Margaret Cousins Margaret Cousins Margaret Elizabeth Cousins, "née" Gillespie, also known as Gretta Cousins (7 October 1878 – 11 March 1954) was an Irish-Indian educationist, suffragist and Theosophist, who established All India Women's Conference (AIWC) in 1927. She was the wife of poet and literary critic James Cousins, with whom she moved to India in 1915. She is credited with composing the tune for the Indian National Anthem "Jana Gana Mana" in February 1919, during Rabindranath Tagore's visit to the Madanapalle College. Margaret Gillespie, from an Irish Protestant family, was born at Boyle, County Roscommon, and educated locally and in Derry. She
Madanapalle set it to music in Madanapalle. The National Anthem was written by Rabindranath Tagore as early as in 1911 and was sung at the annual session of the Indian National Congress at Calcutta on 27 December that year. But it was actually done in Besant Theosophical College, Madanapalle, where Tagore stayed for few days in February 1919 that the now familiar tune was set. It was Margaret Cousins, wife of educationist, Dr. James Henry Cousins, who composed the tune for "Jana Gana Mana". Dr.J H Cousins was then the Principal of the Madanapalle College that was established by Dr. Annie