Composed more than a century ago, the Indian national anthem epitomizes the unity in diversity of one of the most ancient civilizations in the world. There is a controversial ring to this song as well. Many still think it was written in praise of George V, the then king of England, the colonial power that ruled over the nation. History suggests that the doyen of Bengali literature Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore was asked to pen a song for George V.
Tagore, who went on to win the Nobel prize for literature in 1913, instead listened to his inner voice and wrote Jana Gana Mana that was sung at the event welcoming the British monarch in 1911.
Later, it became known that Tagore himself had put it on record that it was not composed for George, but for his beloved motherland.
Controversy could have ended there, but perhaps it is a healthy debate, since Tagore himself said, someday we may reconsider writing a new song befitting the nation. Perhaps, it was prophetic and 100 years hence, India and Indians are still besotted with the song that has become embedded in their psyche.
Everybody loves Vandemataram, except some fringe religiously motivated extremists. It has its own place in Indian psyche — like a mantra, sacred, touching the soul. But Jana Gana has a mind and body stirring effect that can never be supplanted.
However, the song harks back to Punjab and Sindh of yore – most of which are now part of Pakistan that was separated at our liberated birth, thanks to our colonial powers’ engineered Partition.
Everybody loves Vandemataram, except some fringe religiously motivated extremists. It has its own place in Indian psyche — like a mantra, sacred, touching the soul. But Jana Gana has a mind and body stirring effect that can never be supplanted.
But the next two states in the song – Gujarat and Maharashtra — remain the main engines for India’s development and growth.
The world is going through trauma of the recession. In many developed nations, including the US, Greece, and even in the Netherlands, the number of hungry people is huge and in some countries it is still growing. On the other hand, when Britain handed the reign over to the Indians, they sucked out a great amount of physical wealth out of the nation and the country was economically ruined. Several decades of protected economy allowed a tardy progress, but the bottom of the pyramid grew. ‘Liberalization’ of the 1990s and opening up the economic barriers has created competition, inflow of investments, enhancing quality and productivity of the nation. India is one of the fastest growing economies of the world today, and at least half a dozen states in the country is showing a double-digit GDP growth.
Traditionally, Maharashtra has been the hub of both industries and education, as evident in Mumbai and Pune, respectively. Today the state’s economy is growing at a clip near 10%. It alone provides nearly 40% of national revenue and 15% of industrial output. However, the growth must remain and there are plenty of opportunities for further growth of the state.
Gujarat, now under the leadership of charismatic Narendra Modi, has maintained a growth rate of around 10% for almost a decade after less than 4% in the previous decade. It proves one thing: determination and inclusive growth is related to the will of the leadership. Recently, TIME magazine and other international media are lavishing bountiful praise on the state and its leader, thanks to Modi’s attitude to truly follow ‘Think Globally and Act Locally’ concept. Hopefully, other states will play catch up with Modi’s Gujarat and improve the lives of the bottom of the pyramid in all sectors including employment, education, health and living standards taking advantage of latest technological advancements.
Uttarakhand, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Karnataka have shown great progress in GDP growth. However, time has come for other states to emulate Gujarat.
And in all these, global Indians are playing a major role by bringing investment, technology and new businesses. The trend is good, but certainly not good enough. So, global Indians, whatever is your way of saluting mother India, be it ‘Jaya He’, ‘Vande Mataram’ or ‘Jay Ho’ time is nigh to help your beloved motherland, India, rise to its rightful place that will do good for the people of the world at large. Besides, even one person lifted up from medieval living conditions anywhere in the world will uplift the spirit of the global village.
