Understanding the National Anthem

                       There are many controversies associated with the national anthem of India.

 Let us try to translate the song and understand the meaning.

The main first stanza:

Jana gana mana adhinayaka jaya he, bharatha bhagya vidhata.
{Punjab, Sindhu, Gujarat, Maratha, Dravida, utkala, Banga.
Vindya, himachala, Jamuna, Ganga, uchala jaladhi taranga}
Tava shubha naame jaage;
Tava shubha aashish maage, 
gaaye tava jaya gaatha

It means that,
Oh bharatha bhagya vidhata! you are the adhinayaka (Leader) for us.
Indian people (people mentioned in the flower brackets above) wake up remembering your good name
ask for your blessings and sing your glories. 

There are four other stanzas in the song which we should know:

Second stanza: 

Around your throne people of all religions come and give their love and anxiously wait to hear your kind words.

Third stanza: 

Praise the King for leading the ancient travelers beyond misery.

Fourth stanza: 

Drowned in the deep ignorance and suffering, poverty-stricken, unconscious country,Waiting for the wink of your eye and your mother's true protection.

Fifth stanza:

In your compassionate plans, the sleeping Bharat will wake up. We bow down to your feet O' Queen, and glory to Rajeshwara.

 Why there is controversy associated with this?

•  When we consider India as 'Mother India' or Bharata Matha, why we refer India as Bhagya Vidhatha or Adhinayaka instead of calling Adhinethri?
• Why there is no mention of North-East, Andhra, Karnataka (All parts of Karnataka /Mysore and AP do not come under Dravida)
• Why there is no mention of Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea?
• Why there is no mention of Jammu and Kashmir?
• Why there is no Rajasthan?

Recently added controversies

• Why a mention of region 'Sindh' still active? Sindh is now region under Pakistan, and not India

 The Story:

                        In those days, His Highness, King George V of Great Britain planned a visit to India. To welcome him, Motilal Nehru asked Rabindranath Tagore for a welcome song. The composition was first sung during a convention of the Indian National Congress in Kolkata on Dec. 27, 1911 and the agenda of that day devoted itself to a loyal welcome of George V on his visit to India.

                         So, now, the Adhinayaka is King George who is supposed to be the bhagya vidatha for India. Now,  the translation would mean - Oh King, we Indians wake up remembering your good name, ask for your blessings and sing your glories.

                         In those days, Hyderabad, Mysore, Jammu & Kashmir, princely states of Travancore, Cochin etc were not under direct control of 'Adhinayaka'. Coastal areas were under control of French (Pondicherry, Yanam etc), Portuguese (Goa, Daman, Diu etc). North East was a different part controlled by tribals. So, these were not included in the list. Similar is the case of Rajastan., it had individual Rajput kings who used to pay some sort of tax to the British Government.

What benefits did Rabindranath Tagore get?

1. This song was composed in 1911. He got the noble prize in 1913.
2. He was awarded 'Sir' by the British.
3. He was awarded the tag of 'Biswa Kavi'.

                         However, let it be made clear that, this is not an attempt to insult a great poet. It is just to analyze the things. Whatever may be the meaning, a national anthem must always be respected.