Subh Sukh Chain (, ) was the national anthem of the

Provisional Government of Free India The Provisional Government of Free India (''Ārzī Hukūmat-e-Āzād Hind'') or, more simply, ''Azad Hind'', was an Indian provisional government established in Japanese occupied Singapore during World War II. It was created in October 1943 ...

. The song was based on a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

poem Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata by

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

. When

Subhash Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose ( ; 23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945 * * * * * * * * *) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperi ...

shifted to Southeast Asia from Germany in 1943, he, with the help of Mumtaz Hussain, a writer with the Azad Hind Radio and Colonel Abid Hasan Safrani of the INA, rewrote

Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

’s Jana Gana Mana into the Hindustani Subh Sukh Chain for being used as the national anthem. Bose then went to what was then the INA broadcasting station at the Cathay Building in Singapore and asked Capt. Ram Singh Thakuri to compose the music for a song translated from Rabindranath Tagore's original Bengali score. He asked him to give the song a martial tune. India attained independence on 15 August 1947, and the next morning

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India du ...

unfurled the tricolour on the ramparts of the Red Fort and addressed the nation. It was on this occasion that Captain Thakuri was invited to play the tune of Subh Sukh Chain along with the members of his orchestra group.

History

During the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal ...

, the song

Vande Mataram ''Vande Mataram'' (Sanskrit: वन्दे मातरम् IAST: , also spelt ''Bande Mataram''; বন্দে মাতরম্, ''Bônde Mātôrôm''; ) is a poem written in sanskritised Bengali by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in th ...

was frequently sung at protest meetings, including the proclamation of the

in Singapore in October 1943. Some Muslims were, however, not comfortable with the expressly Hindu metaphors used in the song, and disliked the book,

Anandamath ''Anandamath'' ( bn, আনন্দমঠ ''Anondomôţh'') ( The Abbey of Bliss) is a Bengali fiction, written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and published in 1882. It is inspired by and set in the background of the Sannyasi Rebellion in ...

, in which it had been first published. The leaders of the

Indian National Army The Indian National Army (INA; ''Azad Hind Fauj'' ; 'Free Indian Army') was a collaborationist armed force formed by Indian collaborators and Imperial Japan on 1 September 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. Its aim was to secure In ...

in Singapore were aware of this problem, and hoped that

Subhas Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose ( ; 23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945 * * * * * * * * *) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperi ...

, the head of the INA and the Azad Hind, would settle it.

Lakshmi Sahgal Lakshmi Sahgal () (born Lakshmi Swaminathan; 24 October 1914 – 23 July 2012) was a revolutionary of the Indian independence movement, an officer of the Indian National Army, and the Minister of Women's Affairs in the Azad Hind government. La ...

, who was an INA member, favoured the selection of

Jana Gana Mana "" (Sanskrit: जन गण मन) is the national anthem of the Republic of India. It was originally composed as '' Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata'' in Bengali by polymath Rabindranath Tagore. The first stanza of the song ''Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata ...

, which was composed by

and had been sung at sessions of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

. She arranged to have it sung at a women's meeting attended by Bose. Bose was taken by the song, which he thought was nationally representative. However, he did not like that the song was in

Sanskritized Sanskritisation (or Sanskritization) is a term in sociology which refers to the process by which castes or tribes placed lower in the caste hierarchy seek 'upward' mobility by emulating the rituals and practices of the dominant castes or uppe ...

Bengali, and commissioned a free translation to Hindustani. The translation, ''Subh Sukh Chain'', was written by Captain Abid Hasan Safrani, and its score composed by Captain

Ram Singh Thakuri Ram Singh Thakuri (15 August 1914 – 15 April 2002) was an Indian freedom fighter, musician and composer. He composed a number of patriotic songs including ''Kadam Kadam Badaye Ja'' and ''Subh Sukh Chain'' whilst serving in the Indian National ...

. It took Vande Mataram's place as the official national anthem of the Provisional Government, and was sung at all meetings, including at the final assembly before Bose's departure. On 24 January 1950,Volume XII. Tuesday, 24 January 1950. Online Transcript, Constituent Assembly Debates
President-elect

Rajendra Prasad Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, Indian independence activist, journalist & scholar who served as the first president of Republic of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian Nationa ...

announced the final decision that

would be the national anthem of India.

Lyrics

The text of the anthem is

References

{{Nationalanthemsofasia Indian patriotic songs Indian National Army Azad Hind Memorials to Rabindranath Tagore

History

Lyrics

See also

References