Was Jana Gana Mana written to welcome the British? Priyank Kharge fact-checks BJP MP

A senior BJP MP from Karnataka claimed that the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana, was written by Rabindranath Tagore to welcome the British, drawing sharp reaction from the Congress party.

Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, the former Assembly Speaker, allegedly made the remark while addressing an event at Honnavara in Karwar. He said there was a strong chorus to make Vande Mataram the national anthem.

“However, our ancestors decided that along with Vande Mataram, Jana Gana Mana, which was composed to welcome the British, should also be included. Today, we have accepted it and continue to follow it,” he said. A video of his speech has since gone viral on social platforms.

His remarks came as India celebrates 150 years of the national song with the BJP organising special events at 150 places across the country. Modi will attend one such programme at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in Delhi on Friday.

Kageri’s remark drew a sharp retort from the Congress, which termed it a ‘WhatsApp History’ lesson.

Senior party leader and Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge said Tagore wrote the hymn Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata in 1911, and its first stanza later became Jana Gana Mana.

“It was first sung on December 27, 1911, at the Indian National Congress in Calcutta—not as a royal tribute,” he said.

Kharge noted that Tagore himself had clarified in 1937 and 1939 that the song hailed the “Dispenser of India’s destiny” and it “could never be George V, George VI, or any other George.”