Jan gana mana V/s Vande Mataram??

[RuchiraMalhotra]

"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 recognized which are integral parts of India now
Kashmir, Rajasthan, Andhra, Mysore or Kerala. Neither the Indian Ocean nor the ArabianSea 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 travelers 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 it was written by hindu fundamentalist VIR SAVARKAR & he thought that it would not 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.

What do u guys think of this issue?????

[Manish Salian]

Hi Ruchira,

This is a amazing piece of information! Thanks for enlightening us on this issue...

Actually, the so called 'guardians of our country' may even not know about all these! They raise an issue to simply score points over the other!

The recent 'Vande Mataram' controversy is an excellent example of the same.. The BJP netas who wanted to make the rendition of this national song compulsary, did not know the song themselves (CNN-IBN survery)...don't you think this is a shame?

Regards,

Manish sir

[KumarJasapara]

Good Evening Sir,

I agree with you Sir.

I think it's just that the politicians (some of them at least) have a lot of free time to spend, they do not have regular activities, so just to kill time they do such stunts which definitely cause problems to anyone but them.

You can't put words into others mouth, it had to an optional concern, with the singing of "Vande Mataram" not being ordered, but being requested. Such feelings for our Motherland should b from within one's soul rather than being 'forced' into. (Personal Opinion).

Another imfamous 'stunt' that I recollect in the recent past was the 'bandh' that the Shiv-Sainiks enforced during the so-called defamation of the statue of Meenatai. It was not ethical of the miscreants who desecrated the statue, but enforcing a bandh was certainly not the correct way to show their 'feelings'.

Ruchira, that was an awesome piece of information, I would like to know the source from where you got this info.

Jai Hind.

Kumar.:cool:

[RuchiraMalhotra]

hey kumar,

I got this through an e mail and an article on the web..
Hope u like it,

Ruchira

[PareenLathia]

Jana Gana Mana was for the British

This is the song that makes tax evaders stand erect in easy patriotism, and in Mumbai’s theatres make self-righteous imbeciles prod others who are sitting. Yet, for long, the song’s status as a national anthem has been questioned. It is alleged that he wrote it in praise of King George V and Queen Mary when the couple visited India in 1911. Tagore called the charges against him, “unbounded stupidity”.
It is true that he was approached to write the tribute. He himself says that in a letter dated November 20, 1937, currently with Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, history professor at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University. Tagore says that the request was made by an influential person. “His request amazed me and the amazement was mingled with anger. It was under the stress of this violent reaction that I proclaimed in the Jana Gana Mana song, the victory of the dispenser (the spirit) of India’s destiny”.
This song that he wrote in protest was given to the Indian National Congress. On the second day of the 28th Session of the Congress in 1911, it was rendered. The minutes of the Session would call it, “a patriotic song”.
Historians dismiss the allegations against Tagore as a murmur of saffron types who have been frothing in the mouth ever since Nehru chose Jana Gana Mana over Vande Mataram for the anthem.

It brings to light that there are hundreds of e-mails containing information in which youngsters easily believe without checking neither their validity nor their origin.
For other Indian Myths, go to
http://www.geocities.com/luvparin/greatindianmyths.doc