The Vande Mataram was just a song true.
But it had become a symbol of patriotism in Bengal and also rest of India.
Over the years, the song has become an RSS favourite amid the opposition of many Muslims to the religious imagery.
In the debate on 150 years of Vande Mataram song; Modi cleverly threw in references to two of the events the Sangh blames the Congress for -- the Partition and the Emergency.
“In 1937, Mohammad Ali Jinnah opposed it. Nehru felt his throne shaking. Instead of condemning the slogans of the Muslim League and expressing loyalty towards Vande Mataram, he wrote to Netaji Subhas Bose, agreeing with Jinnah. He wrote that the context of Anandamath can irritate Muslims,” the PM said.
“The CWC decided to inspect Vande Mataram. Nationalists across the country took out prabhat pheris against this. But, unfortunately, the Congress surrendered before the Muslim League and partitioned Vande Mataram. This was part of the appeasement politics of the Congress,” the PM alleged.
This mentality ultimately led to the Partition - he said.
“Later, the Congress also surrendered to the Partition demand. The Congress’s policies are the same. The INC has become MMC,” he said, framing the Congress as a party that had compromised in the face of Muslim separatism.
In his usual rhetoric best ... Modi successfully linked the 150 years song to his Viksit Bharat Mission :
Modi said Mahatma Gandhi had considered Vande Mataram “as a kind of national anthem” for the country.
“Mahatma Gandhi wrote in 1905 that Vande Mataram had become very popular in Bengal, and that large congregations sang it in Bengal. He said that the song is so popular that it seems like our national anthem.”
Accusing the Congress of sidelining it, he added, “Why was injustice meted out to Vande Mataram in the last century?
"Which was that force that prevailed over the sentiments of Mahatma Gandhi? The chaste song was made controversial. We should share this with our young generation. The Muslim League was opposing Vande Mataram.”
The PM said when Vande Mataram turned 50, the country was enslaved.
“When it turned 100, the country faced the Emergency. The Constitution was stifled.
"Vande Mataram gave us freedom in 1947. Today when I speak on 150 years of Vande Mataram, there is no government or opposition here. We are sitting here because of the freedom struggle. This is another opportunity for us to walk together. The country should be self-reliant. We should restate our resolve that the country becomes developed by 2047.”
PM recalled that the song was associated with the sacrifices people made during the freedom struggle.
“In 1875, Bankim Chandra wrote Vande Mataram. It was written at a time when the British were rattled after the Revolt of 1857.
They were oppressing people. Their national anthem, ‘God Save the Queen’, was being taken to Indian homes. At this time, Bankim penned Vande Mataram. In 1882, it was added to Anandamath.”
The PM underlined that the land had been considered the mother since the Vedic times.
“Even Lord Ram said a similar thing when he left Lanka,” the PM said.
“Vande Mataram became the voice of the freedom struggle. Vande Mataram also had a vision for free India.
The British looked down upon us; they wanted to show us as inferior, weak and lazy. Vande Mataram challenged that fashion. Bankim revealed the strength of India,” he said.
While Vande Mataram became popular following the movement against the 1905 Partition of Bengal, it became the rallying cry for freedom fighters, especially the Congress.
However, the BJP and the Sangh have been trying to claim the song as their own, alleging that the Congress truncated it under pressure from the Muslim League.
The PM also specifically mentioned V D Savarkar in the context of how revolutionaries at India House in London, the hub of their activities, were moved by the song.
“The British had understood that it would be difficult to stay for long in India after 1857. They felt it was necessary to divide India, to make Indians fight one another, in order to rule.
They chose the path of Divide and Rule.
They made Bengal the laboratory for it, as Bengal’s intellectual strength was guiding India at that time. So, they divided Bengal.
They believed that if Bengal was broken, the country would also be divided. In 1905, the British partitioned Bengal. Vande Mataram stood like a rock in front of the British. It became the slogan for united Bengal.”
Underlining the pan-Indian appeal of Vande Mataram, Modi said that Subramanya Bharti translated the song into Tamil, while Bipin Chandra Pal and Aurobindo brought out newspapers that were called Vande Mataram.
“We have celebrated 75 years of our constitution. We are also celebrating 150 years of Sardar Patel and Birsa Munda. We are also celebrating 350 years of Guru Tegh Bahadur. Vande Mataram is not merely a mantra for political freedom. It was not just about making the British leave.
It was more than that. It showed millions that the struggle was not just for a piece of land. It was about resurrecting the glorious past of India.”
ends
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