Vande Mataram sullied by political duel

THE 150th anniversary of our national song, Vande Mataram, is a momentous occasion for the entire country. It’s an opportunity to honour this soul-stirring composition, which is a testament to national unity and has inspired several generations of freedom fighters as well as nation-builders. On such an occasion, political leaders should have risen above party lines and come together for the year-long celebrations. Unfortunately, an unsavoury verbal duel has erupted over this song, laying bare the distressing fault lines.

It’s lamentable that raking up the past has become par for the course in India, that is Bharat. Claiming that key verses of Vande Mataram were removed in 1937, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that the damage done to the song had sown the seeds of Partition. He was alluding to the Congress Working Committee’s resolution that adopted only the first two stanzas, dropping others that contained salutations to Goddess Durga. The Congress has countered his argument by saying that it was Rabindranath Tagore who suggested to Jawaharlal Nehru that these two stanzas be adopted. Adding fuel to the fire, Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi has said that no one can be forced to recite the song, while UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has urged people to be wary of a conspiracy to create “new Jinnahs”. These communal barbs are undermining the spirit of Vande Mataram, which had roused the nation to unitedly fight the colonial rulers.

Viksit Bharat will remain a distant dream as long as the political class remains preoccupied with the past and fails to focus on the future. The national song can serve as a guiding light to build a strong and prosperous India, provided that it is insulated from petty one-upmanship. This glowing tribute to our motherland belongs to every Indian, regardless of his or her political and religious loyalties. It must now act as a bulwark against the divisive forces which threaten to impede the nation’s progress.