LAURIE NORONHA, BANGALORE.
We Indians are a peculiar people. We fight for our regional language like the cobra and the mongoose and go on to sing our national anthem in Bengali ignorant of the fact that it was composed in the pre-Independence era in praise of ‘Adhinayaka’, King George V.
The song throughout smacks of servitude and slavery, to say the least. The English rendering of the Bengali hymn is as follows:
“Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people, dispenser of India’s destiny. Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sind, Gujarat and Maratha, of the Dravid and Orissa and Bengal; it echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas, mingles in the music of the Jamuna and the Ganga and is chanted by the waves of the Indian sea. They pray for Thy blessings and sing Thy praise. The saving of all people waits in Thy hand, Thou dispenser of India’s destiny. Victory” (Deccan Herald Aug. 25).
