PM Modi discussed the completion of 150 years of ‘Vande Mataram’ in the Lok Sabha.
There will be a 10-hour discussion on the country’s national song Vande Mataram in the Lok Sabha. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started it. Vande Mataram has completed 150 years. This is a composition of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee which he composed on November 7, 1875. This song first appeared in the magazine Bangadarshan as part of his novel Anandamath. In 1896, Rabindranath Tagore created history by singing Vande Mataram on the stage at the session of the Indian National Congress. This was the first time that Vande Mataram was sung publicly at the national level. The eyes of thousands of people were moist.
Gradually this song started resonating far and wide in the freedom movements. The revolutionaries started becoming enthusiastic against the British. This song was on the lips of every agitator who opposed the partition of Bengal in 1905. Be it a meeting or a rally or demonstration, this song resonated everywhere in such a way that it filled the British with fear. The British banned it in 1907. The British used this song as their basis to create division between Hindus and Muslims.
How did that controversy arise, which is still discussed today?
The British always tried to create distance between Hindus and Muslims through the policy of ‘divide and rule’. When Vande Mataram song was on the lips of people everywhere, then the British used it as a medium to spread it in the name of religion.
The words of this song were used to instigate the Muslim League. Vande Mataram was opposed in the convention held in Amritsar in 1909. Chairman Syed Ali Imam made this an issue and called Vande Mataram anti-Islam. Rejected it calling it communal.
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, who composed Vande Mataram.
The word that sparked controversy
In the song Vande Mataram, the country was seen in the form of Goddess Durga and she was called ‘Ripudalvarini’ i.e. the destroyer of enemies. There was a big controversy regarding this word ‘Ripudalvarini’. The Muslim community felt that the word Ripu i.e. enemy had been used for them, whereas experts believe that at that time the British were considered Ripu i.e. enemy.
This controversy did not stop. Muslim League called it against the beliefs of Islam. Argued that in Islam there is no place for devotion or worship towards anyone other than Allah. The pressure on Congress fighting for independence had increased. On one hand, Vande Mataram was energizing the Hindu agitators. On the other hand, Congress did not want to let the ongoing movement against the British slow down due to its entanglement with the Muslim League. Therefore, Congress formed a committee to find a solution to this dispute.
What was the solution to the dispute?
Rabindranath Tagore, Nehru, Abul Kalam Azad and Subhash Chandra Bose were included in the committee. The committee found a middle path in 1937. It was decided that the first two verses of this song would be sung, which have no religious aspect. The same was done in the Haripura Congress session of 1938, but neither the supporters nor the opponents were happy with this.
Jinnah wrote a letter to abandon the song
As the matter escalated, Jinnah wrote a letter to Pandit Nehru on March 17, 1938. In the letter he talked about abandoning Vande Mataram. Jinnah’s argument was that the book ‘Anand Math’ from which this song was taken was anti-Muslim. Those who worked on Bankim’s literature rejected Jinnah’s views. Argued that Muslims have not been opposed anywhere in the literature.
The committee had found that the first two paragraphs of this song are in praise of the motherland, after that Hindu gods and goddesses have been mentioned in the song. That is why only two paragraphs were recognized so that no one’s sentiments are hurt. Finally on 24 January 1950 it was approved as the national song. Now on completion of 150 years of this song, it is being discussed again.
Also read: That decree of British rule, in response to which Vande Mataram was written