What unique characteristic of “Jan Gan Man” made it India’s national anthem?

Jana Gana Mana is composed by one of the most celebrated poets of the world. Tagore was the first Asian to win the Nobel prize in any category.

Tagore is far less controversial and his poems are more acceptable than say those of Muhammad Iqbal [the Pakistani nationalist who once wrote “Sare Jahan se Acha”] or Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay [who wrote “Vande Mataram” as a part of the controversial novel “Anandmath”]. When the national leaders were selecting the anthem they wanted to generate less controversy as possible - at a time India was already filled with blood and violence.

The anthem is almost entirely nouns - different geographic features of India. These nouns exist in most Indian languages and thus makes it much easier to understand all across India. When it goes like: Panjab-Sindhu-Gujarat-Maratha Dravida - - it is not rocket science to understand what the poet talks about.

At a time when India was having a rift with dozens of languages, it made sense to have a poem that is more understood by most.

It doesn’t have the religious color of any type nor deifies the nation - this makes it more acceptable to India’s minorities.

It is simple, short and easy to recite. Compared to many other anthems - including those of the USA - you don’t need musical prowess to sing India’s anthem. There is no complex melody like Vande Mataram and no big band needed to march like Sare Jahan se Acha. A common man could easily sing the Jana Gana Mana due to its simplicity and thus it was also breaking class barriers.




Source:https://www.quora.com/notifications/collection?__filter__&__nsrc__=2&__sncid__=1065305874
Author:Balaji Viswanathan