India of Indians

Nowhere in “The Constitution of India” are written such words as “Bharat Mata” and “Vande Matram”. Neither are found their English equivalent like mother land, mother India. We have Preamble in the beginning which says clearly :

WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly

resolved to constitute India into a 1[SOVEREIGN

SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC] and

to secure to all its citizens:

JUSTICE, social, economic and political;

LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and

worship;

EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;

and to promote among them all

FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual

and the 2[unity and integrity of the Nation];

It enables us as we the people of India having resolved to constitute India into a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular and Democratic Republic. Nothing less than this and nothing beyond this. As Indian Citizen we have to show our express allegiance to the National Anthem and National Flag. There is no mention of National Song, (Vande Matram)  This is what our Constitution wants us to commit to remain as Indian Citizen, the rest are just implicit derivations which have subjective and philosophic orientation. Some consider it as mother land so they have created a picture which is just a figment of some creative thinking. Everybody has a right to think so. Every poet has legitimate right to expound his thinking in one way or the other. We can like it, appreciate it but not necessarily adopt it. The very same preamble states clearly “Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship and makes a clear demand to allow this for others and enjoy the same in your own case. We puts all doubts to rest.

India is a country, a national entity recognized politically, socially, economically at all levels, whereas the other implication of this word is that it has the same derivation as the word habitat. A habitat is an environment which allows its inhabitants to breed, feed and weed and fulfill all their natural needs to grow in accordance with their requirements. This enables and infuses a sense of nativity and a sense of belonging which is returned in the form of our love and affections, loyalty and patriotism. It is a natural instinct and as citizens of modern India we should respect rights and growth of one another. But on the other hand the Indian constitution goes a step further and recognizes the objective identity of Indians as its citizens.

India is a country inhabited by the Indian citizens who are required to abide by “The Constitution of India”, the National Flag and the National Anthem. I have searched through the entire text and I failed to find the above words. Therefore, it should be obvious that anything beyond the Constitution of India is a mere subjective derivation and it can not be enforced on the Citizens of India.

Sh Jawahar Lal Nehru made the following observation about Bharat Mata in his well known book “The Discovery of India.” :

"Sometimes as I reached a gathering, a great roar of welcome would greet me: Bharat Mata ki Jai-- Victory to Mother India!  would ask them unexpectedly what they meant by that cry, who was this Bharat Mata, Mother India, whose victory they wanted? My question would amuse them and surprise them, and then, not knowing exactly what to answer, they would look at each other and at me. I persisted in my questioning. At last a vigorous Jat, wedded to the soil from immemorial generations, would say that it was the dharti, the good earth of India, that they meant. What earth? Their particular village patch, or all the patches in the district or province, or in the whole of India? And so question and answer went on, till they would ask me impatiently to tell them all about it. I would endeavour to do to and explain that India was all this that they had thought,
but it was much more. The mountains and rivers of India, and the forests and the broad fields, which gave us food, were all dear to us, but what counted ultimately were the people of India, people like them and me, who were spread out all over this vast land. Bharat Mata, Mother India, was essentially these millions of people, and victory to her meant victory to these people. You are parts of this Bharat Mata, I told them, you are in a manner yourselves Bharat Mata, and as this idea slowly soaked into their brains, their eyes would light up as if they had made a great discovery."

Obviously it is just a philosophic idea to call the land of the country as mother land.or Bharat Mata. This carried an invincible emotional appeal as this shows our attachment to our mother. Just as mother feeds her children and takes care of the needs of her children, so does the land of the country. A attempt has been made to draw similarity between mother and the land we live on. They called it their motherland.

We have created similar concepts in various walks of life. Instead of calling it Natural language we tend to call it Mother tongue to strengthen our belief in the language spoken by our mother to communicate and develop it as our own. Similarly all rivers are addressed as mothers. With the exception of Brhamputra, all the rivers have been named as feminine gender. This is a cultural tradition. Some follow it some do not. In some countries land is addressed as Father. They call it fatherland.  In Russia they call it They father oriented families. They carry the name of their father in their names.

Before Independence the use of such derivations were very common and acceptable as they infused the feeling of oneness and people across the Indian subcontinent liked to to use this term for India. It was used to realize that they were one and united and they can fight the British out. Such philosophic concepts helped Indians psyche to rise above their differences and fight against the British dominion.

However it is apt to bring the following information for our readers taken from the Government of India website www.knowindia.gov.in :

National Symbols

This section introduces you to the National Identity Elements of India. These symbols are intrinsic to the Indian identity and heritage. Indians of all demographics backgrounds across the world are proud of these National Symbols as they infuse a sense of pride and patriotism in every Indian's heart.

National Flag

The National Flag is a horizontal tricolour of deep saffron (kesaria) at the top, white in the middle and dark green at the bottom in equal proportion. The ratio of width of the flag to its length is two to three. In the centre of the white band is a navy-blue wheel which represents the chakra.

The top saffron colour, indicates the strength and courage of the country. The white middle band indicates peace and truth with Dharma Chakra. The green shows the fertility, growth and auspiciousness of the land.

Its design is that of the wheel which appears on the abacus of the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. Its diameter approximates to the width of the white band and it has 24 spokes. The design of the National Flag was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 22 July 1947.

National Anthem

The National Anthem of India Jana-gana-mana, composed originally in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore, was adopted in its Hindi version by the Constituent Assembly as the National Anthem of India on 24 January 1950. It was first sung on 27 December 1911 at the Kolkata Session of the Indian National Congress.

The complete song consists of five stanzas. The first stanza contains the full version of the National Anthem.Playing time of the full version of the national anthem is approximately 52 seconds. A short version consisting of the first and last lines of the stanza (playing time approximately 20 seconds) is also played on certain occasions.

National Song

The song Vande Mataram, composed in Sanskrit by Bankimchandra Chatterji, was a source of inspiration to the people in their struggle for freedom. It has an equal status with Jana-gana-mana. On January 24, 1950, the President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad came up with a statement in the Constituent Assembly, "the song Vande Mataram, which has played a historic part in the struggle for Indian freedom, shall be honoured equally with Jana Gana Mana and shall have equal status with it."

The first political occasion when it was sung was the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress. The song was a part of Bankimchandra's most famous novel Anand Math (1882).

State Emblem

The state emblem is an adaptation from the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. In the original, there are four lions, standing back to back, mounted on an abacus with a frieze carrying sculptures in high relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull and a lion separated by intervening wheels over a bell-shaped lotus. Carved out of a single block of polished sandstone, the Capital is crowned by the Wheel of the Law (Dharma Chakra).

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National Bird

The Indian peacock, Pavo cristatus, the National Bird of India, is a colourful, swan-sized bird, with a fan-shaped crest of feathers, a white patch under the eye and a long, slender neck. The male of the species is more colourful than the female, with a glistening blue breast and neck and a spectacular bronze-green tail of around 200 elongated feathers. The female is brownish, slightly smaller than the male and lacks the tail. The elaborate courtship dance of the male, fanning out the tail and preening its feathers is a gorgeous sight.

National Animal

The magnificent tiger, Panthera tigris is a striped animal. It has a thick yellow coat of fur with dark stripes. The combination of grace, strength, agility and enormous power has earned the tiger its pride of place as the national animal of India.

National Flower

Lotus (Nelumbo Nucifera Gaertn) is the National Flower of India. It is a sacred flower and occupies a unique position in the art and mythology of ancient India and has been an auspicious symbol of Indian culture since time immemorial.

India is rich in flora. Currently available data place India in the tenth position in the world and fourth in Asia in plant diversity. From about 70 per cent geographical area surveyed so far, 47,000 species of plants have been described by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI).