In recent weeks, I have been bombarded with emails regarding Indian national anthem from various email groups that I am member of. While traditionally the controversy has always owed its origins to Hindu nationalist forces that prefer Chaterjee’s Vande Matram over Tagore’s Jana Gana Mana, the recent resurgence of pride in India and Indian culture has bolstered the rank of another constituency that attacks Tagore’s composition. This constituency believes that the anthem was actually composed in the honor of King George V of United Kingdom when he visited India in 1911 and therefore it’s a relic of colonial period that needs to go to erase signs of continued psychological subservience to the “west”.
First, let’s consider whether there is any evidence that Jana Gana Mana was actually written in praise of British crown. Next, we will examine the suitability of Vande Matram for the national anthem. The press reports at the time seem to corroborate the claim. For example, Statesman on December 28, 1911 and the Indian a day later reported that Tagore sang a song on the occasion specially composed by him in honor of the emperor. There are however other version of the story that have floating around. One such version claims that Tagore wrote a song in praise of God, but he let the Congress party use it as it thought fit, and the Congress used it to welcome the emperor.
However, what did Tagore himself to have to say about the controversy? He was incensed at this suggestion. He wrote to his friend P.B. Sen that "I was approached by some official and 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 God of Destiny 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."
If this categorical rejection by the author doesn’t lay the controversy to rest, then the controversy surrounding Vande Matram, which for a time was a front-runner to be the national anthem, should. It lost out to Tagore’s composition only because it had strong religious undertones. The song equates India with Goddess Durga, a popular Hindu deity. Here, I quote Tagore once more. In his letter to Subhash Bose, he wrote that “The core of Vande Mataram is a hymn to Durga; this is so plain that there can be no debate about it…. No Muslim can be expected patriotically to worship the ten-handed deity as Swadesh (Mother land).” This criticism remains valid to this day. India has the second highest Muslim population in the world and people of all religions in the world inhabit it. National anthem is a rallying cry to unite all people behind it. By adopting a particularistic anthem, India would be rejecting one of the basic tenets of its constitution. Therefore, can Vande Matram replace Jana Gana Mana as national anthem? Absolutely not!
This doesn’t, however, mean that Jana Gana Mana automatically gets a perennial extension. After all, life offers more choices than just one. It has to be understood, though, that there are more legitimate reasons for replacing or modifying the national anthem than the irresolvable controversy of whose praise it was initially composed in. One such reason is that the song includes only those states that were part of union during British India and excludes then nominally independent princely states like Kashmir, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala, which are an integral part of the union now.
In conclusion, change the anthem if you must, but don’t look back. Look forward and engage creative writers to compose more appropriate anthem for this day and age. Be proud to be Indian, but without making half of them feel excluded!
Source: www.isnare.com