Abhijit Roy
Finally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the long-awaited debate in Parliament to commemorate the 150th anniversary of “Vande Mataram,” penned by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and composed by Jadunath Bhattacharya, a song that remains one of the most disputed icons of India’s freedom struggle. Surprisingly, the song Vande Mataram, which has a rich historical foundation in our freedom cause, is nearly forgotten now.
It may surprise you, but even after 75 years of independence, the Vande Mataram hymn is not warmly received by our country’s current generation. The hymn Vande Mataram has had the greatest influence on the history of India’s freedom struggle. The song was written in 1875 or 1876 and published in a monthly newspaper in 1881. The song has sparked widespread enthusiasm across the country, particularly among liberation fighters, prompting concern among British citizens.
Singing this song cost many young people their lives. Khudiram Bose’s martyrdom is a prime illustration of this. The song’s lyrics moved Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore so much that he felt forced to write a music for it. In 1905, Tagore performed the composition at a Calcutta convention. Rishi Aurobindo founded Vande Mataram, a monthly magazine, inspired by the song’s content. He also had it translated into English. According to Mahatma Gandhi’s daily Harijan, Vande Mataram will endure on as long as this country lives.
Vande Mataram was first imprinted on the country’s national flag by Sister Nivedita. On January 24, 1950, the country’s first president, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, decided that, like Rabindra Nath Tagore’s Jana gana mana, Bamkim Chandra Chattarjee’s Vande Mataram will be honored as a national song. The masthead of the most prominent Bengali newspaper, Ananda Bazar Patrika, which has been in circulation for 100 years, mentions Vande Mataram on the editorial page. All India Radio’s morning session continues to begin with Vande Mataram. Of course, we must recognize how many people listened to Akashbani’s primary program throughout the FM era. Despite this, Rishi Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was never respected.
(Author is a Jamshedpur based columnist. Views expressed are personal.)
