PM Leads Lok Sabha Debate on Vande Mataram as BJP, Congress Trade Charges

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to participate in a special Lok Sabha debate on Monday to commemorate the 150th anniversary of 'Vande Mataram', the iconic patriotic hymn penned by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in November 1875 as part of his novel Anandamath. First recited publicly in 1882, the song quickly evolved into a powerful anthem of resistance against British colonial rule, inspiring figures like Sri Aurobindo and Mahatma Gandhi during the Swadeshi Movement. Its verses, evoking the motherland as a divine feminine entity, fuelled mass mobilisation, but the full six-stanza version—rich with references to Hindu deities like Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati—has long sparked debates over inclusivity. Designated as India's National Song in 1950, it holds equal status with Jana Gana Mana, yet the occasion has reignited a partisan clash between the BJP and Congress, with accusations of historical distortion and communal pandering dominating the discourse.

The current controversy traces back to the Congress Working Committee's 1937 Faizpur session, where, under Jawaharlal Nehru's presidency, the party resolved to sing only the first two stanzas at national gatherings. The decision aimed to address objections from Muslim members, who viewed the later verses' deification of the motherland as idolatrous and exclusionary. Rabindranath Tagore, in a 1937 letter to Nehru, had earlier advised truncating the song to its initial stanzas, praising them as a "perfect expression of national sentiment" while noting the full version's potential to alienate non-Hindu communities. The resolution explicitly allowed individuals to sing additional verses or alternatives, emphasising unity over compulsion. This pragmatic step, endorsed by leaders including Gandhi and Subhas Chandra Bose, sought to foster broader participation in the freedom struggle amid rising communal tensions.

BJP spokesperson C.R. Kesavan reignited the row last month by sharing excerpts from Nehru's private letters to Bose in September and October 1937, interpreting them as evidence of deliberate dilution. In the September 1 missive, Nehru dismissed claims that the song invoked goddesses as "absurd", arguing the lyrics were "thoroughly harmless" and their divine interpretation misguided. By October 20, he acknowledged the song's "background" from Anandamath—a novel depicting a Hindu uprising against Muslim rulers—might "irritate Muslims", conceding "some substance" to the outcry while rejecting pandering to "communalists". The BJP, including PM Modi, frames this as a "historic sin" that sowed Partition's seeds, accusing Congress of prioritising appeasement over cultural integrity. Modi, in a November speech, lamented the "severing" of stanzas as a fracture in national ethos, urging the youth to recognise its divisive legacy.

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Congress leaders have fired back, defending the 1937 choice as a consensus-driven act of inclusivity rooted in Tagore's counsel and Gandhi's vision of harmonious nationalism. Party chief Mallikarjun Kharge labelled the BJP's critique "deeply ironic," pointing to the RSS's historical aversion to the full song—evidenced by a 1937 ban on its singing at shakhas due to its "anti-British" fervour—and instances where BJP events skipped it. Rahul Gandhi echoed this, accusing the ruling party of weaponising history to distract from contemporary failures like unemployment. The Congress cited Gandhi's Collected Works (Vol. 66) to underscore the decision's backing by a diverse committee including Patel, Azad, and Naidu, arguing it preserved the song's core while accommodating India's plural fabric.

This exchange underscores deeper fault lines in interpreting pre-Independence history, where symbols like Vande Mataram—once a unifying cry—now serve as proxies for debates on secularism versus cultural nationalism. The 1937 truncation, far from a unilateral Nehru diktat, reflected the era's delicate balancing act amid Jinnah's demands and Bose's advocacy for the full version. As the Lok Sabha debate unfolds, it risks amplifying polarisation, yet it also revives appreciation for Chatterjee's enduring tribute to Bharat Mata, a motif that transcended religion to galvanise the independence movement.

Beyond rhetoric, the anniversary highlights Vande Mataram's global resonance, from its rendition at the 1896 Calcutta Congress to modern renditions by artists like A.R. Rahman. While the BJP pushes for fuller embrace in public life, Congress warns against mandating it, invoking constitutional freedoms. As Modi addresses Parliament, the focus may shift to reconciliation, but history's echoes suggest this row, like the song itself, will linger as a testament to India's complex quest for unity in diversity.

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