‘Neeraj’: ‘Jana Gana Mana’ reminiscent of British rule

ALIGARH: Doyen of Hindi poetry Gopal Das ‘Neeraj’ has suggested ‘Vande Matram’ or ‘Jhanda Ooncha Rahe Humara’ would have been better than ‘Jana Gana Mana’ as the national anthem because it is reminiscent of British rule in India.

The 92- year-old Pad ma Bhushan awardee said the national anthem was written by Tagore in 1911 at the coronation of George V, the King of United Kingdom. Asked if he was suggesting a change in the patriotic composition, he said in an interview, “Now that it is the national anthem what can be done. Why did we leave ‘Vande Matram’... so many people were martyred for Vande Matram... Hindus as well as Muslims. In ‘Jan Gan Mana Adhinanayak’, ‘adhinayak’ stands for dictator. ‘Jayahe Bharat Bhagya Vidhaata’, he is the creator of the destiny of Bharat. Punjab Sindhu Gujarat Maratha, where is the Sindh now in India?” When asked whether favouring ‘Vande Matram’ as the national anthem was not in line with the RSS or the BJP, he said, “It is my own ideology. Nobody else has to tell me anything. I am a humanitarian poet. If you read my poetry you would know it. Sangh, BJP or any other... I have no relations with any political party. I have risen above things like these, politics is a third class thing.”

He also said due to the colonial hangover some saw those working in English as “bade” (big) and others as “chhote” (small).

“I have written in English also during my initial years as a poet. But, it was Harivansh Rai ‘Bachchan’ ji who asked me to focus on writing in Hindi. He told me ‘Kavita maatribhaasha mein hi hoti hai’ (poetry is done in mother tongue),” Neeraj said. He also recalled his acquaintance beginning in early 1940s with the legendary Hindi poet and father of Bollywood mega star Amitabh Bachchan, whom he says he has “lap-fed”.

Asked if he felt there was a bias in the acknowledgement bestowed on litterateurs based on the language in which they work, he said, “Now it is the trend that if someone writes in

English, they are taken as big men while those writing in Hindi are small. We have been slaves (of British rule). Our national anthem is also from the era when we were a British colony. The Britishers have left, but some still continue to remain slaves (of English).”