Nehru compromised on Vande Mataram to appease Muslim League: Modi in Parl

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the Congress under Jawaharlal Nehru’s presidency betrayed Vande Mataram, compromising its spirit under the Muslim League's pressure and “the party’s same appeasement policy later had it accept India’s Partition too”.

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Opening the special discussion on “the 150th anniversary of the national song” in the Lok Sabha, the Prime Minister spoke of Mahatma Gandhi's high deference to Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s composition and of Nehru disregarding that to associate with Muslim League leader MA Jinnah's opposition to Vande Mataram.

Quoting Gandhi's high praise for the song, Modi asked why Vande Mataram was betrayed. The PM's reference was to the October 29, 1937, Congress Working Committee resolution adopting the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram as the national song and dropping the rest that featured references to Hindu deities.

Writing in Indian Opinion, a South Africa-based weekly, Gandhi on December 2, 1905, said, “Vande Mataram composed by Bankim Chandra has become extremely popular in Bengal. During the swadeshi revolution, Bengal witnessed mass rallies with lakhs congregating and singing Bankim’s song. The song has become so popular, it has become our national anthem. Its sentiments are lofty and it is sweeter than the songs of other nations, its sole objective being to inspire us to win freedom. The song sees India as a mother and inspires us to worship it.”