Daily News Analysis ‘Vande Mataram’ : 15 May

Why in News:

• The rendering of the full version of Vande Mataram at the oath-taking ceremony of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has reignited debates regarding its communal undertones versus its status as a national song.

Key Facts: Vande Mataram

• Composition: Written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (Chatterji) in the 1870s (published in the 1882 novel Anandamath).
• Language: Written in a mix of Sanskrit and Bengali.
• First Political Performance: Sung for the first time in a political context by Rabindranath Tagore at the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress (INC).
• Status: It is the National Song of India. On January 24, 1950, Dr. Rajendra Prasad stated that it has an “equal status” with the National Anthem (Jana Gana Mana).
• Constituent Assembly Decision: While Jana Gana Mana was chosen as the National Anthem due to its perceived secular nature, Vande Mataram was honored for its historic role in the freedom struggle.
• Congress Sub-committee Resolution (1937): To address communal sensitivities, the INC decided to sing only the first two stanzas (which describe the beauty of the motherland) and exclude the latter verses that invoke religious deities.
• Anandamath (Novel): The source text is set against the backdrop of the Sannyasi Rebellion (18th century) and reflects Hindu nationalist sentiments of that era.

Comparison: Vande Mataram vs. Tamil Thai Vaazhthu