On Republic Day, recalling the voyage of India’s National Anthem (2024)

From Calcutta in 1911 to Madanapalle, Andhra Pradesh in 1919, to Hamburg, Germany in 1942, then, across the Arabian Sea in 1943 and finally, to New Delhi in 1950: India's National Anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana' has had thrilling journeys.

With a cast of iconic personalities– Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, his niece Sarala Devi, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Abid Hasan, Capt. Ram Singh Thakuri, and Pt. Rajendra Prasad as President of the Republic of India who announced on 24 January 1950 that Jana Gana Mana would be the National Anthem.

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The journey of the song began on 27 December 1911 when 'Jana Gana Mana' was sung at the Kolkata Session of Indian National Congress. Sarala Devi, who was Tagore’s niece, along with school-students performed before an august audience. Congress leaders like President B.N. Dhar and outgoing President A.C Majumdar were present.

Controversy

When Jana Gana Mana was performed at the Congress Calcutta session, the country had witnessed the Delhi Durbar on 11-12 December. It was perceived that Tagore had composed Jana Gana Mana in honour of King George V coronation as Emperor of India.

Nothing could be farther from truth, as doyens Isaiah Berlin and Amartya Sen have asserted, hailing Tagore’s anti-imperialist writings.

Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka jaya he / Bharata-bhagya-vidhata /

When the song’s English translation is read, as provided by Tagore, there are questions: Whom is the poet referring to as 'dispenser of India's destiny'? Who is the 'ruler of the minds of all people'?

Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people, / Dispenser of India's destiny. / Thy name rouses the hearts of the Panjab, Sind, Gujarat and Maratha, of Dravid and Orissa and Bengal; it echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas, mingles in the music of the Gana and Jamuna / and is chanted by the waves of the India sea. / They pray for the blessings and sing thy praise / The salvation of all people waits in thy hand, thou dispenser of India's destiny.

Tagore, epitomizing Brahmo Samaj values, was referring to the Eternal Spirit, the spirit guiding India through millennia. The song, embedded with ancient learning, reaffirms belief in the Supreme Being or Brahman. In 1912, it was published as ‘Bharat Bidhata’ in the Tatwabodhini Patrika, the official Brahmo Samaj publication with Tagore as its Editor.

Outside of Calcutta, the song was sung by Gurudev in Besant Theosophical College in Madanapalle, Andhra Pradesh, on February 28, 1919. The rendition enthralled college authorities: they adopted the song’s English version as their prayer, sung till today.

Bose’s contribution

Without the contribution of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Jana Gana Mana’s historic journeys scaled new heights. In 1942 in faraway Germany, Netaji established Free India Centre in Hamburg; he chose the song by Tagore as the Centre’s national anthem. The Radio Symphony Orchestra of Hamburg played the national anthems of Germany and Free India Centre.

Another dramatic moment: in 1943, Netaji and Abid Hasan, his personal secretary-interpreter, were on a German submarine making its way to East Asia. In the submarine’s confines, Netaji requested Hasan to translate Jana Gana Mana into Hindi, since the original was in Bangla, in a Sanskritized style. Hasan, a poet himself, penned the Hindi verses:

“Shubh sukh chain kī barkhā barse, Bhārat bhāg hai jāga. /

Punjāb, Sindh, Gujarāt, Marāthā, Dravid, Utkal, Bangā, Chanchal sagar, Vindhya, Himālaya, nīlā Jamunā, Gangā. /

Tere nit gun gāyen, tujhse jīvan pāye, har tan pāye āsha. /

Sūraj ban kar jag par chamke, Bhārat nām subhāgā, jai ho! Jai ho! Jai ho! Jai, jai, jai, jai ho! /

Sab ke dil mai prīt basāe, teri meethi bānī. /

Har sube ke rehne wāle, har mazhab ke prānī, sab bhed aur farak mita ke, sab god mein terī āke, gūnthe prem kī mālā. /

Sūraj ban kar jag par chamke, Bhārat nām subhāgā, / jai ho! Jai ho! Jai ho! Jai, jai, jai, jai ho!”

Its English translation is exhilarating:

“Rains of auspicious happiness fall, India has awakened! /

All of Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat, Maratha, Dravida, Utkala, Bengal, the wavy seas, the Vindhya, the Himalayas, the blue Yamuna and Ganges, sing your praises, get life from you, everybody gains hope! / Like the sun it shines over the world, the auspicious name of India / May you be victorious! May you be victorious! May you be victorious! May you be victorious!

It is loved by everyone's heart, your melodious voice. / People from every province and every religion, / removing their differences, come into your lap / and make garlands of love! / Like the sun it shines over the world, the auspicious name of India, / May you be victorious! May you be victorious! May you be victorious! May you be victorious!”

By 1943-44 in Azad Hind Fauj, “Shubh sukh chain kī barkhā barse” became its Quami Tarana, set to music by Captain Ram Singh Thakuri to inspire INA soldiers.

With Mahatma Gandhi

In Delhi in 1946, Captain Ram Singh had the opportunity to play the Quami Tarana before Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel. He recalled, "We were all in queue. Mahatmaji said, ‘With the mercy of the British Government, I have got an opportunity to meet you people’. Bapuji asked the name and village of each INA soldier. General Bhonsle of INA appealed to Sardar Patel that INA soldiers wanted to play Qaumi Tarana. Bapuji sought permission from the British General who readily gave it".

Sūraj ban kar jag par chamke, Bhārat nām subhāgā, / jai ho! Jai ho! Jai ho! Jai, jai, jai, jai ho!”

Ranjit Bhushan is a senior journalist.