Indian Congress moves upper house to amend Indian national anthem

Islamabad : India’s major opposition party Indian Congress has moved a resolution in upper house of Indian Parliament (Rajya Sabha) seeking amendments to the Indian national anthem to replace the word 'Sindh' with 'North East'.

"North East is an important part of India; it is unfortunate that it is not part of the national anthem. On other hand, Sindh is mentioned, which is no longer part of India but part of Pakistan, which is a hostile country," Congress MP Ripun Bora said after he moved the resolution in the house.

"This house urges upon the government to amend the national anthem to delete the words 'Sindh' and replace the words 'Northeast India' in the anthem," he said in the resolution submitted. According to media reports he also stated in the resolution: "the national anthem of India 'Jana Gana Mana' mentions Sindh which is no longer part of India; the Northeast India, which is a very important part of India, finds no mention in the national anthem, the then President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, had made a statement in the constituent assembly on 24th January, 1950 that the composition consisting of the words and music known as the Jana Gana Mana is the national anthem of India, subject to such alterations in the words such as government may authorise as occasion arises."

Earlier in 2016, Shiv Sena member Arvind Sawant had raised the issue in lower house (Lok Sabha) of Indian Parliament demanding the word 'Sindh' be removed from the national anthem and replaced with an appropriate word, saying there was no state by that name in the country. Raising the issue in Lok Sabha, he had said that as the national anthem was adopted by Parliament, it should initiate action to remove the word. National anthem 'Jana Gana Mana', composed by Nobel laureate Rabindra Nath Tagore in 1911, was adopted by the Indian constituent assembly in 1950.