|
The Indian National
Anthem |
| English
Translation Thou art the rulers of the minds of allpeople, dispenser of India's destiny. Thy name rouses the hearts ofPunjab,Sind, Gujarat and Maratha, Of the Dravida and Orissa andBengal; It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyasand Himalayas, mingles in the music of Yamuna andGanga and is chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea. They pray for thy blessings and singthy praise. The saving of all people waits in thyhand,thou dispenser of India's destiny, Victory, victory, victory to thee. |
| Fifty years of independence have come to pass and now nearly 900 million Indians take pride in singing their national anthem, it is amazing that most are not aware of its background and meaning. We would like to bring to your attention the following facts of which you might be unaware. To begin with, India's national anthem, Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka, was written by Rabindranath Tagore in honor of King George V and the Queen of England when they visited India in 1919. To honor their visit Pundit 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, 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 Arabian Sea were 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". |