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Opinion
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| 150 Years of Vande Mataram | | | | 150 Years of Vande Mataram is a national commemorative initiative to celebrate the spirit of Vande Mataram and its unique role in the history of India. Vande Mataram is not just a song—it is the collective consciousness of India and was the rallying cry of freedom fighters during the struggle for independence.
On 1st October, the Cabinet approved country-wide celebrations for the 150th anniversary of 'Vande Mataram' to foster an impactful movement to connect citizens, especially our youth and students, with the song's original, revolutionary spirit. The celebrations will honour this timeless message and ensure its legacy is fully celebrated and embedded in the hearts of the next generation.
The first translation of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel Anandamath, including the poem "Vande Mataram", into English was by Nares Chandra Sen-Gupta, with the fifth edition published in 1906 titled "The Abbey of Bliss".
Here is the translation in prose of the above two stanzas rendered by Sri Aurobindo Ghosh. This has also been adopted by the Government of India's national portal. The original "Vande Mataram" consists of six stanzas and the translation in prose for the complete poem by Shri Aurobindo appeared in Karmayogin, 20 November 1909
Vande Mataram" has inspired many Indian poets and has been translated into numerous Indian languages, such as Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Odia, Malayalam, Assamese, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Urdu, and others.
The root of the Sanskrit word Vande is Vand, which appears in the Rigveda and other Vedic texts. According to Monier Monier-Williams, depending on the context, vand means to praise, celebrate, laud, extol, to show honour, do homage, salute respectfully, or to venerate, worship, adore, or to offer anything respectfully to. The word Mātaram has Indo-European roots in mātár- (Sanskrit), méter (Greek), and māter (Latin), meaning 'mother'
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was one of the earliest graduates of the newly established Kolkata Calcutta University. After completing his Bachelor of Arts, he joined the colonial government as a civil servant, becoming a Deputy Collector and later a Deputy Magistrate. Chattopadhyay was very interested in recent events in Indian and Bengali history, particularly the Revolt of 1857 and the previous century's Sanyasi Rebellion. Around the same time, the administration was trying to promote "God Save the King" as the anthem for Indian subjects, which Indian nationalists disliked. It is generally believed that the concept of "Vande Mataram" came to Chatterjee when he was still a government official, around 1876. He wrote "Vande Mataram" at Chinsura (Chuchura), in a white colour house of Adhya Family near Hooghly river (near Jora Ghat) in West Bengal.
Chattopadhyay wrote the poem in a spontaneous session using words from Sanskrit and Bengali. The poem was published in Chattopadhyay's book Anandamath in 1882, which is set in the events of the Sannyasi Rebellion.adunath Bhattacharya was asked to set a tune for this poem just after it was written.
Despite the Constituent Assembly of India declaring "Vande Mataram" as the "National Song of India" with "equal honour" to the National Anthem of India, "Jana Gana Mana", an intermittent political and legal demands persist regarding the elevating the status of Vande Mataram to the national anthem. Advocates for elevating Vande Mataram to the status of national anthem often cite its pivotal role as the rallying cry of the Indian independence movement, arguing that its historical significance and revolutionary background surpass that of the current anthem. This demand has led to several PIL pleas in various courts, including the Delhi High Court, seeking a directive to grant it equal status to, or replace, "Jana Gana Mana"; however, such petitions have historically been dismissed, with courts noting that the decision is not a matter for judicial interference. But, these persistent demands continue to resurface.
Year 2025 marks completion of 150 years of publication of Vande Mataram, first published on 7 November 1875. The event is acknowledged by the Narendra Modi government as a celebration of a song. A parliamentary discussion has been scheduled in Lok Sabha on 8 December 2025 to mark this anniversary and to spotlight lesser known facets of the song’s history and legacy. The discussion is an attempt to redefine and reinforce national identity through the lens of the song, its legacy, and what it stands for today.
The poem has been set to a large number of tunes. The oldest surviving audio recordings date to 1907, and there have been more than a hundred different versions recorded throughout the 20th century. Many of these versions have employed traditional Indian classical ragas. Versions of the song have been visualised on celluloid in a number of films, including Leader, Amar Asha, and Anand Math. It is widely believed that the tune set for All India Radio station version was composed by Ravi Shankar.Hemant Kumar composed music for the song in the movie Anand Math in 1952. Many singers like Lata Mangeshkar, K.S.Chithra sung made it cult classic. In 2002, BBC World Service conducted an international poll to choose ten most famous songs of all time. Around 7000 songs were selected from all over the world. "Vande Mataram", from the movie Anand Math, was ranked second. All India Radio's version and some other versions are in Desh raga.
Vande Mataram!
Sujalam suphalam, malayaja shitalam,
Shasyashyamalam, Mataram!
Shubhrajyotsna pulakitayaminim,
Phullakusumita drumadala shobhinim,
Suhasinim, sumadhura bhashinim,
Sukhadam, varadam, Mataram!
Saptakotikantha kalakala ninada karale
Dvisaptakoti bhujair dhrita-khara karavale
Abala kena ma eta bale
Bahubala dharinim, namami tarinim,
Ripudalavarinim Mataram!
Tumi vidya, tumi dharma,
Tumi hridi, tumi marma,
Tvam hi pranah sharire!
Bahute tumi maa shakti,
Hridaye tumi ma bhakti,
Tomarayipratima gari mandire mandire!
Tvam hi Durga dashapraharana dharini,
Kamala, Kamaladalaviharini,
Vani, vidyadayini namami tvam,
Namami Kamalam, amalam, atulam,
Sujalam, suphalam, Mataram,
Vande Mataram!
Shyamalam, saralam, susmitham, bhushitam,
Dharanim, bharanim, Mataram! | | | | |
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