Vande Mataram Controversy (150th Anniversary of India’s National Song)

About Vande Mataram

● Meaning of Vande Mataram: “Vande” means to bow, praise or salute; “Mataram” means Mother, referring to the motherland.

● “Vande Mataram” composed in Sanskrit by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in 1875 is a patriotic song that played a significant role in India’s freedom struggle. It was first published in 1882 as part of Chatterjee’s Bengali novel Anandmath.

● Rabindranath Tagore recited it at the 1896 Indian National Congress (INC) session in Kolkata. It was officially adopted by the INC in 1905 as a unifying, militant salute to Bharat Mata (Mother India) during the Swadeshi Movement and Bengal Partition protests. It was adopted as the national song of the Republic of India in 1950.

● The Constituent Assembly adopted it on January 24, 1950 as the national song of the Republic of India with equal honor to Jana Gana Mana (National Anthem).

● The song originally consisted of six stanzas with the first two celebrating the motherland’s beauty and strength. The remaining four stanzas include references to Hindu goddesses like Durga, Kamala (Lakshmi), Saraswati and depict Hindu monks fighting Muslim rulers during the Sanyasi Rebellion.

● On November 7, 2025 India marked the 150th anniversary of its National Song “Vande Mataram” launching a year long celebration from 2025 to 202G to honor its role in the freedom struggle and national unity.

Why the Controversy?

● In 1937, the Muslim League in its 25th session in Lucknow adopted a resolution and dubbed “Vande Mataram” as “not merely positively anti-Islamic and idolatrous in its inspiration and ideas, but definitely subversive of the growth of genuine nationalism in India”.

Thereafter in 1937 the INC under the leadership of Nehru wanted to adopt “Vande Mataram” as a symbol for national unity but also had to consider concerns raised by the Muslim community who felt that the stanzas mentioning Hindu goddesses excluded them and hurt their religious sentiments. To maintain harmony the INC decided to officially use only the first two stanzas at national events.

● On the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized the Congress and former leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru of dividing the song along communal lines, claiming that this “partition” of the song helped sow the seeds of India’s own political Partition in 1947. BJP leaders argue that dropping the six stanzas was an act of appeasement toward Muslim groups.

● Modi also linked the controversy to political events like the National Emergency (1975-77) during Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s Prime Ministership and accused former leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru of opposing the full song to appease Muslims aligning with Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s stance.

● However, historians and experts explain that the move was more about promoting unity than fostering division. Leaders like Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi supported using only the first two stanzas to respect India’s diverse religious communities.

Complete Vande Mataram Song

Vande Mātaram.
Sujalāṃ suphalāṃ
Malaẏajaśītalām
Śasyaśyāmalāṃ
Mātaram.
Vande Mātaram.

Śubhra-jyotsnā-pulakita-yāminīm
Phullakusumita-drumadalaśobhinīm,
Suhāsinīṃ sumadhurabhāṣinīm
Sukhadāṃ varadāṃ Mātaram.
Vande Mātaram.

Saptakoṭīkanṭha-kala-kala-ninādakarāle
Dvisaptakoṭībhujaidhṛtakharakaravāle,
Avalā kena mā eta bale!
Vahuvaladhāriṇīṃ
Namāmi tāriṇīṃ
Ripudalavāriṇīṃ
Mātaram.
Vande Mātaram.

Tumi vidyā tumi dharmma
Tumi hṛdi tumi marmma
Tvaṃ hi prāṇāḥ śarīre.
Bāhute tumi mā śhakti,
Hṛdaẏe tumi mā bhakti,
Tomārai pratimā gaṛi mandire mandire.

Tvaṃ hi Durgā daśapraharaṇadhārinī
Kamalā kamala-dalavihāriṇī
Vānī vidyādāẏiṇī
Namāmi tvaṃ
Namāmi kamalām
Amalāṃ atulām,
Sujalāṃ suphalāṃ
Mātaram
Vande Mātaram.

Vande Mātaram
Śyāmalāṃ saralāṃ
Susmitāṃ bhūṣitām
Dharaṇīṃ bharanīm
Mātaram.

Difference between National Song and National Anthem

The National Anthem of India is the “Jana Gana Mana” composed by Rabindranath Tagore in 1911. The National Song is “Vande Mataram” composed by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in the 1875.