Explained: India’s National Anthem

News:India’s National Anthem was first sung at the Calcutta session of the Congress on December 27,1911.

Facts:

About National Anthem:

• Jana Gana Mana was adopted as the country’s National Anthem by the Constituent Assembly of India on January 24,1950.
• Jana Gana Mana is the first stanza of the Bengali hymn ‘Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata written by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. 
• It was first published under the title “Bharat Vidhata” in TattvaBodhini Patrika in January,1912.
• The song was translated into English in 1919 with the title “Morning Song of India”.
• A slightly varied version of the song was adopted by Subhash Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army in 1941 as the national anthem, called ‘Shubh Sukh Chain’.
• The respect to the National Anthem is a Fundamental duty in India. According to Article 51A (a) of the Constitution “It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem”.

Additional information:

• ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’, the Bangladeshi anthem was also written by Tagore to protest against the partition of Bengal by the British in 1905.
• Sri Lanka’s “Sri Lanka Matha”, written by Ananda Samarakoon has also influenced by Tagore.Some believe that Tagore wrote it in full. 
• Thus in a way, National anthems of India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are written by the same poet Rabindranath Tagore.