Vande Mataram penned by Bankim in 1882 was not played in Kolkata ::: But, Vijay does it better in Chennai "than BJP"

Vande Mataram: Vijay does one better than BJP

The Narendra Modi government's directive on the national song in February had triggered a major political row, with Opposition parties sharply criticising the move. 

At the swearing in ceremony, Vande Mataram was sung before the national anthem in the presence of Rahul Gandhi and Vijay, who shared the stage together.

Interestingly, the song, penned by renowned Bengali author Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1882, was not played at the Bengal Chief Minister’s swearing-in ceremony on Saturday, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and several other Union ministers were present at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground.

Months after the Centre issued fresh guidelines mandating the rendition of the full six-stanza version of Vande Mataram, the song was played in full at Vijay’s swearing-in ceremony before the national anthem, in line with the Union Home Ministry’s directive.  

The Narendra Modi government’s directive on the national song in January had triggered a major political row, with Opposition parties led by the Indian National Congress sharply criticising the move. 

In Chennai swearing in, Vande Mataram was sung before the national anthem in the presence of Rahul Gandhi and Vijay, who shared the stage together. 

The state song Tamil Thai Valthu was played at the end, following Vande Mataram and Jana Gana Mana, in that order.  

Following the election results in four states, including Bengal and Tamil Nadu, the Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved a proposal to grant the national song Vande Mataram a status equal to the national anthem Jana Gana Mana.

Back in February, then West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had called the directive an insult to Rabindranath Tagore, arguing that the national anthem, written by Tagore, should not be played after Vande Mataram.

The MHA directive, dated January 28, also notified that all the six stanzas that were part of the original Vande Mataram should be sung at official functions. This marked a departure from the practice of singing only the two stanzas adopted by the Constituent Assembly in 1950.  

The decision also did not go down well with the Congress, with the Grand Old Party saying the move went against a decision taken during its 1937 session on the advice of Rabindranath Tagore to remain sensitive to the sentiments of different communities and religions.

Amid the row, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said he found it “deeply ironic that those who today claim to be the guardians of nationalism have never sung ‘Vande Mataram’...”

On the other hand, the BJP accused the Congress of “pandering to a communal agenda” in 1937 by adopting a shortened version of Vande Mataram.

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