Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday culled excerpts from history when he said that important stanzas of the national song, ‘Vande Mataram’, were dropped in 1937, which led to the seeds of Partition being sown.
The Prime Minister was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the year-long commemoration of ‘Vande Mataram’, to mark 150 years of India’s national song. At the event held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, he also released a commemorative stamp and coin.
In what seemed to be an attack at the Congress, the PM said, “Vande Mataram became voice of India’s freedom struggle, it expressed feelings of every Indian. Unfortunately, in 1937, important stanzas of Vande Mataram…its soul was removed. The division of Vande Mataram also sowed the seeds of Partition. Today’s generation needs to know why this injustice was done with this ‘maha mantra’ of nation building… this divisive mindset is still a challenge for the country.”
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As the country marks 150 years of ‘Vande Mataram’, the Prime Minister said the song remains relevant in every era, giving new inspiration and filling the people of the country with new energy.
In an apparent reference to Operation Sindoor, he added, “When the enemy dared to attack our security and honour using terrorism, the world saw that India knows how to take the form of Durga”.
The Prime Minister further said that ‘Vande Mataram’ connects us to our history, from which we should draw courage. “Vande Mataram is a word, a mantra, an energy, a dream, a resolve. It is the devotion to Mother India, the worship of Mother India. It connects us to our history and gives our future new courage. There is no resolve that cannot be achieved, no goal that we Indians cannot accomplish. We have to build a nation which is at the top on basis of knowledge, science, and technology,” he said.
India would be celebrating 150 years of the timeless composition of ‘Vande Mataram’, from November 7, 2025 to November 7, 2026. It was written by Bankim Chandra Chatterji on the occasion of Akshaya Navami, which fell on November 7, 1875.
The song first appeared in the literary journal, ‘Bangadarshan’, as part of Chatterji’s novel, ‘Anandamath’.
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