Ashish Bablu’s claim that Tagore also wrote the national anthem of Sri Lanka is probably not correct. I copy some excerpts from Wikipedia for your reference:
"Sri Lanka Matha is the national anthem of Sri Lanka. The song was written and composed by the Ananda Samarakoon in 1940, and was later adopted as the national anthem in 1951.
It was written when Sri Lanka was still a British colony and was initially written as a tribute to Sri Lanka, expressing sentiments of freedom, unity and independence, and not for the purpose of serving as a national anthem.
The song however became very popular throughout the 1940`s and when Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948 it was chosen to be the national anthem, 3 years later. The first independence day it was sung was in 1952. Ananda Samarakoon was Rabindranath Tagore`s student and the tune is influenced by Tagore`s genre of music."
I don`t want to start a war of words with anybody. I am pointing it out to keep the record straight. Please read this mail in the spirit in which it is written.
Dr Khorshed Chowdhury
School of Economics
University of Wollongong
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Home Page Published on: 21-May-2012 
