PM Modi Says Vande Mataram Fueled India’s Freedom Hopes and Will Guide a Prosperous Future

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday delivered a powerful speech in the Lok Sabha to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, declaring the iconic national song an eternal source of inspiration for realisingrealising Atmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat by 2047. Describing it as “unparalleled in world history”,history”, Modi said the composition by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was never just a freedom-era slogan but a spiritual and cultural force that continues to energiseenergise India’s journey towards self-reliance and prosperity.

Tracing its origins to 1875 and its inclusion in the novel Anandamath in 1882, the Prime Minister highlighted how Vande Mataram countered British attempts to impose “God Save the Queen” as the anthem in colonial India. He portrayed the song as a modern expression of ancient Indian philosophy that reveres the motherland as a goddess—from the Vedic concept of Earth as mother to Lord Ram’s devotion—and credited it with awakening national pride during centuries of subjugation.

Modi recounted how the chant of Vande Mataram sustained the country through crises: food shortages that were turned into surplus, external aggressions repelled by soldiers on the border, the dark days of Emergency, and even global challenges. “Whenever the nation stumbled, it rose again with the power of Vande Mataram,” he said, linking the same spirit to today’s campaigns such as Har Ghar Tiranga and Make in India.

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In a sharp political attack, the Prime Minister accused Jawaharlal Nehru of succumbing to pressure from Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s Muslim League and agreeing to drop certain stanzas of the song to avoid “irritating” a section of society. He described the decision as the first major act of appeasement politics that eventually led to the partition of India, declaring that the Congress of that era had compromised national sentiment and today’s INC had effectively become “Muslim League-Congress”.

Modi recited the very stanzas that were removed from the official version and asserted they reflect India’s composite strength—a land of knowledge, wealth, and, when needed, the fierce form of Maa Chandi. He urged the youth to draw energy from Vande Mataram to promote indigenous products and innovation.

Ending his nearly hour-long address by chanting “Vande Mataram” thrice amid thumping of desks by ruling party members, the Prime Minister turned a ceremonial commemoration into a potent political message, reinforcing the song’s place as both cultural heritage and a contemporary rallying cry for a resurgent India.

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