150th Anniversary of Vande Mataram

• Lok Sabha took up the discussion on the 150th anniversary of the national song Vande Mataram during the Parliamentary Winter Session.

About Vande Mataram (National Song of India)

• Vande Mataram (also pronounced Bande Mataram) is a poem composed in Sanskrit, but in Bengali script, by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in 1875. It was included in his famous Bengali novel Anandamath (1882).
• The title “Bande Mataram” means “I praise thee, Mother”, symbolising devotion to the motherland.
• The poem was first sung by Rabindranath Tagore at the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress, marking the beginning of its association with India’s freedom movement.
• The first two verses of the poem were officially adopted as the National Song of India in 1937 by the Congress Working Committee, prior to the end of colonial rule in August 1947.
• During the Indian independence struggle, “Vande Mataram” became a rallying cry for freedom fighters, inspiring unity and courage. It was widely sung at protests, meetings, and gatherings organised by the Indian National Congress and other freedom movements, cementing its place in the history of India’s independence struggle.
• After Independence, the first President of India, Dr Rajendra Prasad, officially designated it as the national song in the Constituent Assembly on January 24, 1950, stating it should be honoured equally with the national anthem of India, “Jana Gana Mana”.
• The Constitution of India, under Article 51A(a), mandates citizens to respect the Constitution, its ideals, institutions, the National Flag, and the National Anthem; it does not specifically mention the national song.