One Man of Two Nations

Rabindranath Tagore (1861 – 1941), a Bengali speaking Indian was the first Asian Nobel Laureate. Two of his poems were later on accepted as the national anthems of both Bangladesh and India. Looking at the demographic and historic background of both
countries, that could hardly be a surprise. Language, otherwise known as the mother-tongue, more than citizenship is a main factor in determining the identity of an individual. We are apt to accept views from people with whom we share the same language.
Bangladesh national anthem was written in 1906 at the time when the British artificially divided the Bengal into two halves based on religion. The predominantly muslim part is today’s Bangladesh. Tagore, a Hindu remained on the other side, India. He was an Indian, a Bengali speaking Indian. Tagore was against the partition and he wrote that song to keep on the flame of unity among the Bengali people. Part of the poem was officially adopted as the national anthem in 1972 after the country attained independence. In this poem Tagore emphasized on the natural beauty, richness and innocence of the land. One can smell the strong scent of patriotism and a sense of longing all through out the poem. It’s like a mother who was on the verge of loosing her one and only son to a faraway land.
Tagore wrote India’s national anthem at a later date in1911 during the British colonial rule but was officially adopted as national anthem in 1954. In fact it was written at the time of the coronation of King George V. Some think that the poem was written in praise of the British Monarch. Others however disagreed and said it was written in praise of God.
Whatever the truth is the poem unlike the Bangladesh anthem which focused on beauty and love for the land, India’s anthem focused praise on a higher being – the dispenser of India’s destiny. One common trait found in both poems is the rallying call of unity. Tagore used land as the rallying call in the Bangladesh anthem whereas India invokes the praise of the great ruler, the benefactor.