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Vande Mataram at 150: Modi’s Lok Sabha speech revives the national song that challenged British rule and united Bengal
Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened a special discussion in the Lok Sabha to commemorate 150 years of Vande Mataram, underscoring its significance as a driving force of India's freedom movement. He contrasted today's celebration with past milestones marked under colonial rule and later during the Emergency, highlighting the nation's progress and the sacrifices of those who once chanted the patriotic slogan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened a special discussion in the Lok Sabha on Monday to mark 150 years of Vande Mataram, calling it a historic moment that celebrates the soul and spirit of India's freedom movement.
He said the moment felt even more significant because the country is currently observing several important milestones, 75 years of the Constitution, the 150th birth anniversaries of Sardar Patel and Birsa Munda, and the 350th martyrdom day of Guru Teg Bahadur. The completion of 150 years of Vande Mataram, he added, beautifully joins this era of major national remembrance.
Read more: Vande Mataram, how a 19th-century poem became India's national song
According to Modi, Vande Mataram was not just a song but a mantra that filled the freedom struggle with energy, inspiration, sacrifice and spiritual strength. He said it was a matter of immense pride that the nation was remembering the very chant that awakened generations to fight for independence.
Read more: Vande Mataram row explained
Modi thanked all Members of Parliament for joining the discussion, saying this collective participation reflects respect for the sacrifices of those who fought under the banner of Vande Mataram.
He highlighted that when the song completed 50 years, India was still under colonial rule, and when it completed 100 years, the country was under Emergency.
Today, 150 years later, India is celebrating it freely in Parliament, a difference that itself shows how far the nation has come.
The Prime Minister noted that “we are sitting here today because lakhs of people chanted Vande Mataram and fought for freedom”.
The cultural and spiritual roots of Vande Mataram
Recounting the origins of the song, Modi said that when Bankim Chandra Chatterjee wrote Vande Mataram, it immediately became the natural voice of the freedom movement and the conscience of every Indian.He added that Vande Mataram was more than a call for political Independence, it was a sacred vow to free the motherland from slavery. Referring to India's cultural past, he quoted the sentiment expressed in the Ramayana, “Janani Janmabhoomischa Swargadapi Gariyasi” (Mother and motherland are greater than heaven). According to him, Vande Mataram is the modern embodiment of that ancient civilisational belief.
Modi mentioned that during colonial rule, when the British government was trying to push “God Save the Queen” into every Indian household as a national song, Bankim Chandra's words emerged as a cultural and spiritual resistance.
The British were eventually forced to ban Vande Mataram and even introduced laws to prevent printing and circulation of the poem, proof of the strength it gave to the national movement.
Bengal, divide-and-rule and the rise of Vande Mataram
Modi said that after 1857, the British realised ruling India would not be easy, and so they turned to the strategy of divide and rule, using Bengal as their testing ground because of its intellectual strength and influence on the national movement.When Bengal was divided in 1905, Vande Mataram became the rock-solid pillar of resistance and unity for the entire nation, he said.
Modi's criticism of Nehru and Congress decisions
The Prime Minister then shifted to the political decisions made during the pre-Independence period. He claimed that Jawaharlal Nehru believed Vande Mataram could “irritate” Muslim leaders and therefore began questioning the song instead of defending it.Modi alleged that Nehru supported Muhammad Ali Jinnah's objections in discussions during the Constituent Assembly, choosing to keep Jinnah satisfied rather than protecting a symbol that had united the freedom movement.According to Modi, this hesitation marked the beginning of compromises on a national symbol. He said the Congress leadership “bowed down” to the Muslim League, and eventually Vande Mataram was “broken into pieces”, with portions removed to avoid upsetting certain groups.
Modi concluded by saying that the story of Vande Mataram is not only about the struggle against foreign rule, but also about the internal compromises that gradually weakened the nation's unity.
He said the time has now come to rise above old divisions and move forward together with collective purpose.
“This song should once again inspire us and fill us with strength to fulfil the unfinished dreams of our freedom fighters,” he remarked.
Modi added that India must renew its commitment to becoming self-reliant and fully developed by 2047, and allow the spirit of Vande Mataram to guide that journey.
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Source: EconomicTimes
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