Indian prime ministers Narendra Modi launched the 150th anniversary celebrations of Vande Mataram, calling its 1937 alteration a divisive act that 'sowed seeds of partition.' Speaking at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, he said that important stanzas of the national song were removed and that this mindset of division still remains a challenge.
He noted that Vande Mataram became the voice of India’s freedom struggle and expressed the feelings of every Indian. According to him, the stanzas removed in 1937 were a part of the song’s soul, and today’s generation must know why such an act was carried out.
Stating that the national song is relevant in every era, Modi referred to Operation Sindoor and said, “When the enemy dared to attack our security and honor using terrorism, the world saw that India knows how to take the form of Durga.”
He recalled that a few centuries ago, India accounted for a significant share of global GDP, but foreign invasions and colonial exploitation had pushed the country into poverty when Bankim Chandra Chatterji composed the song in 1875. Modi said Bankim Babu envisioned a prosperous India and gave a clarion call through Vande Mataram.
He added that during colonial rule, the British tried to portray India as backward, but the very first line of Vande Mataram challenged that narrative. Modi highlighted India’s progress in science and technology and its emergence as the world’s fifth-largest economy.
The event, organized by the Ministry of Culture, marked the formal launch of a year-long nationwide commemoration from November 7, 2025, to November 7, 2026. A commemorative coin and a postage stamp were released on the occasion. Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta attended the program.
Earlier, the BJP alleged that the Congress, led by Jawaharlal Nehru at the time, adopted a truncated version of Vande Mataram in 1937 due to communal considerations. BJP spokesperson CR Kesavan stated that the removal of stanzas referring to Goddess Durga was a deliberate act.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said the party has historically promoted Vande Mataram, recalling that it was first sung publicly at the 1896 Congress session by Rabindranath Tagore, and criticised the RSS and BJP for not singing the national song or national anthem in their shakhas.
Vande Mataram was written by Bankimchandra Chatterji on Akshaya Navami in 1875 and first appeared in Bangadarshan as part of the novel Anandamath. It depicts the motherland as a symbol of strength, prosperity, and divinity, becoming a lasting emblem of unity and national devotion.
