Was the Jana Gana Man written in praise of King George V ?
(Note: It is not my ontention to blame anyone or ask/ suggest that the Jana Gana Mana be replaced.)
There is sometimes a debate around our Indian National Anthem, the Jana Gana Mana . Some people say that Tagore wrote it in praise of King George V of Britain on the occasion of the King's visit to India in Dec, 1911 , the event which is known in history as the Delhi Durbar , and for the which the Gateway of India was erected at Mumbai.
Now I have sung the Jana Gana from childhood and I love the song, but there seems to be some truth in argument that it was written as a song of praise for King George V , rather than as praise for the land that later became India. The lyric was written in 1911 and thus neatly coincides with the Delhi Durbar event. If we look at the words themselves , they read
Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people,
Dispenser of India's destiny.
Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sindhu, Gujarat and Maratha,
Of the Dravida, Utkala and Bengal;
It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas,
mingles in the music of Yamuna and Ganga and is
chanted by the waves of the Indian Ocean.
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.
The reference to a person (of power) , is rather obvious. “Thou Art” cannot be construed to be Indian nationhood / India /People of India. It must also be remembered that all literary references to India , even in pre-indepencence times are for “Mother India/ Bharat Maata”, and this is not seen in the Jana Gana Man.
Finally take a look at the geographical areas mentioned . They are Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat, Maratha, Dravid (Tamil Nadu) Utkal (Odisha) Banga, Vindhya (MP) , Himachal, Yamuna Ganga (Uttar Pradesh, Bihar) . How and why did Tagore miss JnK, Rajasthan (then known as Rajputana) , Karantaka (then Mysore ) and Kerala ? Now if one looks at the Map of Indian British Empire in 1910, we find that these areas were Independent nations which were under the alliance / political protection of the British but were not considered British territory. ( see Map of India 1910 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/British_Indian_Empire_1909_Imperial_Gazetteer_of_India.jpg
