Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday reignited a historical debate by asserting that key stanzas of India’s national song “Vande Mataram” were deliberately dropped in 1937, a move he said “sowed the seeds of partition.” He further claimed that the “divisive mindset” that drove this decision continues to challenge India even today. The remarks came as Modi inaugurated the year-long commemoration of Vande Mataram to mark its 150th anniversary — a song that has long evoked both deep patriotic pride and intense political debate.
Originally composed by Bengali novelist and poet Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in 1875, Vande Mataram was a hymn to the motherland personified as Goddess Kali, written as part of his vision of national awakening. The poem, containing six stanzas, was first published in 1882 in Bangadarshan magazine as part of Chatterjee’s celebrated novel Anandamath, set against the backdrop of the Sanyasi Rebellion and the Bengal Famine of 1770. The first two stanzas — invoking the motherland’s beauty and glory — later became rallying cries during India’s struggle for independence, while the later verses, rich in Hindu imagery, generated debate about inclusivity in a multi-faith India.
By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Vande Mataram had transformed from poetry into political symbolism. It was first sung at the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress, reportedly set to tune by Rabindranath Tagore. The phrase “Vande Mataram” became synonymous with resistance to British colonial rule and was chanted by freedom fighters across Bengal and beyond. However, its overt religious references soon became a point of contention among Muslim leaders, who saw it as incompatible with Islamic monotheism.
The controversy reached a head in 1937. The All-India Muslim League, at its Lucknow session, passed a resolution describing Vande Mataram as “positively anti-Islamic and idolatrous,” arguing that it was “subversive of genuine nationalism.” In response, the Congress Working Committee, led by Jawaharlal Nehru, resolved on October 26, 1937, that only the first two stanzas should be sung at national gatherings. Organisers, however, were given the liberty to include any “unobjectionable song” in its place. Modi referred to this compromise as the moment that “sowed the seeds of division” — suggesting that political appeasement over cultural pride weakened national unity.
After independence, on January 24, 1950, the Constituent Assembly officially adopted Vande Mataram as India’s national song, recognising its deep emotional and historical resonance while limiting its public rendition to the first two stanzas to maintain inclusivity.
Throughout India’s modern history, the song has continued to trigger debate. In 2009, the Islamic organisation Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind issued a fatwa advising Muslims not to sing Vande Mataram, calling it inconsistent with their faith in monotheism. The decision sparked widespread condemnation from across Indian society. Over a hundred Muslim scholars, writers, and artists — including Naseeruddin Shah, Javed Akhtar, and Shabana Azmi — rejected the Jamiat’s stance, asserting that the issue had long been settled in the 1930s through consensus.
Mahatma Gandhi, whose views remain central to the debate, had described Vande Mataram as a song of the “purest national spirit.” Writing in Harijan in 1939, Gandhi said it stirred “the patriotism of millions” and represented Bengal’s gift to the nation. However, he also cautioned against imposing it on others, arguing that national unity could not be achieved through compulsion. “Every act must be purely voluntary on the part of either partner,” he remarked in 1947.
Over the decades, Vande Mataram has remained both a symbol of India’s freedom and a flashpoint in discussions about nationalism, secularism, and identity. Modi’s remarks, linking the omission of its stanzas to the mindset that led to Partition, have once again revived these discussions — reminding India that even a song of devotion to the motherland continues to reflect the nation’s complex and evolving relationship with its past.
