Bengaluru, Nov. 6 -- Congress leader and Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Thursday criticised BJP MP Vishveshwar Hegde Kageri's claim that India's National Anthem is "British." Kharge called the statement "utter nonsense" and emphasised the historical facts.
He highlighted that Rabindranath Tagore composed the hymn Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata in 1911, whose first stanza later became Jana Gana Mana. The anthem was first sung on December 27, 1911 at the Indian National Congress in Calcutta, and not as a tribute to any British monarch.
Tagore himself clarified in 1937 and 1939 that the anthem hails the "Dispenser of India's destiny" and cannot refer to King George V, George VI, or any other British ruler.
Kharge urged BJP and RSS leaders, wo...