Vande Mataram Ali Jinnah opposed the song. Thereafter, with the support of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawahar Lal Nehru, the Indian National Congress decided to adopt only the first two stanzas as the national song to be sung at public gatherings, and other verses that included references to Durga and Lakshmi were expunged. Rajendra Prasad, who was presiding the Constituent Assembly on 24 January 1950, made the following statement which was also adopted as the final decision on the issue: ...The composition consisting of words and music known as Jana Gana Mana is the National Anthem of India, subject to such alterations as
National anthem of the Transvaal 1881. Possibly, this date accounts for the song's non-avoidance of the word Transvaal, which was the name of the state so strongly rejected in the uprising of 1880-81. The arrangement is by G G Cillie. National anthem of the Transvaal The national anthem of the Transvaal (Afrikaans and Dutch: "Volkslied van Transvaal", literally "People's song of Transvaal") was the national anthem of the independent Boer Republic called the South African Republic, also known as the Republic of the Transvaal. It is one of many South African flag songs. The words and music of the 'Transvaalse Volkslied' were written by the