 National Anthem Controversy, Jana Gana Mana vs. Bande Mataram |
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| amardeep |
 Sep 15 2004, 03:50 AM
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 member Group: maha contributors Posts: 102 Joined: 3-September 04 From: Bethlehem, PA/New Haven CT Member No.: 114  |
(This is a recent post from my blog) A really informative piece by Pradip Kumar Datta has just been posted on SACW, on the history of India's national anthem. The current anthem is Rabindranath Tagore's "Jana Gana Mana." (See the entry at Wikipedia for the text and translation of the song) The Hindu right has been casting aspersions on it recently (Datta cites Sadhvi Rithambara's "hate cassette" as well as websites like www.freeindia.org). The reason: it was composed by Tagore on the occasion of King George V's visit to the Indian National Congress in 1911. Tagore was famously ambivalent about the commission, and wrote the song as he did as an act -- he thought -- of subversion. But I suppose it's also possible to say that the song, written to celebrate the visit of the English king, loses some autonomy through that history. Still, the details are worth pursuing, and the virtue of Datta's article is that he we went back and read the original coverage of the event in the English-language press of the day:
In short, the English press was clueless, but that cluelessness might have actually slowed the adaptation of the song amongst Indian nationalists. Whatever the case, eventually the song would become strongly identified with the nationalist movement. It was even eventually adapted by Subhas Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army. You can't get more nationalist than that. The critics of "Jana Gana Mana" would prefer to see it replaced by "Bande Mataram," also sometimes spelled "Vande Mataram," composed by Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay,also sometimes spelled as Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. "Bande Mataram" (see the song here, with translation by the poet Sri Aurobindo) treats India as a Goddess to be worshipped. It was demoted from official anthem status, Dutta says, because orthodox Indian Muslims (probably also Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, and Christians) would have had a hard time worshipping a "Goddess" of any form, even if, in the song, the "Mataram" isn't named as specifically Hindu. [And if that's sexism, well, it probably is -- religions tend to be pretty sexist. But keep in mind that woman-as-Goddess isn't always a pro-feminist image -- it depends what kind of Goddess. But I digress.] Finally, Datta makes a great point about the differences in the image of India in the two anthems:
Well said. Personally, I prefer Mohammed Iqbal's "Sare Jahan se Achcha." I find it easiest to understand (after all, the other two are Bengali songs originally), and easier to sing than either of the others. |
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Posts in this topic
amardeep National Anthem Controversy Sep 15 2004, 03:50 AM
ajit Amardeep, I am kinda curious about the reading of ... Sep 15 2004, 06:16 AM arnab
ajit, perhaps the song can now be separated from... Sep 15 2004, 06:35 AM arnab by the way, the entire translation is here
Sep 15 2004, 09:10 AM ajit
I haven't read (or know much about) the orig... Sep 15 2004, 09:16 AM arnab
I haven't read (or know much about) the orig... Sep 15 2004, 09:47 AM Swati Anyone who's familiar with Jana Gana Mana in i... Sep 15 2004, 09:56 AM arnab and here's a link to a piece in frontline whic... Sep 15 2004, 10:05 AM ajit Arnab, thanks for the link to the Frontline extrac... Sep 15 2004, 10:39 AM arnab here's the link again: http://intyoga.bravepag... Sep 15 2004, 10:53 AM ajit Hmmm... maybe some terminology to remove lingering... Sep 15 2004, 11:08 AM arnab
i didn't understand that that was what you w... Sep 15 2004, 11:13 AM arnab not to go completely off-topic here but does anyon... Sep 15 2004, 11:22 AM ajit Sadhvi Rithambara (and *her* buddies) are looking ... Sep 15 2004, 11:29 AM roshna Musically speaking, I've never been crazy abou... Sep 15 2004, 04:00 PM amardeep Wow, quite a number of comments. Arnab, thanks for... Sep 15 2004, 07:33 PM Pratima
Not that this is relevant to the topic but it m... Sep 15 2004, 08:06 PM Dilliwala Dilwala What should be important to note is that the recen... Sep 16 2004, 12:42 AM samir I think DD is talking about "Vande Mataram - ... Sep 16 2004, 09:39 AM Dilliwala Dilwala Yeah, Samir, that was the one I was alluding to, ... Sep 16 2004, 07:45 PM Jai Malhar I have never heard the Durga lines in a Vande Mata... Sep 16 2004, 09:55 PM arnab how about "mera joota hai japani"? Sep 16 2004, 09:59 PM Dilliwala Dilwala Achtung Arnab! I am sending a copy of your pro... Sep 16 2004, 10:16 PM arnab dilwala, as long as you make it clear that i am re... Sep 16 2004, 10:19 PM Dilliwala Dilwala am not sure it would cut much ice with them, arnab... Sep 16 2004, 10:31 PM Jai Malhar I have to say though that although the lyrics of J... Sep 16 2004, 11:19 PM samir
I am quoting from an email I had written to someo... Sep 17 2004, 06:42 AM Pratibha How about
`Vijayee Vishwa Tirangaa Pyaraa JhanDaa... Sep 18 2004, 12:14 AM poorvi while we are at it, we might as well add "chi... Sep 18 2004, 10:43 PM ajit If they should be passe why do they give you goose... Sep 19 2004, 12:15 AM Pratibha
Poorvi, actually Jana Gana Mana was always assoc... Sep 19 2004, 12:34 AM gingerly http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/856... Sep 20 2004, 08:52 PM Pratima Although it was never a contestant for the natioan... Sep 20 2004, 10:29 PM ajit
Intersting. When I was in school, I remember bei... Sep 20 2004, 11:51 PM samir
Intersting. When I was in school, I remember bei... Sep 21 2004, 05:39 AM ajit Samir, the original is 'Punjab, Sindh, Gujrat,... Sep 21 2004, 07:01 AM poorvi re: why national anthems give me goosebumps if the... Sep 21 2004, 07:14 AM ajit Poorvi, this sort of thing should start at home. D... Sep 21 2004, 07:43 AM poorvi Do you have a family song? Sep 21 2004, 07:45 AM ajit Sorry I must have misunderstood. Do you just have ... Sep 21 2004, 07:49 AM samir
Ajit--by original if you mean the original Bengal... Sep 21 2004, 08:45 AM poorvi
I have a problem with an official song that is u... Sep 22 2004, 09:27 AM arnab http://in.news.yahoo.com/040927/43/2gyvx.html Sep 27 2004, 10:12 PM poorvi You would think they might have practised it ahead... Sep 28 2004, 12:27 AM ajit Maybe they are taking a leaf out of Poorvi's b... Sep 28 2004, 12:43 AM poorvi Well, at least they should have sung *something* -... Sep 28 2004, 01:00 AM Jai Malhar Tribalism is human nature. The other side of ... Oct 4 2004, 07:48 PM poorvi I guess my point is that rootedness does not have ... Oct 6 2004, 02:09 AM ajit Supreme court decision regarding 'Sindh' i... Jan 3 2005, 11:53 PM Tryska why is it that the right wing, no matter what cult... Jan 4 2005, 07:41 PM Pranesh
Supreme Court has not so far given its decision ... Jan 6 2005, 03:36 PM gautam Adding a metaphysical ground for objection:
The s... Jan 7 2005, 08:12 AM gingerly http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/985... Jan 10 2005, 11:08 PM ajit Bhatnagar should consider objecting to the word ... Jan 11 2005, 02:54 AM Pranesh It is very obvious that the argument behind the su... Jan 11 2005, 02:13 PM gingerly http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1223245,001... Feb 2 2005, 01:40 AM poorvi
It is now *before* the film. I think it was intr... Feb 3 2005, 09:15 AM gingerly http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/5967_12...01600... Feb 9 2005, 05:21 AM gingerly get a move on
Mar 8 2005, 04:00 AM vAtraT Don't know if it's gauche to resurrect an ... Mar 9 2005, 08:35 AM vAtraT Oh I want to address another part of this conversa... Mar 9 2005, 08:54 AM Anjali
Would it be Bhimsen Joshi's singing that give... Mar 9 2005, 09:01 AM vAtraT Anjali:
Much music gives me goosebumps -- Western ... Mar 9 2005, 11:20 AM Anjali
Vatrat,
Hey nice to meet another believer-- rat... Mar 9 2005, 11:54 AM ajit Perhaps it is possible not to be a believer and st... Mar 9 2005, 12:27 PM Anjali
ditto.
Anjali Mar 9 2005, 12:33 PM Jai Malhar
A leftist activist friend of mine expressed a s... Apr 4 2005, 04:56 AM ajit
Actually the differences are very minor. Marxism... Apr 4 2005, 05:25 AM vAtraT Most people are impressed by goodness -- talent, v... Apr 4 2005, 05:44 AM Anjali
Actually the differences are very minor. Marxism... Apr 4 2005, 05:51 AM arnab
yes, i've often said that "pyar kiya to ... Apr 4 2005, 07:54 AM Sharika
As an Indian, who has not become an American cit... Apr 4 2005, 10:23 PM Manish All this talk of "Saare jahaan se achcha... Apr 5 2005, 02:41 AM Jai Malhar Arrey Arnabbhai, we're not so hung up on secul... Apr 5 2005, 04:21 AM Swati Just wanted to make a trivial point about my perso... Apr 5 2005, 05:37 AM ajit vAtraT, don't mean to dwell on this but there ... Apr 6 2005, 12:47 AM samir
Swati,
Unfortunately, I do not have the English ... Apr 8 2005, 09:23 AM Sharika
Thank you samir for the entire janagana. There a... Apr 14 2005, 02:03 PM ajit For speculations concerning human goodness, ethica... Oct 11 2005, 12:34 AM Trips This made its way into my inbox today. Did anyone ... Jul 13 2006, 05:15 AM shrikar Trips ,
Thank you for that edification - even tho... Jul 13 2006, 05:46 AM vAtraT Old controversy, Trips. Plenty on the internet. ... Jul 13 2006, 05:58 AM Trips Trips ,
Where do you buy Big Pee unbrellas !... Jul 13 2006, 06:36 AM shrikar Trips,
Ah , mon amie vous etes bien droll !... Jul 13 2006, 07:13 AM Mukta Sunit OK, this one does not come close to "Saare ja... Jul 13 2006, 09:29 AM
vAtraT
...lasting impressions in our collective psyche..... Jul 13 2006, 09:45 AM Mukta Sunit melo-melo-melo -dramatic too ;)
aakhir passport ... Jul 13 2006, 10:17 AM Swati
> >>
Following is a translation of the f... Jul 13 2006, 12:50 PM shahpar i'm sure everybody has seen the wiki article a... Jul 13 2006, 03:30 PM Swati Thanks for the link Shahpar. Very true, and plainl... Jul 13 2006, 10:20 PM samir
For the life of me, I cannot remember the poem, b... Jul 13 2006, 11:20 PM shahpar
For the life of me, I cannot remember the poem, ... Jul 13 2006, 11:34 PM samir
Tagore actually had a history of being subversive... Jul 14 2006, 09:43 AM vAtraT To me, both versions of the story seem credible.
S... Jul 13 2006, 11:54 PM Trips
Trips, this is quite possibly the worst paraphras... Jul 14 2006, 05:11 AM hima The Madanapalle connection
Apparently, an English... Jul 14 2006, 08:41 AM Swati
hardly unwarranted! i cant think of anybody... Jul 14 2006, 08:50 AM Swati
Swati, could it be "Prayashchitta"? In... Jul 14 2006, 09:24 PM samir Swati--found it!! And you are absolutely r... Jul 15 2006, 08:07 AM Swati
Swati--found it!! And you are absolutely ... Jul 15 2006, 06:51 PM  |
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