NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday opened a special debate in the Lok Sabha on Vande Mataram, marking 150 years of the song. Written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and adopted as India’s National Song in 1950, Vande Mataram will be discussed for 10 hours each in both Houses this week during the ongoing winter sessionClick here for Winter Session live updatesThe Rajya Sabha will take up the debate on Tuesday, with Union home minister Amit Shah leading for the BJP.
Here are top quotes from PM Modi’s speech in Lok Sabha:
- “When Vande Mataram turned 50 years old, the country was forced to live in slavery (British rule). When Vande Mataram turned 100 years old, the country was shackled in the chains of Emergency…Constitution was throttled.”
- “The mantra that energised and inspired India’s freedom movement and showed the path of courage and determination. Remembering that sacred Vande Mataram today is a great privilege for all of us in this House.”
- “Vande Matram was written at a time when, after the uprising of 1857, the British government was alarmed and was unleashing oppression.A campaign was underway to push the British national anthem ‘God Save the Queen’ into every household. Through Vande Mataram, Shri Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay responded to this challenge with great strength and resolve.”
- “When we say Vande Mataram, it reminds us of the Vedic era. From the Vedas comes the saying ‘which means this land is my mother and I am a child of the earth.’ This is the very thought expressed by Lord Ram when he rejected the grandeur. Vande Mataram is the modern expression of this great cultural tradition.”
- “There was a time when the intellectual strength of Bengal guided and inspired the entire nation. The British understood well that the power of Bengal was the focal point of the strength of India.This is why they first worked towards dividing Bengal. But Vande Mataram stood firm like a rock.”
- “Such was the power of Vande Mataram that the British were forced to impose a legal ban on it.There was punishment for singing it and punishment for printing it. Such harsh laws were created to suppress it.”
- “Bharat has the strength to overcome every challenge. Vande Mataram carries that power within it. It is not merely a majestic song. It is a source of inspiration for us and a call to awaken our duty towards the nation.”
- “Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru wrote that Vande Mataram’s background in the Anand Matth can irritate Muslims. After this, Congress stated that, from 26 October onwards, in Bengal, the use of Vande Mataram will be analysed… Unfortunately, on 26 October, Congress compromised on Vande Mataram. They bifurcated the song. The reason behind the decision was of social harmony, but history has it that Congress had knelt before the Muslim League.”
BJP vs Congress on Vande MataramPM Modi recently accused the Congress of excluding several stanzas of the song in 1937 and “sowing the seeds of Partition” — a mindset he said still poses a “challenge” to the country.The Congress has countered by invoking Rabindranath Tagore’s support for limiting Vande Mataram to its first two stanzas. The party argues that Jawaharlal Nehru, who became the country’s first prime minister in 1947, accepted this position due to the “complexity” of the later verses and “objections” raised by sections of Muslims.
