The national song was partitioned in 1937 to appease the Muslim League. Ten years later, the nation was partitioned
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated year-long celebrations commemorating 150 years of the stirring national song, ‘Vande Mataram’. He described the song as “an enduring symbol of devotion to the nation”. ‘Vande Mataram’ was the war cry of thousands of freedom fighters. It first appeared in 1875. As the Indian National Congress movement turned into a mass movement in the early 1900s, ‘Vande Mataram’ became the main slogan and inspiration for millions. “The partition (of Bengal) took effect on October 16, 1905… streets of Calcutta were full of the cries of ‘Bande Mataram’, which overnight became the national song of Bengal and which was soon to become the theme song of the national movement,” historian Bipan Chandra writes.
It was declared the national song on January 24, 1950. However, it also endured a tragic journey, from being an inspiration to becoming a victim of communal politics. The rise of the Muslim League in the early 1900s posed a serious challenge to the Congress leadership’s belief in “one nation — one people”. Gandhi sought to cajole the League leadership into supporting the unity of the nation, a tactic that many latter-day commentators thought naive. The more Gandhi and the Congress offered concessions, the harder the League’s position became. An early victim of this stridency was ‘Vande Mataram’. It had been a regular practice since 1905 to sing ‘Vande Mataram’ at all important Congress events. In December 1923, the annual Congress session was held in Kakinada. Gandhi was in Yerawada prison. Maulana Mohammad Ali, who was elected president of the session, was present along with senior leaders like Motilal Nehru, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Sarojini Naidu, Sardar Patel and Kasturba Gandhi.
As per convention, Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, a renowned Hindustani musician from Maharashtra, was there to sing ‘Vande Mataram’ at the inaugural. When Paluskar climbed the dais, Mohammad Ali raised an objection, saying it would hurt the sentiments of religious Muslims. Seeing the silence of the leaders, Paluskar took it upon himself to challenge Mohammad Ali. According to a biography of Paluskar,
“Digambar was incensed and hit back: ‘This is a national forum, not the platform of any single community. This is no mosque to object to music. There is no justification for a ban on music here. When the president could put up with the music in the presidential procession, why does he object to it here?’ Having silenced the president, without waiting for his reply, he proceeded to sing ‘Vande Mataram’ and completed it.”
To placate the League, Congress introduced Muhammad Iqbal’s ‘Saare Jahan se Acchha’ in its sessions. Yet, the opposition to ‘Vande Mataram’ continued. It became part of the so-called “Muslim grievances” against Congress. In July 1939, Gandhi wrote of ‘Vande Mataram’ in Harijan, “No matter what its source was, and how and when it was composed, it had become a most powerful battle cry among Hindus and Musalmans of Bengal during the Partition days. As a lad, when I knew nothing of ‘Anand Math’ or even Bankim, its immortal author, ‘Vande Mataram’ had gripped me… It never occurred to me that it was a Hindu song or meant only for Hindus. Unfortunately, now we have fallen on evil days.” In 1937, elections were held for the provincial councils. The Congress needed the League’s support to form governments in some of them. When the dialogue was initiated, Muhammad Ali Jinnah invoked the grievance about ‘Vande Mataram’. A “committee” was formed to review ‘Vande Mataram’. Rabindranath Tagore, Subhas Chandra Bose and Jawaharlal Nehru were its members. It recommended that only the first two stanzas be sung. Just a month before, in October 1937, the Congress had declared ‘Vande Mataram’ the national song.
The national song was partitioned in 1937 to appease the Muslim League. Ten years later, the nation was partitioned.
Source: Indian Express, 8/11/25
