Vande Mataram pitch: Unity lost in electoral optics
The Tribune Editorial: Vande Mataram is an emotive symbol and, therefore, a strategic one.
PRIME Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to open the Lok Sabha debate on Vande Mataram on its 150-year mark is significant. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s composition played a historic role in inspiring Bengal’s revolutionaries and galvanising the freedom struggle. Yet, the political context in which the government has chosen to spotlight it cannot be ignored, particularly with West Bengal heading into a high-stakes Assembly election. Modi’s speech celebrated Vande Mataram as a unifier, but it also carried familiar political undertones. By repeatedly invoking the Congress’s past positions and resurrecting historical controversies, the PM seemed intent on not only honouring a national song but also sharpening ideological divides. In West Bengal, the land where the song was born, cultural identity is interwoven with politics. Vande Mataram is an emotive symbol and, therefore, a strategic one.
