Six years after former Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Shafiqur Rehman Barq triggered a debate by refusing to sing Vande Mataram in Parliament, saying it is against his faith, his grandson has now echoed his words.
Zia-ur-Rahman Barq, the SP MP from Sambhal, said he has never sung the national song and it cannot be used to question his “deshbhakti (patriotism)”.
He was responding to a recent statement by SP MLA from Mumbai, Abu Asim Azmi, who refused to sing Vande Mataram — sparking widespread controversy as the national song completes 150 years.
Zia-ur-Rahman said Vande Mataram is the national song and not the national anthem, adding that neither did his grandfather sing it and nor would he.
“Mere dada… Barq sahab ne hamesha iski mukalafat ki hai… Aur kabhi isko nahi gaya… Na hi main gata hun. Is cheez se meri deshbhakti par koi ungli nahi utha sakta (My grandfather, Barq sahab, always opposed it and never sang it. Nor did I ever sing it. But no one can raise a question on my patriotism because of it),” he said.
In 2019, Shafiqur Barq was the centre of a controversy after he refused to chant Vande Mataram in Parliament during his oath-taking ceremony, saying “it is against Islam”.
Maintaining that he is not bound to explain to anyone how big a “deshbhakt” he is, and citing the sacrifices made by Muslims for the country’s independence, Zia-ur-Rahman said there is a difference between the national anthem and national song and no one can force Muslims to sing the latter as some words in it are against the preachings of their religion.
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“Jana Gana Mana humare desh ka rashtra gaana hai, hum samman bhi karte hain, aur khade hokar dil se gatey bhi hain… Lekin Vande Mataram rashtra gaana nahi, rashtra geet hai. Aur uske liye hamein koi badhya nahi kar sakta, bound nahi kar sakta ki hum use gayen (Jana Gana Mana is our national anthem. We respect it and sing it while standing but Vande Mataram is not the national anthem, it is the national song. No one can force us to sing it),” he said.
Clarifying his reluctance to sing the national song, Zia-ur-Rahman said, “It has a word which is against the preachings of Islam… We love the land of our country and are loyal towards it but we cannot pray before it as it is against our religion.”
He went on to say that the Constitution gives rights to everyone to follow their religion, and deciding not to sing Vande Mataram and follow their religion is their “constitutional right”.
