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By: Jagdip Chadha
April 24, 2005
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India’s National Anthem which includes SINDH - Was it Tagore’s intention
to honor King George V and British Rule with this Song? – (Interview with
Bhagwan S. Gidwani, Author of Return of the Aryans)
Introduction
While a storm is brewing in the Sindhi community throughout the world,
over the Supreme Court of India’s notice to Government regarding deletion
of Sindh from the National Anthem, many Sindhis and Non-Sindhi have begun
to question Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore’s original inspiration and
motivation in composing Jana Gana Mana, which came to be adopted as the
National Anthem.
I interviewed Bhagwan S. Gidwani who had prepared a memorandum for premier
organizations of overseas Sindhis to protest to the Prime Minister of
India, insisting that Government of India should immediately intervene to
present its objection to the Supreme Court against the petition pending
before the Court for deletion of Sindh from the National Anthem.
However, my questions from Bhagwan Gidwani were related not so much to the
Sindhi protest as such. My purpose was to ascertain his views as to the
controversy surrounding the story that the Song, Jana Gana Mana, was
intended originally to honor King George V.
I referred to several non Sindhi websites (for instance:
http://www.anothersubcontinent.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=478) which
Have shown that Tagore had composed Jana Gana Mana to honor King George V
and that it served to welcome British emperor; and also was intended to
create a continuing sense of loyalty to British rule in India. .
In his interview with me, Gidwani said he had not recently seen the
websites and other material to which I referred but he outright .ridiculed
the assertions that Tagore had composed Jana Gana Mana originally to honor
King George V and that the Song was intended to welcome the British
emperor; or was meant to create continuing sense of loyalty to British
rule in India. Gidwani added that there is record to show that, while
handing over the Song, Gurudev Tagore had clearly said that it was
intended to honor God and Gidwani saw not the slightest reason to doubt
that statement. To him, Tagore’s words meant far more than what hundreds
of websites may carelessly report.
This canard, according to Gidwani, arose from misunderstanding, as Tagore
himself chose not to defend himself immediately and much was being
fabricated just because the song was sung on the occasion of King George’s
visit.
Gidwani flatly denied the need for Sindhis to make a demand to replace the
present National Anthem with Vande Mataram. Despite his enormous respect
for Vande Mataram and added that this would be akin to cutting the nose to
spite the face.
Gidwani was satisfied that Jana Gana Mana was the soulful creation of
Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore and was concerned with India’s cultural &
spiritual presentation and destiny – and, there was absolutely no truth in
the frivolous hoax that Tagore’s Jana Gana Mana was intended to honor King
George V. As to petty remarks on various websites which may carry this
canard, Bhagwan Gidwani quoted Gurudev Tagore’s words: "I should only
insult myself if I cared to answer those who consider me capable of such
unbounded stupidity as to sing in praise of George the Fifth as the
Eternal Charioteer leading the pilgrims on their journey through countless
ages of the timeless history of mankind."
Gidwani is convinced beyond a shadow of doubt that Lord to which Jana Gana
Mana is addressed, is the Bhagya Vidhata who is India`s eternal guiding
spirit, and certainly not the temporal king of a colonial empire. In any
case, the Song Jana Gana Mana is larger than the National Anthem and in
that extended Song there are images of the Bhagya Vidhata who is also
India`s eternal Mother – and surely Tagore knew that King George V was not
a female.
As to the question that certain territories of India and even rivers that
flow in India, do not find a mention in the National Anthem, Gidwani
countered with questions: What do you think? Was Gurudev Tegore writing a
geographical handbook or an encyclopedia? No! Please understand, there was
no intent on the part of this greatest of our poets to write a soulless
geographical directory but to create a soulful Song which the people of
India accepted as the National Anthem and the constituent Assembly adopted
it; and now with sheer lunacy, there are those who are asking the Supreme
Court of India to reconstruct the National Anthem. Nowhere in the world
has this task been performed by its courts and I cannot believe that the
highest legal body in India would engage in such an act of lawlessness.
Quoting various experts, Gidwani pointed out how senseless was the bizarre
accusation that Jana Mana Gana was inspired to honor the British King in
1911. If such a taint had attached to the Song, would Tagore have
translated the Song into English, eight years later, in 1919, which was
the year when Tagore had renounced his knighthood in protest over the
massacre at Jallianawala Bagh, Amritsar.
According to Gidwani, those who make such baseless charges apparently know
nothing of Gurudev’s undying allegiance to India and his supreme sense of
patriotism.
Again quoting many, Gidwani spoke of the beauty and elegance of India’s
National Anthem with “its ennobling magnificence and unique embrace of all
humanity” and felt it would be a criminal folly and a senseless misdeed to
try to reconstruct the National Anthem – and hollow & meaningless the
Anthem would be if Sindh was deleted from it.
The plain fact, according to Gidwani, is that in this great song, Jana
Mana Gana, Tagore, enamored of the river-culture of India starts with
Punjab (five rivers, or the land of five rivers), then Sindh(u) another
river, also meaning ocean, Utkal and Bang- littoral provinces (of Bengal
then), lapped by the ocean, and he ends with Jamuna-Ganga - who all
commingle in the ocean (Jaladhi) and its waves (tarang). In one word
Dravid, he refers to today`s all four southern states (Tamil Nadu, Andhra
Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala) abutting on the ocean.
Tagore was not writing geography, but a poem. He did not enumerate states.
In any case, how can anyone contemplate correcting or amending someone
else`s song – and in this case the song of our foremost poet and Nobel
laureate..
Gidwani said that it would be the “call of the demented” to seek to delete
Sindh from the National Anthem.
MEMORANDUM FROM BHAGWAN S. GIDWANI forwarded by premier organizations of
overseas Sindhis in UK and North America on the threat to delete Sindh
from National Anthem sent to Prime Minister of India:
I express my distress over Notice by the Supreme Court of India to
Government of India in respect of the petition to delete `Sindh` from the
National Anthem. On the flimsy ground of the territory of Sindh being a
part of Pakistan and to substitute it possibly with `Kashmir` or other
words.
We must contend with the unfortunate and unbecoming situation that if
Sindh is dropped from the National Anthem, .Sindhis may not readily rise
to respect or honor the National Anthem whenever and wherever it is sung
or played.
The need to include Sindh in the National Anthem was clearly understood
and appreciated by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and all National leaders when
the Constituent Assembly adopted it in 1950, long after the territory of
Sindh was absorbed in Pakistan.
If the issue is properly addressed, I refuse to believe that the Supreme
Court can ever take decision to delete Sindh from the National Anthem as
such a decision would militate against the unity and integrity of the
Indian nation itself.
I must also question the authority or jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to
interfere with the decision of the Constituent Assembly and the Parliament
of India. Any such interference by the Supreme Court is not warranted by
the system of the Separation of Powers enshrined in the Constitution of
India.
It is not enough that the Notice by the Supreme Court is served only on
Government of India. The Sindhi community in India and elsewhere is
directly concerned. The community must therefore be given the right and
opportunity to intervene before the Supreme Court and to present its case
on this issue.
The Petition ab initio is inadmissible as the petitioner has failed to
show any loss, damage or grievance suffered by him or anyone in this
behalf by the retention of Sindh in the National Anthem. Approach to the
Supreme Court cannot be permitted simply on the basis of personal beliefs,
individual theories, `semantics` or a general desire to improve, abridge
or enlarge the National Anthem when no hurt or harm is evidenced. If such
pleas without showing hurt, harm or prejudice could be permitted, surely
any atheist, purist or a seeker of `separation of God and Nation` or
anyone wishing to attract publicity could on ground of spurious and
specious considerations of logical construction be permitted to occupy the
time of Supreme Court to seek further amendments to the National Anthem.
Clearly, the Supreme Court would be wasting its time to devote attention
to such a petition which is patently opposed to the national will and
offends against the National Anthem which has been accepted by the people
of India with respect and honor for decades.
The petitioner has quoted Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore selectively and
irrelevantly without understanding the broad approach with which Gurudev
was concerned. The burden of proof lies with the petitioner to show that
Gurudev had sought to delete Sindh and had in fact deleted Sindh from the
National Anthem; but even assuming for the sake of argument that Gurudev
had wished to delete Sindh or had gone to the extent of deleting Sindh
from the National Anthem, the decision of the Constituent Assembly, the
Parliament of India, national leadership and popular will would negate any
such reservations or actions by the revered author of the National Anthem.
If the Supreme Court were erroneously to arrogate to itself the right to
"reconstruct" the National Anthem, obviously, the issue cannot end with
the mere deletion of Sindh. This exercise in futility will have to be
pursued with greater and more ambitious games of how to "reconstruct" the
National Anthem to fit all that the creation of Pakistan brought about.
How should we refer to truncated provinces of Bengal and Punjab? Do we
redesignate them as "Bengal without Bangla Desh" and "Punjab but without
what was surrendered to Pakistan". Then there is also the question of
certain territories of India and even rivers that flow in India which do
not find a mention in the National Anthem. Do we put them in the revised
national Anthem? Indeed the effort would then be a soulless geographical
directory instead of a soulful National Anthem that Gurudev Rabindra Nath
Tagore created and the people of India accepted. And who will be in charge
of creating such a geographical directory to replace the present National
Anthem? The Supreme Court? Nowhere in the world has this task been
performed by its courts and the Supreme Court of India would be the first
to do so - and I cannot believe that the highest legal body in India would
engage in such an act of lawlessness.
I have raised only Preliminary Objections to the Petition as I do not wish
to go into its merits of at this stage. The merits of the case, along with
these Preliminary Objections, will need to be dealt with ably and
effectively by the Sindhi community which has to be given an opportunity
to deal with them. All I can say is that the Supreme Court, in
entertaining the Petition to delete Sindh from the National anthem, will
be ignoring history and constitutionality along with the inherent rights
of Sindhi community. More so, it will be ignoring the sacrifice of Sindhis
in the cause of India`s freedom in 1947 and the glorious role played by
Sindhis right from the dawn of history even prior to 8,000 BCE when the
ancient order of Sanatanah and Sanatana Dharma were formed prior to 8,000
BCE leading to the roots of Hinduism, and later when on the banks of our
rivers of Sindh - Sindhu & Saraswati, - the Vedas were composed and OM
mantra was first uttered - and Sindhis were in forefront in the formation
of Bharat Varsha - and later Arya Varsha.. Also note please that Sindh was
amongst the home-ground and cradle-grounds of Aryans of Bharat Varsha when
they moved out to distant lands such as Iran, Sumeria, Egypt, Russian
lands & Scythia, Lithuania, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, Italy, Greece and
Germany , and finally returned to their hometown and heritage of Sindh and
the rest of Bharat Varsha. We are the survivors and inheritors of that
glorious heritage and tradition. And to contemplate the removal of `Sindh`
from the National Anthem would amount to robbing us, our children and
their children to whom this legacy left to us by our ancestors, rightfully
belongs.
I must reiterate that Creation and continuance of Pakistan is ordained
neither by heavenly forces nor by a rational historical process. Pakistan
came about simply as the result of Indian leadership growing old and weary
and worried that they will not be able to secure power for themselves in
their own life-time. Those leaders had at one time sacrificed much,
remaining true to Gandhian ideals, but in the end they betrayed Gandhiji,
their own ideals, and could tolerate no more delays in protracted
negotiations; and quickly they agreed to partition the country, so that
power comes into their hands for themselves and for benefit of their own
children. Sacrificing Sindh and Sindhis meant nothing to them Everyone
realizes that the "Two Nation Theory" on which Pakistan was founded was
false and frivolous, and has been eroded by realities on the ground.
Reconstruction of National Anthem to exclude Sindh would add enormous
insult to a continuing injury to which Sindhis have been unduly subjected.
It is essential that the Prime Minister be requested to ensure that
Government of India intervenes in the matter effectively to present
Government of India`s objections to the validity of the petition before it
on legal, constitutional, political and other grounds to show that
deletion of Sindh from the National Anthem is unwarranted and will, in
fact, militate against unity and harmony in India, apart from hurting the
sentiments of Sindhis in India and elsewhere.
It must be understood clearly and without any doubt and ambiguity, that
Sindhis will not react kindly to any attempt to so "reconstruct" the
National Anthem in order to exclude Sindh..
With Respect,
Bhagwan S. Gidwani
Note: Bhagwan S. Gidwani is a known author (The Sword of Tipu Sultan &
Return of the Aryans, etc.); earlier he was Director General of Civil
Aviation and Additional Director General of Tourism of Government of
India; he served also as a Counsel for India at the International Court of
Justice at the Hague; later as Director of the Legal Bureau of
International Civil Aviation Organization (United Nations). He is based in
Montreal, Canada
Jagdip Chadha
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