India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has consistently relied on identity-based issues to polarise society and derive electoral advantage. From the Ram Janmabhoomi–Babri Masjid dispute to campaigns around cow protection, so-called “love jihad”, and other manufactured “jihads”, such themes have served as key political tools. Adding to this repertoire, the issue of the national song Vande Mataram has recently been brought to the fore.

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram (7 November 2025), written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee—a deputy collector under the British administration—the ruling dispensation revived a settled controversy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged that the Congress, under Jawaharlal Nehru, had truncated the song under pressure from the Muslim League (ML), and that such “appeasement” ultimately contributed to the Partition of India.

Other voices from the Hindutva right-wing echoed this claim. In doing so, the issue was elevated to centre stage despite lacking substantive relevance. It also became another attempt to discredit Nehru, a recurring theme in contemporary right-wing politics, where he is routinely blamed for perceived failures of the present government.

Origins and Content 

Vande Mataram was composed in the 1870s and initially remained unpublished. It was later expanded with additional stanzas and incorporated into Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s novel Anand Math. The novel is loosely based on the Sanyasi (Hindu ascetic) and Fakir (Muslim ascetic) rebellion. However, the Fakir component is marginalised, and the narrative is presented largely as a Sanyasi uprising against Muslim rulers. The novel envisages mosques being replaced by temples and concludes with the overthrow of an oppressive Muslim king and the restoration of British rule.

Ironically, despite this context, Vande Mataram evolved into a powerful anti-colonial slogan. It became a rallying cry in several movements against British rule. During the 1905 Partition of Bengal on religious lines, mass protests prominently featured Vande Mataram alongside Aamar Sonar Bangla. Over time, the song gained nationwide popularity and began to be sung in state assemblies and schools, most of which were under Congress rule. The Muslim League governed only three provinces during this period.

Debate Within National Movement

Muhammad Ali Jinnah, by then a communal leader of the Muslim League, objected to the song on the grounds that it was Hindu-centric and contained idolatrous imagery. It is worth noting that opposition to idolatry is not unique to Islam; it is also present in reformist Hindu traditions such as the Arya Samaj.

This objection prompted a correspondence between Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose. Nehru sought the opinion of Rabindranath Tagore, the pre-eminent literary figure of the time. Tagore observed that the first two stanzas, which celebrate the motherland, were universally acceptable, while the remaining stanzas were steeped in Hindu religious imagery and could therefore be omitted.

The issue was deliberated in detail by the Congress Working Committee (CWC), which resolved:

“These two stanzas are in no sense objectionable even from the standpoint of those who have raised objections, and they contain the essence of the song. The Committee recommended that wherever the ‘Vande Mataram’ song is sung at national gatherings, only these two stanzas should be sung, and the version and music prepared by Rabindranath Tagore should be followed. The Committee trusted that this decision will remove all causes of complaint and will have the willing acceptance of all communities in the country.”

Constituent Assembly And National Consensus

The Constituent Assembly’s Anthem Committee, which included leaders such as Vallabhbhai Patel and K.M. Munshi, considered three compositions: Sare Jahan Se Achha by Muhammad Iqbal, Vande Mataram by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, and Jana Gana Mana by Rabindranath Tagore. Sare Jahan Se Achha was ruled out, as Iqbal had by then emerged as a strong proponent of Pakistan.

The Assembly adopted the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram as the national song, while Jana Gana Mana was designated the national anthem. Both were accorded equal respect and status. The matter was settled through broad-based consensus, reflecting the plural ethos of the freedom movement and the aspirations of a newly independent India.

Why Revive Settled Issue?

Given that the issue was conclusively resolved decades ago, its revival raises pertinent questions. Why allocate significant political attention to a matter long settled by consensus? At a time when the country grapples with widespread deprivation—poverty, unemployment, pollution, and declining standards of public health and education—the resurrection of this controversy suggests a deeper communal agenda.

When Jinnah raised the issue in the 1930s, Nehru had unequivocally described it as the handiwork of communal forces. A similar pattern appears to be unfolding today. The same ideological stream that has historically challenged constitutional values, pluralism, and the inclusive ethos of Indian nationalism is now attempting to reopen old wounds.

Notably, the groups currently demanding the singing of the full version of Vande Mataram did not historically adopt the song. It was primarily sung at Indian National Congress gatherings and by those actively engaged in the anti-colonial struggle. Organisations such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which remained aloof from the freedom movement and implicitly aided British “divide and rule” strategies, neither sang the song nor raised its slogan. Instead, they adhered to their own anthem—Namaste Sada Vatsale Maatrabhume—and rejected the national tricolour for a long period.

The Indian freedom struggle was inherently multi-religious, multilingual, and multi-ethnic, with women and men participating across communities to forge a united nation. While the Muslim League demanded Pakistan in Muslim-majority areas, the Hindu Mahasabha and RSS pursued the idea of a Hindu nation. The Constituent Assembly, however, embodied the collective will of an inclusive India and resolved symbolic questions such as Vande Mataram and Jana Gana Mana through dialogue and compromise.

Insisting today on the full rendition of Vande Mataram risks alienating non-Hindu communities, particularly in schools and public institutions. For groups already experiencing anxiety, marginalisation, and identity-based humiliation, such impositions may deepen fear and social distrust rather than foster unity.

(The author is a former professor at IIT Bombay and Chairman of the Centre for the Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai. Views expressed are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of South Asia Monitor.)