Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday initiated a debate on Vande Mataram in the Lok Sabha as part of the year-long celebrations to commemorate 150 years of the iconic song.
Highlighting the song’s historical significance, Modi said the mantra of Vande Mataram gave power and inspiration to the entire country during the freedom struggle.
“Vande Mataram is a slogan which gave energy, inspiration, and showed the path for sacrifice and penance to the freedom movement. It is a matter of pride that we are becoming witnesses to 150 years of Vande Mataram. It is a historic moment,” said the prime minister.
“Vande Mataram was not just a mantra for political freedom; it was a sacred war cry to rid Bharatmata of vestiges of colonialism,” he added.
Modi noted that Vande Mataram was written at a time when British rulers were trying to take their anthem 'God Save the Queen' to every household.
“The British divided Bengal in 1905, but Vande Mataram stood like a rock and inspired unity,” he said as he mentioned how the British were forced to ban the poem and brought in laws to prevent its printing and propagation.
The prime minister, however, lamented that when the national song completed 100 years, the Constitution was "throttled" and the nation was chained by Emergency.
“When Vande Mataram completed 50 years, India was under British rule. When Vande Mataram completed 100 years, India was in the clutches of the Emergency. At that time, the patriots were imprisoned. When the song that inspired our freedom movement, unfortunately, India was witnessing a black period. 150 years of Vande Mataram is an opportunity to reinstate that pride and that great part of our past,” he said.
The government has been allotted three hours for its participation in the Lok Sabha debate, while a total of 10 hours has been earmarked for the entire discussion.
On Tuesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will open the discussion in the Rajya Sabha. Health Minister and Leader of the Rajya Sabha J.P. Nadda will be the second speaker.
The poem was written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee 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".