Rabindranath Tagore did not write 'Jana Gana Mana' in praise of British King George V - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 12, 2023
A post shared on social media claims that Rabindranath Tagore wrote the ‘Jana Gana Mana’ anthem in praise of British King George V in 1911. The post shared a video of the late social activist Rajiv Dixit, in which he claims that Rabindranath Tagore had received the Nobel Prize for composing the ‘Jana Gana Mana’ anthem in admiration of King George V. The post claims that George V served as the Chairman of the Nobel Prize selection committee when Rabindranath Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1913. The extended version of the video shows Rajiv Dixit asserting that Rabindranath Tagore had written the ‘Jana Gana Mana’ song as a tribute to welcome King George V during his visit to India in December 1911.  Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Rabindranath Tagore wrote the ‘Jana Gana Mana’ song in praise of King George V, who was the Chairman of the Nobel Prize selection committee when Rabindranath Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1913.
Fact: During the 1911 Congress Session, two songs were performed on the same day, one being Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Jana Gana Mana’ and the other a composition by Ramanuja Chaudhary, which was performed especially for King George V. However, certain English media reports incorrectly stated that Tagore’s song was sung in honour of King George V. Rabindranath Tagore, in his letters written in 1937 and 1939, explicitly stated that he did not compose ‘Jana Gana Mana’ in praise of King George V. King George V was not the Chairman of the Nobel Committee of the Swedish Academy when Rabindranath Tagore was awarded with Nobel prize in 1913.  Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
Upon searching for the details of the claims made by Rajiv Dixit in the video, we found an article published by The Indian Express in July 2015, regarding the questions raised on ‘Jana Gana Mana’ being written by Rabindranath Tagore in praise of George V, and that the ‘Adhinayak’ word in the anthem refers to the foreign power. The article reported that the perception of the ‘Jana Gana Mana’ song being written in praise of George V is based on the English media reports of the time, which were not very accurate.
The article emphasized that Rabindranath Tagore had written the ‘Jana Gana Mana’ song in devotion to praise the dispenser of human destiny and that the word ‘Adhinayak’ refers to the ‘dispenser of human destiny’. Reporting the same, a few other news agencies have also published articles in the past. Those articles can be seen here, here, and here.
The song ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was sung for the first time during the Congress session that commenced on 26 December 1911. A document of the 1911 Congress session shows that the second day’s meeting had begun with a patriotic song composed by Rabindranath Tagore. Following Tagore’s song, a song composed especially for George V, by Ramanuja Chaudhary, was performed during the Congress session in 1911. Further, in ‘The Historical Record of The Imperial Visit to India 1911’ document, it is nowhere mentioned that Rabindranath Tagore had composed a song specifically for welcoming the royal family.
Rabindranath Tagore, in his letters written in 1937 and 1939, reportedly stated that he had not written or composed the ‘Jana Gana Mana’ song in praise of King George V, and stated that the ‘Adhinayaka’ word in the song does not refer to King George V. More details about the Indian National anthem composed by Rabindranath Tagore can be seen here, here, here and here.
Harald Gabriel Hjärne was the Chairman of the Nobel Committee of the Swedish Academy when Rabindranath Tagore was awarded with the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. The award ceremony speech by Harald Hjärne, on 10 December 1913, while awarding the Nobel Prize to Rabindranath Tagore can be seen here. George V was not the Chairman of the Nobel Committee of the Swedish Academy when Rabindranath Tagore was awarded with Nobel Prize in 1913.
To sum it up, Rabindranath Tagore did not write the ‘Jana Gana Mana’ song in praise of George V, and George V was not the Chairman of the Nobel Committee of the Swedish Academy when Rabindranath Tagore was awarded with Nobel Prize in 1913.