New Delhi: The year was 1941, the date was November 2 and the place was Berlin, the capital of Germany. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose established the Free India Center in Berlin with the help of the German Foreign Ministry to fight a war against the British Empire.
According to the available documents, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose addressed that gathering in a very effective and energetic manner. At the inauguration ceremony of this center, members of 'Azad Hind' decided to sing Jana-Gana-mana composed by Rabindra Nath Tagore. It was only after this that Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose decided that 'Jana-Gana-mana' would be made the national anthem of India and 'Jai Hind' would be the national greeting.
NG Ganapule, a partner of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, has written that very strong arguments were made in favor of Jana-Gana-Mana at that meeting held in Berlin. It was said that Jan-Gana-mana was the song that defined India as a nation from north to south and east to west. This song very beautifully ranked various parts of the nation, religions and languages with respect.
Although Vande-Mataram was also proposed in this meeting as a national anthem, it was concluded that being in Sanskrit it would be difficult for the common Indian to understand Vande Mataram. Therefore, Jana-Gana-Mana was given due consideration. You may find it interesting to know that at the time of the selection of Jana-Gana-Mana, special care was also taken that the national anthem of India should be something whose beauty of the rhythm remains intact on the song of any kind of person. Then there is no need that the singer has any special understanding of the tone or music! Needless to say that the people's mind meets this criterion completely.
Taking this proposal seriously, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose called BL Mukherjee, who was then an employee of the Fashion Textile Research Institute and an active singer of the official radio station in Berlin. Along with Mukherjee, Netaji also called Ambik Mazumdar, who was a doctorate in music. Netaji entrusted both of them with a great responsibility to make the masses and music composed and composed.
A few months later, on 11 September 1942, Subhash Babu inaugurated the German-Indian Society in Hamburg (a city in North Germany). Available videos of this ceremony testify to the grandeur of the ceremony. This was the first time Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose officially delivered the national anthem in a span of 55 seconds. The national anthem of Germany was sung along with the Indian national anthem at this ceremony.
But later Subhash Babu realized that the influence of Bengali literary language was more on the people's mind, which is perhaps not as readily accepted in other parts of India. So the very next year when Netaji visited South-East Asia, Azad-Hind Fauj instructed his companions, Hassan and Mumtaz Hussain, who took responsibility of radio, to translate Jan-gana-mana into the common Hindustani language. This resulted in the production of the song 'Sab Sukh Chain Ki Barkha', which later became famous as the name Koumi Tarana. Its music was given by Captain Ram Singh Thakur.
Captain Thakur had revealed after many years that whenever the flag was hoisted in Azad-Hind army camps, all the battalion's men used to repeat this energetic song together. And any ceremony of the military was concluded with this song. Later, as the stories of the struggle of the independent Indian Army among the Indians began to reach, the people's minds also found their place in the hearts of Indians.
An introduction to the people's mind
Rabindranath Tagore, who won the Nobel Prize for literature, wrote Jana-Gana-mana. He was born on May 7, 1861 in then Calcutta (now Kolkata). 'Jana Gana Mana' was first sung before the commencement of work on the second day of the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress on 27 December 1911. The next day newspapers featured this news prominently.
Big controversy related to public-mind
It was only in 1911 that the British Emperor George V visited India along with his wife. At the behest of the then Viceroy Lord Hardings, George V abolished the partition of Bengal and gave Orissa a separate statehood. For this, George was also praised by a song of thanks at the Calcutta session of the Congress. This second song was written by Rambhuj Chaudhary. It was in Hindi and the children sang it, the lyrics of which were, 'Badshah Hamara ....' Some newspapers also reported about it. But this is where the biggest mistake happened.
It is said that very few people were familiar with Rambhuj Chaudhary at that time. Therefore, some newspapers published in Gaflat that Tagore's song was sung in praise of the emperor. Since then till today, this controversy has been raised every now and then that Jan-gana-mana was sung in praise of the British.
In a counter to such accusations, Rabindra Nath Tagore made it clear in 1912 that the 'Bharat Bhagya Vidhata' mentioned in the song can have only two meanings: either the people of the country or the almighty one above all — whether God is called, Whether Dev. In 1939, Ravindra Nath Tagore wrote about the people who accused themselves, "I will consider it dishonest to answer those who think I deserve this foolishness."
You may also find it interesting to know that the national anthem of Bangladesh 'Amar Sonar Bangla' was also written by Ravindra Nath Tagore.
And in this way, the people's anthem became the national anthem of India.
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