There is a view that the Indian National Anthem ,Jana Gana Mana was wrttien by Rabindranath Tagore in praise of King George IV.
I had written on this.
Tagore had replied to this criticism thus,
Tagore was a premier literary figure when Emperor George V and Empress Mary came to the Delhi durbar of 1911. In this context a few royalists asked him to compose a song in praise of the monarch. In answer, Tagore wrote to his friend P.B. Sen thus: “…A certain high official in His Majesty’s service, who was also my friend, had requested that I write a song of felicitation towards the Emperor. The request simply amazed me. It caused a great stir in my heart. In response to that great mental turmoil, I pronounced the victory in Jana Gana Mana(abbreviated, JGM) of that Bhagyavidhata [god of destiny] of India who has from age after age held steadfast the reins of India’s chariot through rise and fall, through the straight path and the curved. That Lord of Destiny, that Reader of the Collective Mind of India, that Perennial Guide, could never be George V, George VI, or any other George. Even my official friend understood this about the song. After all, even if his admiration for the crown was excessive, he was not lacking in simple common sense…”
The song rendered at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress that year. The same day, another song, written in praise of the emperor, was also sung. Sections of the press messed up the reporting, and thus started the confusion, that has since persisted.
During his lifetime Tagore was asked more than once about JGM being written in praise of the emperor. His reply was: “I should only insult myself if I cared to answer those who consider me of such unbounded stupidity as to sing in praise of George IV or George V as the Eternal Charioteer leading the pilgrims on their journey through countless ages of the timeless history of mankind.”
Source.
http://m.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/tagore-and-that-song/article7342972.ece
I am unable to find a clear statement that Tagore had not written the song in praise of King George IV.
He could have said
‘No, I have not written in praise of King George IV. The song was written in praise of India’
Instead poetic interpretations ?
Some replies reveal more.
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