FROM REVOLUTION TO RESOLUTION: VANDE MATARAM IN TODAY'S BHARAT

The Government of Bharat, in a cabinet meeting and through a circular issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, has decided to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the national song Vande Mataram for one year, starting from November 7, 2025. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also reiterated this resolution in his Mann Ki Baat address in the month of October. Along with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, several other organizations in society are also celebrating the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram. This effort to spread the spirit of patriotism and cultural significance among the people is truly commendable.

- SHIVPRAKASH

On June 23, 1757, in the fields of Plassey in Bengal, a battle took place between Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah and Lord Clive, in which Bharat suffered defeat at the hands of the British. As a result of this defeat, the rest of the country also gradually came under British control, and we became enslaved. Describing our plight, the famous Russian philosopher Leo Tolstoy said, “A trading company enslaved a nation of 200 million people by bringing just 30,000 of them under its control.”

During the period of slavery, seeing the miserable condition of their motherland, a yearning for Bharat’s freedom began to stir in the hearts of the people. The call for independence began to echo among different sections of society. The followers of Goddess Kali and the saints belonging to the tradition of Guru Gorakhnath awakened the spirit of the Goddess of Freedom by proclaiming “Alakb Niranjan” from village to village.

In 1855, two brothers from the Santhal tribe, Sidhu and Kanhu, raised the slogan “We will reclaim our land, we will form our own government” along with ten thousand Santhals. The organized armed uprising of 1857 against the British also began during this period.

Amidst this atmosphere of awakened patriotism, on June 27, 1838, a great man was born — Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. Bankim Babu was.a man of sharp intellect andascholar of Devanagari, Bengali, and English. He was appointed as Deputy Collector in Jessore (now in Bangladesh). Witnessing the atrocities and oppression of the British, he resolved to awaken society through literature and went on to write numerous essays and novels, among which Shri Krishna Charitra, Durgesh Nandini, Raj Singb, and Chandrashekhar are especially renowned.

Through all his writings, he sought to expose the corruption and injustices of British rule before society.