Sabyasachi Bhattacharya’s Vande Mataram: Biography of a Song (2003), explored the long and checkered antecedents of the song and the socio-political conditions which transformed it into an icon that it is. The book not only sheds light on the little-known details relating to the origins of this song but also makes an effort to understand the reasons that led this poetic paean to the nation, written originally in 1870s by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, and first published in 1882 in his Bengali novel, Anandmath, to become a symbol of communal dispute. While Bhattacharya’s book studied the officially recognized national song of India, the present work by Rudrangshu Mukherjee focuses on the other ‘song’ of India, recognized publicly as the national anthem of India, viz., ‘Jana Gana Mana’.
The song played at all major national and formal events in India is a promise and a pledge to uphold the noble ideals and traditions of India. While it is known that the song was written by the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, few are aware of its vivid history. Mukherjee’s Song of India brings to light fascinating details pertaining to the composition of the anthem as well as its musical rendition. Along with a short, but crisp, introductory section (or ‘Overture’), there are two chapters in the first half of the book, namely, ‘Harmony Variations’ and ‘Notes of Dissonance’. In the ‘Overture’ section, the author makes his readers aware of the prevailing political conditions in which Tagore grew up. The colourful history of the Tagore family is largely discussed against the backdrop of political developments which unfolded in Bengal in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Rabindranath Tagore’s own political worldview, Mukherjee argues, was majorly shaped by the Partition of Bengal in 1905, orchestrated by the then Viceroy, Lord Curzon. Tagore actively participated in the resistance movement and the counter, Swadeshi Movement, which was launched on August 7, 1905. The idea of swadeshi—the boycott of foreign goods and the use of Indian ones—was championed by Rabindranath. While significant, the idea of swadeshi as outlined by Tagore in his works did not figure prominently in the subsequent anti-colonial movements which built upon the Swadeshi Movement of 1905, particularly the Noncooperation Movement, initiated under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi in 1921. The focus of the latter, as is known, was on economic boycott, rather than intellectual rejection.
Again, it was during the course of the Swadeshi Movement that Tagore penned some of the most memorable patriotic songs. Of the many, two stand out for their popularity, namely, ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’ (My Golden Bengal) and ‘Jadi Tor Dak Shune Keu Na Ashe Tobe Ekla Cholo Re’ (If no one listens to your call, then walk alone). While the former, as is known, became the national anthem of Bangladesh in 1971, the latter was one of Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite songs.
Tagore, as the book indicates, was a multi-faceted personality. Besides social and political activism, which included working towards solving the problems plaguing people in the Indian villages, Tagore was also engaged, simultaneously, in several creative activities. Composing poems, writing plays, songs, novels, essays, and painting were just a few of such activities.
His interest in painting developed quite late in his life. Primarily self-taught, the litterateur started painting sometime in the 1920s. His paintings, noticeably, became quite popular in Europe. Significantly, his plays like ‘The Post Office’, too gained popularity in large parts of Europe in the first half of the twentieth century. It was in fact famously performed in the Warsaw Ghetto in July 1942 by Jewish children during the Holocaust, shortly before they were deported to the Treblinka extermination camp. The primary theme of the play of a child’s journey to an eternal home and the immortal legacy of love and goodness provided a sense of peace and also ‘helped’ children ‘prepare’ for death with dignity.
As far as Tagore’s socio-political career was concerned, the period between 1920 and 1930s, Mukherjee suggests, was important. Tagore, during this phase, travelled extensively within India and across the world including to Japan, the United States of America, large parts of Europe and Latin America, Soviet Union, and China. Through such tours, Tagore attempted to spread his message of universal humanism and international cooperation (p. 19). Here Mukherjee argues that Tagore’s ‘message of universal humanism went hand in hand with his rejection of nationalism and blind patriotism’ (p. 19). Mukherjee, in the present section, also highlights the impact that his travels within India, especially in Bengal, had on his writings. His tours to the landed estates of the Tagore family in and around Santiniketan, for instance, brought him face to face with the sufferings of the poor. Such regular interactions led him to write essays and poems, we are told, which shed light on the plight of the downtrodden. In a 1901 prayer like poem, for example, he movingly wrote, ‘Give me strength never to disown the poor or bend my knees before insolent might.’ Similar sentiments were echoed in his later day essays like ‘Sahitye Aitihasikata’ (Historically in Literature), which was written in 1941.
Rudrangshu Mukherjee explores the political developments which led ‘Jana Gana Mana’ to become the national anthem of India. An important portion of ‘Harmony Variations’ narrates the story of the composition of the anthem. Written and set to music by Tagore in 1911, ‘Jana Gana Mana’, was not, as the author stresses, composed in praise of King George V, the man credited with revoking the Partition of Bengal. In fact, Tagore himself, in a lengthy correspondence with his close associate, Pulinbihari Sen, refuted this argument in 1937. Rather, Tagore claimed that ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was a hymn to India’s ‘God of Destiny’, the eternal charioteer who guides the nation.
Significantly, as the work demonstrates, ‘Jana Gana Mana’, even before it became the nation’s anthem, was adopted by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and his Indian National Army. The section in this context touches upon the fascinating details pertaining to the rendition of the song in Hindustani by Abid Hasan, Mumtaz Hussain and Ram Singh Thakur. The song, we are informed, was adopted by Bose in 1942, following the inauguration of the Free India Centre in Germany. Mukherjee, in the same portion, also describes in detail the meaning of each verse of the song. Additionally, the deliberations which took place with regard to the adoption of the song as the nation’s anthem, following India’s Independence, have also been highlighted. Equally fascinating is the section which sheds light on the critical role that Jawaharlal Nehru played in getting the United Nations to recognize ‘Jana Gana Mana’ as the national anthem of India.
While there were disagreements as far as the adoption of ‘Jana Gana Mana’— outlined at length, in the succeeding ‘Notes of Dissonance’ chapter—as the national anthem was concerned, they were short lived. There was a section of political leaders, including the premier of Bengal, who preferred ‘Vande Mataram’ to the former, as the national anthem. However, given the pan-India vision of Tagore’s song, vis-à-vis, Bengal centric ‘Vande Mataram’, it is hardly surprising that the latter got an overwhelming support from political leaders across party lines, as well as the general population.
Bereft of jargon, Rudrangshu Mukherjee’s short but engaging study of the national anthem is a reminder that the idea of ‘Indianness’ is based on the twin concepts of pluralism and secularism. That the country adopted ‘Jana Gana Mana’, and not any other composition, reveals the inclusive nature of its leadership.