New Delhi, Dec 8: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, betrayed Vande Mataram by echoing Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s communal concerns and fragmenting the national song, which put India on the path of a politics of appeasement, ultimately leading to its partition.
Initiating a debate on the ‘150th anniversary of national song Vande Mataram’, PM Modi highlighted how Vande Mataram inspired the nation, energised the freedom struggle, and became a symbol of national resolve, which prompted Mahatma Gandhi to liken it to the national anthem.
Penned by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in 1875, the PM said Vande Mataram challenged the British Empire that was unsettled by the freedom struggle of 1857 and heaping injustices upon India and forcing its people into submission.
“Vande Mataram, which was a source of immense strength for every Indian both within the country and abroad, suffered grave injustice in the last century. I wonder why Vande Mataram was betrayed and what forces overshadowed the sentiments expressed by Mahatma Gandhi and dragged the sacred inspiration into controversy,” he said.
PM Modi said Muslim League leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah first stepped up his opposition to Vande Mataram on October 15, 1937, in Lucknow.
“Nehru wrote to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose five days later, sharing Jinnah’s sentiments and observing that Vande Mataram’s ‘Anandmath’ background had the potential to ‘irritate the Muslims,’” he said.
“Instead of firmly countering the baseless statements of the Muslim League and condemning them, Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Congress president, did not reaffirm his and the Congress party’s commitment to Vande Mataram, but began questioning Vande Mataram itself,” the PM said.
He said it was ironic that Bankim Chandra’s Vande Mataram underwent a review of its worth in his home state of Bengal at the Kolkata session of the Congress Working Committee in 1937, leaving the country in a state of shock and prompting patriots to take out processions against the decision of the Congress.
“Unfortunately, on October 26, 1937, Congress compromised on Vande Mataram, fragmenting it in their decision. This decision was cloaked under the guise of social harmony, but history bears witness that INC bowed before the Muslim League and acted under its pressure, adopting a politics of appeasement,” PM Modi said.
“Under the pressure of appeasement politics, the Congress bent and agreed to break Vande Mataram to pieces. Therefore, one day, it had to bend for the partition of India,” he said.
As Trinamool Congress members protested, the PM said that it appeared that the Congress outsourced its decision-making process.
He said that the policies of the Congress and its allies had remained unchanged, and they continued to resort to the politics of appeasement and had attempted to create controversies around Vande Mataram.
PM Modi said whenever India faced challenges, it has responded, inspired by sentiments enshrined in Vande Mataram.
“Leaving apart some segments of history, the nation has largely come together against odds. When there was a food security crisis, our farmers filled the bowls with grains inspired by the spirit of Vande Mataram,” he said.
“The same sentiment defeated the Emergency mindset. When wars were thrust upon the country, our soldiers fought off and defeated the enemy. We defeated COVID-19 and moved on,” the PM said, describing Vande Mataram as a source of national strength and capacity.
“India can brave any challenge. Vande Mataram is not just a song for us; it is an inspiration to fulfil the dream of Viksit Bharat by 2047. We want to give strength to swadeshi, and Vande Mataram will be our mantra,” he said.
PM Modi said a look at the background of Vande Mataram and its stream of values reflected the recurring truth from the Vedic era.
“Vande Mataram reminds us of the Vedic declaration, meaning that this land is my mother and I am her son,” he said.
The PM recalled that Mahatma Gandhi wrote in 1905 that Vande Mataram had become so popular that it had emerged as the national anthem and wondered why injustice was meted out to it.
“If Vande Mataram was so popular, why was injustice meted out to it, why was it betrayed in the last century. What were those forces that were so powerful to overrule the wishes of Mahatma Gandhi on Vande Mataram,” he said.
PM Modi lamented that the Constitution was “throttled” and the nation chained by the Emergency when the national song Vande Mataram completed 100 years.
He also noted that Vande Mataram stood like a rock and inspired unity despite British oppression.
The PM noted that the mantra of the national song gave power and inspiration to the entire country during the freedom struggle.
“The mantra energised and inspired India’s freedom movement and showed the path of courage and determination. Remembering that sacred Vande Mataram today is a great privilege for all of us in this House. It is a matter of pride for us that we are witnessing the historic occasion of Vande Mataram completing 150 years,” he said.
PM Modi recalled that the British were forced to ban Vande Mataram as they brought in laws to prevent the printing and propagation of the poem.
“Through Vande Mataram, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay responded to this challenge with great strength and resolve. The British divided Bengal in 1905, but Vande Mataram stood like a rock and inspired unity,” he said.
