So far we have been fighting over the hoisting of the national flag. Now, a fresh grumble around the national anthem has started. Unlike the past, this new furore is not over singing the national anthem – but about a change that is being proposed in it.
Congress MP Ripun Bora moved a resolution to delete the word ‘Sindh’ from the national anthem. He raised a demand for bringing in use the phrase ‘Uttar Purv’ instead.
This is a novel consideration. The Congress party parliamentarian’s thinking may be favorable to a section of society, but it has enough potential to open a long debate on the new subject matter.
Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore would never have thought that the original word ‘Sindh’ would be taken up as an aberration one day. He would never have dreamt that the country’s politicians would stand up to change the very word used by him. This song was written in 1911 – decades before India’s independence.
The resolution moved by the Congress MP Ripun Bora quoted the then President, Dr Rajendra Prasad’s statement which he had made in the Constituent Assembly on January 24, 1950. He said that the composition “Jana Gana Mana” is the national anthem of India, and is subject to wording alterations as the government may authorise when an occasion arises.
While this new proposal is thought-provoking, it also sends a shudder through the entire nation. Impatient politicians have once again chosen a distinct angle to make the news. And who knows what’ll happen next?