Indeed, he was influenced to a great extent by the same philosophy that has influenced heterodox Sufis. This I know that the moment my God created me He has made Himself mine.” John Watson writes “Rabindranath Tagore’s Religion was one of relationship of man with nature and with God.” Historians have clearly stated that Tagore was not an idolater. Professor John Watson, in his book “ The Religious Beliefs of Rabindranath Tagore”, quotes a letter in which Tagore writes, “ I do not belong to any religious sect nor do I subscribe to a particular creed. If Tagore was a polytheist, then the anthem too is no doubt polytheistic, but no such thing can be found in Tagore’s literature. To reach a conclusion, it is important to know Tagore’s religious beliefs. ( Amrita Bazar Patrika, 28 December 1911)Ĭoming to the question of whether the anthem contains polytheistic elements. The song sung in honour of the king was written in Hindi by Ram Buj Chaudhary, with the initial lines being “Wo baadshah hamara”. In contrast to the above, the fact of the matter is that British newspapers had employed the same dirty tricks while reporting on the session that we witness on a daily basis. In the recent past, Kalyan Singh and Justice Katju have fanned the flames around this contention. This is the reason that this controversy is raised in India from time to time among Hindus as well. Other newspapers under the British dominion also published similar stories, in order to make the point that Tagore was pro-imperialism. On 28 December, the British newspaper “Statesman” published a story stating that Tagore had sung a welcome song in honour of the king. The King of Britain, George V, happened to be on a tour to India at the time, therefore a proposal for according a welcome to the king was also approved at the same session. The anthem composed by Tagore was sung for the first time on 27 December 1911 at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress. Rajendra Prasad announced the adoption of “Jana Gana Mana” as the national anthem, “subject to such alterations in the words as the Government may authorise as occasion arises.” Thus, Rabindranath Tagore’s poetic creation was adopted as the national anthem. Finally, on 24 January 1950, in the Constituent Assembly, the first president of India, Dr. Allama Iqbal ‘s “Saare Jahan se Achhchha” was also considered, but this beautiful composition was shelved on account of the Allama subscribing to the two-nation theory as also being the architect of Pakistan. But on account of opposition from Muslims, this did not come to pass. In the following lines, I have attempted to dig some historical facts regarding the Indian anthem.Īfter independence, when the debate over the adoption of a national anthem began, efforts were made to declare “Vande Mataram” as the national anthem. For the last couple of days, a fatwa (juridical opinion/verdict) from the respected Salafi institution, Jamia Salafia, has been circulating on social media, which declares the anthem to be polytheistic. But on account of the saffron government’s circular regarding the celebrations of 15 th August, which is meant as a patriotism-test for the madarsas, the debate has assumed greater urgency. Questions have been raised over the meaning of the anthem and the Shariah’s stance regarding it in the past as well.
The Indian National Anthem “Jana Gana Mana” has of late become a contentious issue among Muslims. Due to absence of access to the newspapers quoted below, the relevant quotation has been translated from Urdu to English, and thus may not necessarily represent the actual text accurately)
( Translator’s note: The article has been translated from Urdu.
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