Versuchen GOLD - Frei

VANDE MATARAM: A MANTRA TO STIR THE NATION'S SOUL

The Morning Standard

|

November 10, 2025

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's poem should not be seen through narrow parochial or religious eyes. It harkens to a higher ideal of nationhood that's relevant even today

- MAKARAND R PARANJAPE

VANDE MATARAM: A MANTRA TO STIR THE NATION'S SOUL

Prime Minister Narendra Modi must be congratulated for making the 150th anniversary of 'Vande mataram', the song that stirred the soul of a fallen nation, into a State celebration. For what is a State any State which has no statement to make? Respect, even reverence, for one's motherland is the least, some would even say the utmost, Indian statement.

For Ma Bharati is not just a country, a political union, a nation, or even a state of mind. She is nothing short of a force of consciousness. In invoking her, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, unified and activated the dormant soul of a defeated people, so enwrapped in darkness that it needed nothing less than a new mantra, almost magical in its incantatory power, to agitate it into awakening.

If I sound so enthusiastic, even laudatory to the point of being reverential, it is because I have just re-read and inwardly recited Bankim's poem, India's national song. Yes, it was so affirmed by India's Constituent Assembly in 1950, the same body that gave us our Constitution. Let me confess that I have never sung or listened to 'Vande mataram' without being deeply moved, even to tears. And today is no exception.

WEITERE GESCHICHTEN VON The Morning Standard

The Morning Standard

HC may punish officers for contempt in Deepam issue

THE Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court said on Friday that it would frame contempt charges against the officers, who failed to implement its order directing lighting of lamp on ‘Deepathoon’ on Thiruparankundram hilltop last year, if they don’t properly show cause before February 2 as to why contempt proceedings not be initiated against them.

time to read

1 mins

January 10, 2026

The Morning Standard

The Morning Standard

Want to create a larger pool of South African players: Smith

FOUR washouts in 17 games, thanks to unseasonal rain.

time to read

2 mins

January 10, 2026

The Morning Standard

The Morning Standard

NEEDED: A FRESH POLICY FRAMEWORK TO ENGAGE THE U.S.

Trump 2.0 doesn’t have an India policy. But the relations are not guaranteed to improve when the administration changes. Time for a reset like the one a quarter century ago

time to read

4 mins

January 10, 2026

The Morning Standard

FIX GROK FLAWS, DON'T LET USERS DESTROY WOMEN’S DIGNITY

SOME recent posts on X involving Grok should concern anyone who believes technology should improve public life rather than degrade it.

time to read

1 mins

January 10, 2026

The Morning Standard

MIND ECOLOGICAL BALANCE WHILE RAISING TEAK OUTPUT

INDIA now needs to import an expensive product it once was the leading producer of.

time to read

1 mins

January 10, 2026

The Morning Standard

The Morning Standard

A Pho affair

TMS checks out Delhi's favourite Vietnamese spot Vietnom, where summer rolls, pomelo-papaya salad, comforting pho, lemongrass chicken, and grilled sea bass headline the revamped menu

time to read

2 mins

January 10, 2026

The Morning Standard

POSTER OUT FOR FILM O’ ROMEO

SHAHID Kapoor’s first look from Vishal Bhardwaj’s upcoming gangster film O’Romeo is out.

time to read

1 min

January 10, 2026

The Morning Standard

BYD sales rise to 5,402 units in ’25, Tesla sees cold response

AMONG the niche and EV-only brands in Indian car market, Chinese automaker BYD achieved sales of 5,402 units in CY25, a surge of 88% year-on-year compared to 2,689 units sold in CY24.

time to read

1 mins

January 10, 2026

The Morning Standard

The Morning Standard

Shah launches war on narco-terror, pushes for full eradication in 3 years

UNION Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday set a three-year deadline to put in place a comprehensive national mechanism to eradicate the drug menace, calling for a “collective campaign on all fronts” tomake India drug-free.

time to read

1 mins

January 10, 2026

The Morning Standard

The Morning Standard

IOA AGM: More incentives for NSFs

HOSTING international competitions, annual grants to National Sports Federations (NSFs) and launching a National Olympic Academy are some of the key takeaways from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Annual General Meeting held at Ahmedabad on Friday.

time to read

2 mins

January 10, 2026

Listen

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size