Last Updated on 14/08/2024 by Arun jain
“Bharat Bhagya Bidhata” These are the lyrics of the same Bengali song whose Hindi version was adopted as the national anthem of India. The national anthem which gives goosebumps to 140 crore Indians. Listening to which gives a different feeling of patriotism. Which reminds us that behind the freedom of India there is blood, sweat and sacrifice of so many people. And it is important to know that our national anthem also has its own history. This year we are completing 78 years of independence, but the history of our national anthem is many decades before independence. Our national anthem has a journey from “Bharato Bhagyo Bidhata” to “Jan-Gan-Man”. So let us know how a Bengali song became the national anthem of the country in Hindi form and gave recognition to the country.
How was the national anthem composed?
India’s national anthem Jana-Gana-Mana is the Hindi version of the Bengali song ‘Bharato-Bhagyo Bidhata’ written by the famous writer and poet Rabindranath Tagore. Rabindranath Tagore wrote this Bengali song in 5 stanzas and it was first published in the Bengal magazine ‘Tattvabodhini Patrika’ in the year 1905. In the year 1911, people heard this Bengali song for the first time in the second session of the Indian National Congress in Calcutta, which was sung by Tagore himself. Before the Hindi translation of this song, in the year 1919, Tagore himself translated this song into English and named it ‘The Morning Song of India’. On 28 February 1919, for the first time outside Calcutta, Tagore himself sang the English translation of this song at the Theosophical College of Madanapalle in Andhra Pradesh. In the year 1943, this Bengali song was translated into Hindi and was named Shubh Sukh Chain and in the same year, this Hindi translation was given the status of the national anthem of India.
Subhash Chandra Bose’s role in giving India a national anthem
In 1942, while training Indian soldiers against the British in Hamburg, Germany, Bose felt that there should be a song that would keep the soldiers motivated for the freedom of the country. Every soldier would put in all his effort to liberate the country and keep their morale high. By the time Netaji was training soldiers in Germany, Bharato-Bhagyo Bidhata had already established itself as a popular song in India. At that time, a meeting was held in Berlin to decide a national anthem for the country, in which Bose argued that this song was the best for the national anthem of independent India and thus he declared Bharato-Bhagyo Bidhata as the national anthem of the country.
On 11 September 1942, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose inaugurated the German Indian Society of Hamburg and then for the first time this song was sung as the identity of the country, the national anthem of the country. Bose wanted this song to reach as many people as possible, for this he asked two generals of his army, Mumtaz Hussain and Abid Hasan Safrani, to translate this song into Hindi which was named Shubh Sukh Chain. After this, in the year 1943, Captain Ram Singh Thakur of the Indian National Army composed this song with a military beat.
Cinema also played an important role in giving the national anthem to the country
At the time when the struggle for freedom was going on in the country, Bimal Roy included Bhaarato-Bhagyo Bidhata in his film Udayar Pathe in 1944. Later in 1945, Bhaarato-Bhagyo Bidhata was once again included in the Hindi version of this film, Humrahi. This time people heard this song on the big screen and it became popular. This song became popular among the people because this song has the power to bring the country together, to remind the countrymen of the struggles for freedom and to sacrifice everything for the country.
Why was Tagore’s ‘Bharato-Bhagyo Bidhata’ chosen as the national anthem
At the time when Tagore composed this Bengali song ‘Bharato-Bhagyo Bidhata’, India was under British rule. Movements to free the country were going on everywhere. The states under British rule were included in this song written by Tagore and put it into words. This attracted the revolutionaries fighting for freedom and the people of the country and this song also became popular among the people.
Officially declared as the national anthem in 1950
Every country needs a special song on national and international occasions that represents that country. Independent India also needed such a song for itself. After independence, foreign governments demanded an official song from India that could be registered as India’s identity. On 25 August 1948, in the session of the Constitutional Assembly of India, Nehru said that in the year 1943, ‘Jana-Gana-Mana’ had already been composed and sung as the national anthem of India by the Indian National Military and that song is also popular among Indians. After Nehru’s statement, on 24 January 1950, in the last session of the Constitutional Assembly of India, the first President of independent India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad officially declared Jana-Gana-Mana as the national anthem of the country.
Let us tell you that the Bengali song ‘Bharato-Bhagyo Bidhata’ written by Tagore had 5 stanzas. Whereas its Hindi version ‘Shubh-Sukh-Chain’ and the officially taken ‘Jana-Gana-Man’ have only one stanza. It is also important for you to know and keep in mind that our national anthem is sung only in the stipulated time period of 52 seconds. In respect of the national anthem, it is always heard or sung while standing.
Inputs: Anamika Asthana
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)