New Delhi, Dec 8 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while commemorating the 150th year of Vande Mataram in the Lok Sabha, launched a sharp attack on the Congress, alleging that the party once fractured the national song under pressure from the Muslim League and “knelt before them”.

PM Modi said the British had long pursued a divide-and-rule policy, choosing Bengal as their first target. “That was a time when Bengal’s strength inspired the country. In 1905, when the British divided Bengal, Vande Mataram stood like a rock. ‘Street to street’ was the slogan for Bengal’s unity, and that slogan continued to inspire,” he recalled.

Quoting Mahatma Gandhi’s 1905 writings in ‘Indian Opinion’, PM Modi reminded the House that Gandhi had described Vande Mataram as “our national anthem” and “more melodious than the songs of other nations”.

He asked why such a revered hymn was later subjected to “injustice” and sidelined.

“Today, as we celebrate 150 years of Vande Mataram, we must tell new generations the truth — that Congress once split this hymn, succumbing to the pressure of the Muslim League and its everlasting appeasement policy. This should never be allowed to happen again,” PM Modi declared, urging Parliament to restore pride in the song that once united the nation against colonial rule.

The Prime Minister highlighted how the hymn composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay became a challenge to colonial authority, resonating across the country despite bans and punishments for speaking, writing, or printing the words Vande Mataram.

He cited the sacrifices of women in Sindh and Barisal, including Sarojini Bose, who refused to wear bangles until the ban was lifted, and the courage of children who faced beatings for chanting the song.

PM Modi paid tribute to revolutionaries such as Khudiram Bose, Madanlal Dhingra, Ashfaq Ullah Khan, Roshan Singh, and Rajendra Nath Lahiri, who embraced martyrdom while chanting Vande Mataram.

He recalled Master Surya Sen’s poem echoing the hymn before his execution in 1934, noting how the mantra of sacrifice and unity inspired movements from Chattogram to Nagpur. Tracing its global reach, PM Modi pointed to Veer Savarkar singing Vande Mataram at India House in London — then an epicentre of the freedom movement, Bipin Chandra Pal naming his newspaper after it, and Madam Bhikaji Cama publishing Vande Mataram abroad despite bans.

He said the hymn became the mantra of Swadeshi, inscribed even on ships built by PO Chidambaram Pillai in 1907, and celebrated in the works of Tamil poet Subramania Bharati.

“Why was injustice done to Vande Mataram?” PM Modi asked. He recalled that after Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s objections in 1937, Jawaharlal Nehru wrote to Subhas Chandra Bose, warning that the song’s background could spark anger among Muslims.

Congress then convened a meeting in Kolkata to review its use. Despite nationwide protests, PM Modi said, the party compromised in October 1937, restricting the hymn to its first two stanzas under the guise of secularism and communal harmony.

“History is testament to the fact that Congress knelt before the Muslim League and did this under pressure. This was the politics of appeasement. Because Congress bowed to the division of Vande Mataram, it later bowed to the division of India,” PM Modi said, adding that the party continues the same politics of appeasement today.

–IANS

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