Jana Gana Mana

What it is

Jana Gana Mana is the song that serves as India's national anthem. Its words come from a longer Bengali hymn, Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata, which Tagore finished in December 1911. The parent hymn has five verses, and only the opening one was taken for the anthem. Tagore wrote in Sadhu Bhasha, a literary Bengali full of Sanskrit words. In English the title is often rendered as The Minds of All People, from jana, people, gana, group, and mana, mind. A full performance takes about 52 seconds; a shorter rendering of the first and last lines takes roughly 20.

Writing and first singing

The words and melody were ready on 11 December 1911. Tagore set the tune in the Alhaiya Bilaval raga, as a hymn for the Brahmo Samaj, a monotheistic movement that the sources treat as Hindu. His grand-nephew, the musician Dinendranath Tagore, may have given some assistance. The verses were printed in the Bengali journal Tatwabodhini Patrika, with Tagore then its editor. The first public singing came on 27 December 1911, on the second day of the Congress meeting in Calcutta, when Tagore's niece sang it at her school assembly. Gatherings of the Adi Brahmo Samaj followed in January 1912.

Madanapalle and after

In February 1919 Tagore sang the song at Besant Theosophical College in Madanapalle, in what is now Andhra Pradesh. Margaret Cousins, its vice-principal, wrote his notes down in Western notation so the tune would be kept accurately; her husband was the Irish poet James Cousins. Tagore made an English version there, calling it The Morning Song of India. The Doon School in Dehradun had taken it as a school song in 1935. Later, while in Germany, Subhas Chandra Bose chose it as India's anthem, and in 1942 the Hamburg Radio Symphony Orchestra played it at the founding meeting of the German-Indian Society.

A king, or no king

When the song was sung at the Congress in 1911, some Indian newspapers in English described it as a welcome to Emperor George V. Historians today say those reports confused two things from the same meeting: Tagore's hymn and a separate welcome song. Nationalist papers of the day and the record of the session itself set out the order of events, with praise of God first and a greeting to the King later. Tagore denied any royal flattery. In letters of 1937 and 1939 he explained that his hymn praises the Bhagya Bidhata, the God of Destiny, the guide of India down the ages, and never a king.

Singing and respect

The anthem is sung or played on public occasions, and government guidance issued over the years covers the approved versions, the occasions for each, and the respect expected of those present. The full version lasts about 52 seconds; the short one about 20. In a case from Kerala, students who were Jehovah's Witnesses were expelled for refusing to sing on religious grounds, though they stood. The Kerala High Court upheld the expulsion, and in 1986 the Supreme Court of India set that aside, holding that no law requires anyone to sing, and that a court should not weigh the truth of a sincerely held belief.

How Jana Gana Mana is kept

The anthem belongs to public life rather than to one community. At official gatherings, school assemblies and ceremonies it is played or sung while those present stand in respect. The full version runs about 52 seconds. A shorter one, made of the first and last lines, lasts about 20 seconds and is used on some occasions. Government instructions describe which version fits which occasion and what behaviour is expected. In a 1986 judgment the Supreme Court noted that no law compels anyone to sing it.

When and where

There is no fixed date. The anthem is used when an occasion calls for it, at national and civic events. Its words were finished on 11 December 1911, and it was first sung in public on 27 December 1911. On 24 January 1950 the Constituent Assembly adopted the first stanza as the national anthem of the new republic.

It is kept across India, and strongest in national and civic settings. Calcutta, now Kolkata, is where the first public performance took place in 1911. At Madanapalle in Andhra Pradesh it was written into Western notation in 1919. Outside India, Hamburg is remembered for a 1942 performance, and a recording was carried to the United Nations gathering in New York in 1947.

What Jana Gana Mana means

The title is read as The Minds of All People, and the hymn names the land, its rivers, mountains and people rather than a ruler. Tagore said he wrote it for the Bhagya Bidhata, the God of Destiny, who guides India through its changes. For many Indians the anthem is a short, shared statement of who belongs together. Its place in schools and at ceremonies makes it one of the few texts almost every Indian knows by heart.

Questions people ask about Jana Gana Mana

See also

Beating RetreatA military ceremony of music and drill held at sunset to mark the end of a day or a festival.Wagah Border CeremonyA daily flag-lowering ritual at the India-Pakistan border featuring high kicks and synchronized drills.Royal Ploughing CeremonyA royal agricultural rite opening the rice season across mainland Southeast AsiaDiwaliA five-day festival of lights celebrated across India and its diaspora to mark the victory of light over darkness.

Good reading and sources

• Does India's national anthem extol the British?BBC, Article
• To sing or not to sing Vande MataramThe Indian Express, Article
• India national anthem no longer compulsory in cinemasBBC, Article
• Muslim clerics in Jharkhand oppose govt move on national anthem in madrasasHindustan Times, Article
• Does India's national anthem extol the British?BBC, Article
• To sing or not to sing Vande MataramThe Indian Express, Article
• India national anthem no longer compulsory in cinemasBBC, Article
• Muslim clerics in Jharkhand oppose govt move on national anthem in madrasasHindustan Times, Article

• Jana Gana Mana on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.