Priyanka Gandhi Defends Congress Against PM Modi's Claims on Vande Mataram's 150th Anniversary

New Delhi:

The debate on the national song "Vande Mataram" on its 150th anniversary in parliament witnessed a passionate defense from Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who claimed the government was highlighting the matter due to the upcoming Bengal assembly elections while avoiding substantial issues. She accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "selectively" quoting Jawaharlal Nehru, and suggested that the BJP compile a list of alleged insults against Nehru for a dedicated debate to resolve the matter. "Let us use the precious time of this Parliament for the job people have elected us for," she urged.

The Wayanad MP questioned the necessity of a parliamentary debate on Vande Mataram, asserting that there is no need for discussion since the song is "alive in every part of the country."

She claimed the government "wanted debate on Vande Mataram because the Bengal polls are coming soon... The government wants us to keep delving in past because it does not want to look at present and future."

What PM Modi said

The BJP has alleged that Vande Mataram was truncated and its crucial lines removed in the version adopted as the national song by Jawaharlal Nehru under pressure from the Muslim League.

In his Lok Sabha address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated the Congress "surrendered before the Muslim League and partitioned Vande Mataram." PM Modi claimed Nehru followed Jinnah's position in 1937, suggesting the hymn could "irritate Muslims," thereby compromising its legacy.

"Instead of condemning the slogans of the Muslim League and expressing loyalty towards Vande Mataram, he wrote to Netaji Subhas Bose, agreeing with Jinnah. He wrote that the context of Anandamath can irritate Muslims," PM Modi said.

"Nationalists across the country took out prabhat pheris against it when the Congress Working Committee decided to inspect Vande Mataram," but the Congress decision prevailed.

Calling it part of the Grand Old Party's "appeasement politics," he suggested this mentality led to the Partition.

The Chronology

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra argued that PM Modi was misrepresenting the facts. Nehru -- her great-grandfather and India's first Prime Minister - had described the Vande Mataram controversy as "manufactured by communalists," she maintained.

Supporting her position, she read relevant passages from letters exchanged between Nehru and Bose and later correspondence between Nehru and Rabindranath Tagore, emphasizing the importance of understanding the "chronology" of events leading to Vande Mataram's selection as the National song.

"Let me share an excerpt from the letter in which Gurudev (Rabindranath Tagore) says that the two stanzas that were always sung were so significant that he had no difficulty in separating them from the rest of the poem and the passages in the book... He said the same two stanzas were always sung during the freedom struggle and to honour the hundreds of martyrs who sacrificed their lives. While singing them, it would be appropriate to sing them as they were. He also said that the stanzas added later could be interpreted as communal and their use would be inappropriate in the atmosphere of that time. Subsequently, on 28 October 1937, the Congress Working Committee, in its resolution, declared Vande Mataram as the national anthem," she said.

Other Congress members and allies also claimed the BJP was distorting Nehru's views. DMK's A Raja concurred that Nehru had noted in his letter to Subhas Bose that the public outcry against Vande Mataram was "manufactured by communalists." However, Nehru had also acknowledged "some substance" in grievances expressed by certain sections of people, he added.

The National Song

The 150th anniversary of India's National Song, Vande Mataram, which translates to "Mother, I Bow to Thee," was observed on November 7.

Composed by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, 'Vande Mataram' was first published in the literary journal Bangadarshan on November 7, 1875.

Later, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee incorporated the hymn into his novel 'Anandamath', published in 1882. Set to music by Rabindranath Tagore, the words became a rallying cry for nationalists during the freedom movement and subsequently became an integral part of India's cultural consciousness.