What is now the National Anthem of the Republic of India is the first stanza of a five-stanza Brahmo Sangeet or psalm. It was composed by Tagore on December 11, 1911, in adulation of Para Brahma

Every time the National Anthem is in the news, as it is now courtesy the Supreme Court’s order making its rendition mandatory in movie halls before the screening of films, the flood of reaction has a

common theme — how little Indians know of one of the most sacred markers of the Indian nation, nationhood and nationalism. The ignorance cuts across political ideologies, age groups, social profiles and communities.

last week’s Supreme Court order has understandably generated much heated debate on the appropriateness of mandating the National Anthem before the screening of films. There are also those who believe being respectful towards the National Anthem should not be compulsory.

As always, much of the debate centres around phoney constructs for and against patriotism and nationalism. Needlessly, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s complex views on nationalism, framed against the backdrop of a world at war over Europe’s warped perception of nation and nationalism, are glibly cited without any reference to the context.

Three facts that are often overlooked whenever the National Anthem is the subject of public debate, merit listing. First, Tagore did not compose ‘Jana Gana Mana’ as an anthem to the Indian nation but as a psalm of adoration that became a part of Brahmo liturgy. Second, the absolute adoration of the

Nehru-Gandhi dynasty ensured generations of Indians grew up without any knowledge of the story of their National Anthem. Third, Tagore was far too complex a thinker for his writings to fit into binaries that frame silly debates and stupid discussions that are palmed off as intelligent discourse by our intelligentsia.

So, here’s the story of our National Anthem. Hopefully those who read this article will also re-tell the story to their and others’ children.

What is now the National Anthem of the Republic of India is the first stanza of a five-stanza Brahmo Sangeet or psalm. It was composed by Tagore on December 11, 1911, in adulation of Para Brahma — He who is the True, the Good, the Infinite; the Eternal lord of the Universe; the Omniscient, the Omnipresent, the Omnipotent; the Formless, Changeless, Self-contained and Perfect Almighty.

For the Brahmo Samaj, whose members adhere to Adi Dharma, anchored in the dazzling enlightenment of the Upanishads, Para Brahma is the only Ishwar, the One Supreme Spirit, the Author and Preserver of our existence, the Eternal light that shows us the path when darkness descends, the lighthouse that guides us through the stormy sea of life. He presides over the destiny of our wondrous universe, hence also the destiny of Bharat.

This brief background is necessary to understand the context of the song composed by Tagore, its spirit and its lofty ideals. In veneration of Him, the splendours of Bharat are celebrated. The message transcends region and border; it unites us in a universal psalm in praise of He who bestows us with life and everything that is Righteous, Virtuous and Illuminating in life. The un-diminishable principles of Equality, Fraternity and Justice, the three pillars on which the majestic Republic of India stands today, flow from the core of the song composed by Tagore.

The first time ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was sung before an audience was in Calcutta on December 28, 1911, during the 27th session of the Indian National Congress which had a tradition of beginning its proceedings with a song. (Tagore sang Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s ‘Vande Mataram’ at the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress.) Subsequently, ‘Jana Gana Mana’ became one of the anthems of the freedom movement; the other being ‘Vande Mataram’, which was both a soul-stirring call to action and a hymnal ode to our motherland.

Next year, ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was sung during Maghotsab. There are records which tell us it was the opening hymn at the Foundation Day of Adi Brahma Samaj of which Tagore was the mentor and guiding spirit. Such was the response to the song that it was formally included in the list of Brahmo Sangeet psalm, sung as part of the Brahmo liturgy.

In 1919, Tagore went on a tour of the southern provinces of Bharat. He spent some days at Theosophical College in Madanapalle as a guest of its principal, James Cousins. Tagore sung ‘Jana Gana Mana’ at the college assembly and explained its philosophical meaning to the students and teachers. An ecstatic Cousins adopted it as the college prayer.

Tagore knew the limitations of a liturgical psalm composed in classical Sanskritised Bengali in a land as linguistically diverse as Bharat. He spent the next few days translating ‘Jana Gana Mana’ and writing down the notations of its tune, a task in which he was helped by Margaret, wife of James Cousins, trained in Western classical music. He called the translated version in English ‘The Morning Song Of India’:

Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people, Dispenser of India’s destiny,

Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat & Maratha,of the Dravida and Orissa and Bengal,

It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas, mingles in the music of Jamuna 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 hands,

Thou dispenser of India’s destiny,

Victory, Victory, Victory to thee.

Day and night, thy voice goes out from land to land, calling the Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains round thy throne and the Parsees, Mussalmans and Christians.

Offerings are brought to thy shrine by the East and the West

To be woven in a garland of love.

Thou bringest the hearts of all peoples into the harmony of one life,Thou Dispenser of India’s destiny,

Victory, Victory, Victory to thee.

The procession of pilgrims passes over the endless road, rugged with the rise and fall of nations;and it resounds with the thunder of thy wheel. Eternal Charioteer!

Through the dire days of doom thy trumpet sounds, and men are led by thee across death.

Thy finger points the path to all people.

Oh dispenser of India’s destiny!

Victory, victory, victory to thee.

The darkness was dense and deep was the night; my country lay in a deathlike silence of swoon.

But thy mother arms were round her and thine eyes gazed upon her troubled facein sleepless love through her hours of ghastly dreams.

Thou art the companion and the saviour of the people in their sorrows,thou dispenser of India’s destiny!Victory, victory, victory to thee.

The night fades;the light breaks over the peaks of the Eastern hills,the birds begin to sing and the morning breeze carries the breath of new life.

The rays of the mercy have touched the waking land with their blessings.

Victory to the King of Kings,victory to thee, dispenser of India’s destiny.

Victory, victory, victory to thee.

After Bharat’s independence, when a National Anthem had to be chosen for the Republic of India, the choice was between Tagore’s ‘Jana Gana Mana’ and Bankim’s ‘Vande Mataram’, both of which had by then become symbols of the freedom movement, inextricably woven into the soaring spirit of Bharat.

What weighed in favour of ‘Jana Gana Mana’ is that it had already been set to a martial tune by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose who had used a Hindustani version of Tagore’s song, ‘Subh Sukh Chain’ as the Anthem of his Provisional Government and INA.

On August 15, 1947, when Jawaharlal Nehru unfurled the Tricolour on the ramparts of the Red Fort, Capt Ram Singh Thakur and his orchestra played ‘Subh Sukh Chain’ to the INA’s tune. ‘Vande Mataram’, on the other hand, was, and continues to be, sung as a hymn to our Motherland. Setting it to a martial tune would rob it off its spirit and denude its soul.

On January 24, 1950, President Babu Rajendra Prasad made the following statement in the Constituent Assembly:

“There is one matter which has been pending for discussion, namely the question of the National Anthem. At one time it was thought that the matter might be brought up before the House and a decision taken by the House by way of a resolution. But it has been felt that, instead of taking a formal decision by means of a resolution, it is better if I make a statement with regard to the National Anthem. Accordingly, I make this statement. The composition consisting of the words and music known as Jana Gana Mana is the National Anthem of India, subject to such alterations in the words as the Government may authorise as occasion arises; and the song Vande Mataram, which has played a historic part in the struggle for Indian freedom, shall be honoured equally with Jana Gana Mana and shall have equal status with it.”

Thus did Tagore’s ‘Jana Gana Mana’ become the National Anthem, and Bankim’s ‘Vande Mataram’ the National Song of the Republic of India.

(The writer is commissioning editor and commentator at ABP News TV)