknow about it?
I have always wondered who is the "adhinayak" and "bharat bhagya vidhata",
whose praise we are singing?
I thought may be God!
Our current NationalAnthem "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 honor of King George V and the
Queen of England when they visited India in 1919.
To honor their visit Pundit 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 recognized which are integral parts of
India now - Kashmir, Rajasthan, Andhra, Mysore or Kerala.
Neither the Indian ocean nor the Arabian Sea were 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 which glorify the King:
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 travelers 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).
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.
What a shame on us!!!
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! Vande Mataram should be our
National Anthem. Forward and spread
this truth to as many as people you can.
