PM Modi’s claim that Congress cut “key stanzas” of Vande Mataram in 1937 sparks nationwide debate on faith, history, and freedom of expression.
Brajesh Mishra
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim that the Congress “removed important stanzas” from Vande Mataram in 1937 has opened a new chapter in India’s longest-running cultural debate.
Speaking at the 150th anniversary commemoration of the national song, Modi alleged that the decision “sowed the seeds of partition,” linking a pre-Independence compromise to what he called the politics of “appeasement.”
The remarks, made during a government-led celebration in New Delhi, immediately triggered political and social aftershocks — from protests in Mumbai outside Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi’s residence to a new state directive in Rajasthan mandating the song’s recitation in madrasas.
On November 6, 2025, the Centre inaugurated a year-long commemoration of 150 years of Vande Mataram, complete with a commemorative coin and stamp.
While the event was meant as a cultural celebration, Modi’s historical framing — that Congress’s 1937 decision to limit the song to its first two stanzas “altered its soul” — turned the anniversary into a political flashpoint.
Within 24 hours, protests erupted in Maharashtra and Rajasthan. BJP workers demonstrated outside Abu Azmi’s Mumbai home after he declined to participate in a mass recital, calling it coercive. In Jaipur, a new education order made Vande Mataram recitation mandatory in madrasas — prompting fresh constitutional questions about religious freedom and educational autonomy.
The controversy traces back to 1937, when the Congress Working Committee decided that only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram would be sung publicly.
The reasoning, based on correspondence between Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose, was that later stanzas — invoking the goddess Durga — could alienate sections of Muslims who associated the imagery with idol worship.
The compromise sought to preserve national unity but became a symbol of the growing communal polarization of the late 1930s. After Independence, Vande Mataram was recognized as the national song (not anthem), while Jana Gana Mana became the anthem.
Since then, periodic disputes have resurfaced over whether the song’s recitation should be mandatory in schools, government offices, or religious institutions — each time revealing India’s unresolved tension between devotion, symbolism, and secular citizenship.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, launching the commemoration, said:
“In 1937, significant verses of Vande Mataram were removed. This removal sowed the seeds for the eventual partition of the country.”
BJP spokesperson C.R. Kesavan reinforced the point, alleging that Congress under Nehru “deliberately removed” Durga stanzas for communal appeasement:
“It was a conscious decision that diminished the song’s essence.”
Abu Asim Azmi, Samajwadi Party MLA from Mumbai, became the controversy’s lightning rod after refusing to attend a public recital:
“Vande Mataram can’t be forced upon people — different faiths feel differently about it.”
Congress leaders, meanwhile, accused the BJP of politicizing cultural memory, noting that the 1937 decision was context-driven, not ideological. Party spokespersons pointed out that Nehru and Bose had jointly endorsed Vande Mataram as part of the freedom movement while respecting pluralism.
Most media coverage has framed this as another ideological clash between BJP and Congress. But the deeper story isn’t about who edited a song — it’s about how national symbols evolve with the anxieties of their time.
The 1937 decision, viewed through today’s lens, becomes a test of political intent:
Was it an act of unity-building or of exclusionary compromise? Modi’s framing reinterprets it as “the origin of appeasement,” while historians note it as a strategic accommodation within a multi-religious freedom struggle.
The real contest, then, is over who owns national emotion — the State or the citizen? When symbolic heritage becomes a partisan tool, even a song about the motherland can divide her children.
The anniversary’s fallout has extended well beyond symbolic politics.
Even as Vande Mataram is celebrated for uniting India’s freedom movement, its reinterpretation today risks creating a cultural binary between reverence and resistance — between those who sing it and those who choose silence.
At 150, Vande Mataram is both anthem and argument — a melody of freedom and a mirror to India’s unresolved pluralism.
The Prime Minister’s remark reopened an old archive, but the larger question remains:
When patriotism itself becomes politicized, can national songs still unite — or will they, too, become lines of division?
1. What triggered the new Vande Mataram controversy in November 2025?
The controversy reignited after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during the 150-year commemoration of Vande Mataram, alleged that Congress leaders in 1937 “removed significant stanzas” from the song to appease religious groups. His remarks led to political sparring and protests in Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
2. What exactly happened in 1937 regarding Vande Mataram?
In 1937, the Congress Working Committee decided that only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram would be sung publicly, as later verses contained invocations to Goddess Durga. The decision, discussed between Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose, aimed to maintain communal harmony in a diverse freedom movement.
3. Which parts of Vande Mataram were “removed” or restricted?
No part of the song was deleted from its text. The 1937 Congress resolution limited public recitations to the first two stanzas beginning with “Vande Mataram, sujalam suphalam...” and ending with “Tava shubha asisa maange...” The later stanzas—praising Durga—were kept out of formal events to respect religious sensitivities.
4. Is Vande Mataram the national anthem or national song?
Vande Mataram is India’s national song, while Jana Gana Mana is the national anthem. The national song holds equal cultural respect but does not carry the same legal compulsion as the anthem.
5. Is reciting Vande Mataram mandatory in India?
No, the Supreme Court has clarified that singing Vande Mataram cannot be made mandatory. Citizens are free to sing or not sing it, as per their conscience and faith. However, some state governments periodically encourage or mandate its recitation in educational or civic institutions.
Exclusive Content
Sign up for the Daily newsletter to get your biggest stories, handpicked for you each day.
Trending Now! in last 24hrs
