Was Jana Gana Mana in praise of George V?

On, Wednesday, December 27, 1911 Jana Gana Mana was rendered as a song at the annual session of the Indian National Congress in Kolkata. It was published in the Bengali journal Tatwabodini in January 1912, titled Bharat Bidhata and was classified as Brahma Sangeet.
It had four stanzas. Later the Constituent Assembly adopted only the first of the four stanzas as the National Anthem of our country. A clear reading of the whole text dispels any doubt as to who is the Bharat Bhagya Bidatha or the arbiter of India's destiny is quite evident from its text, though there are some "doubting Thomases" who suspect it was written eulogising Emperor George V.
On December 12, 1911 the Emperor announced during the Delhi Durbar the abrogation of the Partition of Bengal which Lord Curzon had effected as the Viceroy in 1905. So delighted were the moderate leaders of the Congress that they decided to publicly acknowledge their allegiance to the Emperor and accord him a royal welcome from the dais of the Congress session in Kolkata in December 1911. An acquaintance of Rabindranath who was a great admirer of the Raj requested him to compose a song in praise of the Emperor. The very proposal was obnoxious, repulsive and demeaning to the great poet. So offended was he that he produced his immortal creation to commemorate the victory of the real Bharat Bhagya Bidhata.
In this context it would be pertinent to refer to a letter he addressed to Sir Pulin Behari Sen on November 26, 1937, This letter was later published in Bichitra [p.709, Dec 1938]. He accused that a top ranking official of the government had approached and requested him to compose a song in glory of the Emperor. He was surprised at this overture. At the same time he was agitated. The immediate and strong reaction resulted in penning down Jana Gana Mana. In yet another letter addressed to Sudharani Debi he had expressed identical sentiments.
The Congress session of 1911 in Kolkata was a three-day affair and in all four songs were sung. On day one was Bande Mataram. The proceedings of the second day commenced with the rendering of Jana Gana Mana. It was sung in chorus.
Amongst the singers were Sarala Debi, a niece of Rabindranath. This was followed by a reading of the messages from the well-wishers and sympathisers of the Congress. After this a resolution was adopted welcoming the Royal Couple and declaring allegiance to them. A Hindi song praising the royal couple was then sung. The lyricist of that song was Sri Rambhuj Dutt Choudhary, the husband of Sarala Debi. On the last day of the session, a song written by Sarala Debi was sung.
The relevant portion of the official report of the 26th Session of the Congress reads: The proceedings commenced with a patriotic song composed by Babu Rabindranath Tagore. After that a song of welcome to Their Imperial Majesties composed for the occasion was sung by the choir.
On Jan 25, 1912 Jana Gana Mana was sung the second time in a programme at the Maharshi Bhavan in Kolkata under the guidance of Rabindranath himself.
Yet another session of the Congress was held in Kolkata in 1917. On the third day, Dec 28, Jana Gana Mana was again sung. The official report of the Congress thus quoted Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das "Brother delegates, at the very outset I desire to refer to the song which you have just listened to, it is a song of the glory and victory of India."
But one question continues to linger: Had Jana Gana Mana [1911] been written really in praise of Emperor George V would the Congress unanimously recognise the same as a song of devotion/patriotism again in 1917?

(The writer is Additional Chief Secretary, Home and Transport Department, Government of Karnataka)

Source: The Times of India, 28 Dec 2002