“Jana Gana Mana” Was First Sung On This Day

Hearing the words Jana Gana Mana fills our heart with the spirit of nationalism and patriotism. These words were first sung on this very day i.e. January 27^th. Our National Anthem was officially adopted on 24^th January 1950. It was originally written in Bengali and is the first of five stanzas of a poem the Brahmo hymn titled Bharot Bhagyo Bidhata are attributed to Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had commissioned a free translation of the National Anthem from Sanskritised Bengali to a more familiar form in Hindustani. The words used in the song have the same meaning in different Indian languages and thus it was easy for Indian people to understand the words and meaning of the national anthem.

The lyrics of the anthem are as follows-

Jana Gana mana adhinayaka jaya he
Bharata bhagya vidhata
Punjab Sindhu Gujarata Maratha
Dravida Utkala Banga
Vindhya Himachala Yamuna Ganga
Uchhala jaladhi taranga
Tava subha name jage
Tava subha ashisha mage
Gahe tava jaya gatha
Jana gana mangala dayaka jaya he
Bharata bhagya vidhata
Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he
Jaya jaya jaya, jaya he

There is no provision of law which compels anyone to sing the national anthem. It is not considered disrespectful to the nation or to the anthem if a person chooses only to stand up in respectful silence.