Friday, August 14, 2015

National Anthem of India

SS Misri


"Jana Gana Mana is the national anthem of India. Written in highly Sanskritised Bengali, It was composed by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. It was falsely propagated by colonial authorities that the song was written and first sung to praise and felicitate King George V and Queen Mary on their visit to India in 1911. The rumours gave way when Tagore wrote a letter to the Emperor, stating the mentor and creator of Bharata (India) mentioned in the song is not King George V but God himself. "Jana Gana Mana" was officially adopted by the Constituent Assembly as the Indian national anthem on 24 January 1950.
The National Anthem of India is played or sung on various occasions. Directions have been issued from time to time about the correct versions of the Anthem, the occasions on which these are to be played or sung, and about the need for paying respect to the anthem by show of proper decorum on such occasions. The official duration of the National Anthem of India is 52 seconds.
English translation:

THE NATIONAL ANTHEMThe song is the National Anthem of India. India Independence Day is on August 15th.
The original poem written by Rabindranath Tagore was translated into Hindi-Urdu by Abid Ali. The original Hindi version of the song Jana Gana Mana, translated by Ali and based on the poem by Tagore, was a little different. It was "Subh Sukh Chain Ki Barkha Barse, Bharat Bhaag Hai Jaaga....".
A formal version of the national anthem takes fifty-two seconds. A shortened version consisting of the first and last lines (and taking about 20 seconds to play) is also staged occasionally. When the National Anthem version of the song is sung, it is often performed in the orchestral/vocal adaptation made by the English composer Herbert Murrill at the request of Nehru. An earlier poem by Tagore (Amar Sonar Bangla) was later selected as the national anthem of Bangladesh.
Controversy shadowed Jana Gana Mana from the day of its first rendition in 1911 at the Congress session in Calcutta. King George V was scheduled to arrive in the city on 30 December and a section of the Anglo-Indian English press in Calcutta thought – and duly reported – that Tagore's hymn was homage to the emperor.
The poet claims in a letter written in 1939: "I should only insult myself if I cared to answer those who consider me capable of such limitless stupidity."  In another letter to Pulin Behari Sen, Tagore later wrote, "A certain high official in His Majesty's service, who was also my friend, had requested that I write a song of felicitation towards the Emperor. The request simply amazed me. 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 Bhagya Vidhaata (i.e. God of Destiny) of India who has from age after age held resolute 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. Even my official friend understood this about the song. After all, even if his admiration for the crown was excessive, he was not lacking in simple common sense."
In Kerala, students belonging to the Jehovah's Witnesses religious denomination were expelled by school authorities for their refusal to sing the national anthem on religious grounds, although they stood up respectfully when the anthem was sung. The Kerala High Court concluded that there was nothing in it which could offend anyone's religious susceptibilities, and upheld their expulsion. The Supreme Court reversed the High Court and ruled that the High Court had misdirected itself because the question is not whether a particular religious belief or practice appeals to our reason or sentiment but whether the belief is genuinely and conscientiously held as part of the profession or practice of a religion. "Our personal views and reactions are irrelevant" The Supreme Court affirmed the principle that it is not for a secular judge to sit in judgment on the correctness of a religious belief.

Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka jaya he
Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.
Punjaba-Sindhu-Gujarata-Maratha-
Dravida-Utkala-Banga
Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga
Uchchhala-jaladhi-taranga
Tava Subha name jage,
Tava Subha asisa mage,
Gahe tava jaya-gatha.
Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya he
Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.
Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he
Jaya jaya, jaya, jaya he.

Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people,
Thou dispenser of India’s destiny.
Thy name rouses the hearts of the Punjab, Sind,
Gujarat and Maratha, of Dravid, Orissa and Bengal.
It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas,
mingles in the music of the Yamuna and Ganges
and is chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.
They pray for Thy blessings and sing Thy praise
The saving of all people waits in Thy hand,
Thou dispenser of India’s destiny.
Victory, Victory, Victory to Thee.

“I solemnly pledge to work with dedication to preserve and strengthen the freedom and integrity of the nation.”

“I further affirm that I shall never resort to violence and that all differences and disputes relating to religion, language, region or other political or economic grievances should be settled by peaceful and constitutional means.”