Tagore wrote Indian national anthem to please the British. Was 'Jana Gana Mana' written by Gurudev in praise of British King George Vth

[Drizzt]

There is a controversy as to whether the Indian national anthem "Jana Gana Mana" was written by Rabindra Nath Tagore in praise of God, or as sycophancy in praise of the British King George the fifth.
In my opinion the evidence is strongly in favour of the second view.
To explain, let me first quote the Engish translation of the song:

• "Victory to thee,
• O ruler of the minds of the people,
• O Dispenser of India's destiny.
• Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sindh,Gujarat and Maratha,Of the Dravida, Odisha and Bengal;
• It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas,
• mingles in the music of Yamuna and Ganges and ischanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.
• We get up with your blessed name on our lips,
• We pray for your auspicious blessings,
• Thou dispenser of India's destiny.
• Victory, victory, victory to thee."

Now a few things must be noted about this song:
1.The song was composed at precisely the time of the visit of the British King George the fifth and Queen Mary in December, 1911.
2.The poem does not indicate any love for the motherland.
3. The "Adhinayak" (Lord or Ruler) is being hailed. Who was the ruler of India in 1911? It was the British, headed by their King-Emperor.
4. Who was the "Bharat Bhagya Vidhata" (dispenser of India's destiny) at that time ? It was none but the British, since they were ruling India in 1911.
5.The song was sung for the first time in India on the second day of the Calcutta Conference of the Congress party in December 1911. This conference was held specially to give a loyal welcome to King George the fifth, and to thank him for annulling the Partition of Bengal in 1905.
6. The agenda of the second day of the Calcutta Conference, in which the song was sung, was specially reserved for giving a loyal welcome to George the fifth, and a resolution was adopted unanimously that day welcoming and expressing loyalty to the emperor and empress.
7. It was only as late as in 1937, when he wanted to show himself as a patriot, that Tagore denied that he had written the song to honour the British king. The above facts almost conclusively prove that "Jana Gana Mana" was composed and sung as an act of sycophancy to the British king.
And we have proudly adopted this song as our national anthem?

https://www.dailyo.in/politics/mark...raj-jana-gana-mana-congress/story/1/3270.html

 

[El Sidd]

• India's destiny.
• Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sindh

The Nazi ideology masked by unnatural unions creed is endangering World and Regional peace.

 

[Drizzt]

To see what was the situation in 1911. Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria had formed the Quadruple Alliance, which lead to World War 1 in 1914. British King visited India in 1911 to gain support for the war effort.

Coronation ceremony was held, many rulers and eminent personalities of subcontinent(loyal to the British) participated in this ceremony. Below is a picture of Nawab of Hyderabad(Deccan) paying homage to the British King(He had aided British king Anglo-Mysore war, which resulted in the death of Tipu Sultan, the first freedom fighter of Indian sub-continent)

Now, how would British or anyone in that time would perceive this song.

Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people,
Dispenser of India's destiny.
The name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sind, Gujarat and Maratha,
Of the Dravid and Orissa and Bengal;
It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas,
Mingles in the music of the Yamuna and Ganga
And is chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.
They pray for thy blessings and sing thy praise.
The salvation of all people is in thy hand,
Thou dispenser of India's destiny.
Victory, victory, victory to thee.

"The Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore sang a song composed by him specially to welcome the Emperor." (Statesman, Dec. 28, 1911)

“The proceedings began with the singing by Rabindranath Tagore of a song specially composed by him in honour of the Emperor." (Englishman, Dec. 28, 1911)

"When the proceedings of the Indian National Congress began on Wednesday 27th December 1911, a Bengali song in welcome of the Emperor was sung. A resolution welcoming the Emperor and Empress was also adopted unanimously." (Indian, Dec. 29, 1911)

Tagore goes on to win Noble prize in Literature in 1913(British backing), get knighthood in 1915.

 

[masterchief_mirza]

poem does not indicate any love for the motherland.

I never realised that. Seems right though.

 

[INS_Vikrant]

Even though I don't understand bengali but can definitely say this was not the case as it was selected as National Anthem by none other than subhash chandra bose when he was formed Indian government in exile in Berlin in the heart of Britain's main enemy Nazi Germany, while trying to secure support of Axis powers for Indian Independence from Britain. It was first broadcasted as National Anthem of India by Hamburg Radio in Germany.

 

[RAMPAGE]

It is good to put aside politics at times and enjoy works of art for their own sake. The poetry and sentiment are beautiful here. One only wishes the people of this land shared the nobility of the poem.

 

[Baibars_1260]

It is good to put aside politics at times and enjoy works of art for their own sake. The poetry and sentiment are beautiful here. One only wishes the people of this land shared the nobility of the poem.

Very much so
The words Bharat Bhagya Vidhata refer to King George when he visited India during the Imperial Durbar in 1911.

 

[Baibars_1260]

Subhash Bose had a different National Anthem for his Azad Hind Fauj
which he called "Qaumi Tarana". This was in simple Hindi instead of Bengali. The lyrics were written by Captain Mumtaz Hussain and Colonel Abid Hassan Saffrani. The music was by Captain Ram Singh Thakur.

Subhas Bose wanted an all inclusive song and he had not foreseen partition.
Both Tagore's version Jana Gana Mana , and the Azad Hind Fauj anthem "Sab Sukh Chain"
mention all regions of India except Baluchistan and KPK ( then NWFP ).

This was the anthem sung on August 15, 1947.
The version below is sung by an obscure Bombay choir group ( don't know which).

 

[Baibars_1260]

Even though I don't understand bengali but can definitely say this was not the case as it was selected as National Anthem by none other than subhash chandra bose when he was formed Indian government in exile in Berlin in the heart of Britain's main enemy Nazi Germany, while trying to secure support of Axis powers for Indian Independence from Britain. It was first broadcasted as National Anthem of India by Hamburg Radio in Germany.

Will differ with you here.
Bose's Sab Sukh Chain and Tagore's Jana Gana Mana are two different anthems. Jana Gana Mana borrowed the tune from Sab Sukh Chain .