Editorial

The resurfacing of Jawaharlal Nehru’s 1948 letter to Syama Prasad Mookerjee from the newly released Nehru archives adds a vital layer of clarity to one of independent India’s most emotionally charged debates: why Jana Gana Mana became the national anthem over Vande Mataram. Far removed from today’s polarised narratives, Nehru’s reasoning was characteristically pragmatic, culturally sensitive, and grounded in India’s global aspirations at a delicate moment in nation-building.

Nehru’s argument was simple yet profound. He believed that Vande Mataram, though deeply inspirational and historically tied to India’s freedom struggle, was not “feasible” as the national anthem chiefly because its tune was not easily adaptable to orchestral or band rendering. In contrast, Jana Gana Mana—already appreciated abroad for its musical structure—carried a universal resonance befitting a modern nation seeking its rightful place in the world. This was not a dismissal of Vande Mataram’s emotional or cultural value but a practical consideration about what best represented India on formal state occasions and the international stage.

This decision also needs to be understood in the context of India’s plural fabric. Vande Mataram—a powerful hymn to the motherland—has verses that some communities found religiously specific. Nehru, acutely aware of the freshly scarred atmosphere of Partition, sought symbols that united rather than divided, and an anthem that invited participation from all Indians without hesitation. His letter underscores the statesmanship with which he approached sensitive cultural questions: not through ideological rigidity, but through an inclusive, forward-looking lens.

The newly accessible Nehru archives remind us that decisions of national importance were often made through reasoned dialogue rather than the heated rhetoric that pervades contemporary politics. They also highlight the fairness of the process: Vande Mataram was not discarded. It was given the status of the national song, honouring its role in the freedom movement, while Jana Gana Mana emerged as the anthem that could musically and symbolically represent the Republic.

As India continues to debate identity, nationalism, and cultural representation, the 1948 exchange is a powerful example of how founding leaders negotiated diversity with dignity. Nehru’s letter reflects an India confident enough to honour emotion yet wise enough to embrace practicality. In an era where symbolism often overshadows substance, revisiting such documents offers a timely reminder of the thoughtful nation-building ethos that shaped the Republic.

In the dense, Hezbollah-stronghold of Beirut’s southern suburbs, the wail of sirens pierced the night on November 23, 2025. An Israeli airstrike demolished an apartment building in Haret Hreik, killing five, including Hezbollah’s chief of staff Haytham Ali Tabatabai, and wounding 25 more. Lebanon’s Health Ministry tallied the toll, but the human cost ripples deeper: shattered families, rubble-choked streets, and a fragile November 2024 ceasefire—meant to end 14 months of cross-border carnage—hanging by a thread. This marks Israel’s first direct hit on Beirut since June, a brazen escalation amid intensified southern strikes aimed at thwarting Hezbollah’s alleged rearmament. Hezbollah decried it as a “treacherous” red line crossed, vowing reprisals that could ignite all-out war, just as Pope Leo XIV prepares for a papal visit to Lebanon.

The humanitarian fallout is a grim echo of Gaza’s siege. Since the truce, Israeli operations have slain at least 71 Lebanese civilians—14 women, nine children—displacing over 92,000 and gutting infrastructure from schools to water plants. A November 18 drone strike on Ein el-Hilweh, Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp, claimed 13 lives, mostly children, in a crowded haven for those fleeing 1948’s Nakba and Gaza’s ruins. UN experts decry systematic violations of international humanitarian law: disproportionate force, civilian targeting, and assaults on UNIFIL peacekeepers, including tank fire mere meters from patrols. Lebanon’s south lies scarred—48% of businesses razed, 36 health facilities crippled, per UNDP tallies—exacerbating a $14 billion war bill that starves reconstruction. These aren’t surgical strikes; they’re collective punishment, breeding despair in a nation already buckling under economic collapse.

Enter Europe’s pivot: On November 17, Germany—Israel’s second-largest arms supplier, providing 30% of major imports from 2019-2023—announced it would lift its August 2025 export freeze, effective November 24. Chancellor Friedrich Merz cited Gaza’s “stabilized” ceasefire, ignoring daily Israeli raids there and in Lebanon. This reversal, after a near-total halt on licenses, greenlights case-by-case approvals for tank engines, corvettes, and more—fuel for the very jets pounding Beirut. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar hailed it, urging others to follow, but rights groups like ECCHR slam it as complicity in potential genocide, breaching the Geneva Conventions.

Is this a broader Western lurch toward unconditional backing? While Slovenia’s August ban and Spain’s full embargo signal ethical fracture—12 Hague Group nations halting transfers—Germany’s move, alongside the UK’s partial suspensions, underscores a moral schizophrenia. Europe, haunted by Holocaust guilt, risks alienating Arab partners and stoking global jihadist recruitment by prioritizing realpolitik over human rights. Netanyahu’s cabinet vows to crush “terrorism” on all fronts, but at what price? Tabatabai’s death may decapitate Hezbollah anew, yet it sows seeds of endless vendetta.

The ethics of arms trade demand scrutiny: Exporting death while preaching peace erodes credibility. Berlin must reinstate curbs, conditioned on verifiable civilian protections and UN-monitored de-escalation. The EU should forge a unified embargo, channeling funds to Lebanese reconstruction instead. Otherwise, Europe’s “pivot” isn’t strategic—it’s surrender to the cycle of violence. In Beirut’s ruins, the dead whisper: Ceasefires crumble without accountability. Will Europe listen, or arm the abyss?

• SAS Kirmani