On 7 November 2025, India quietly celebrated the 150th birth anniversary of a single verse that once shook the British Empire and still stirs every Indian heart: Vande Mataram. First published on 7 November 1875 in Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s Bengali novel Anandamath, the poem was not just literature – it was a battle cry that united millions across castes, languages and regions in the fight for independence. For every schoolchild who stands up to sing it, every soldier who salutes it, and every citizen who feels goosebumps at its opening notes, Vande Mataram is more than a song – it is the emotional heartbeat of a free nation.
The Exact Moment of Birth: 7 November 1875
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (1838–1894), a deputy magistrate in the British administration and one of Bengal’s greatest literary figures, wrote Anandamath between 1880 and 1882. However, the poem Vande Mataram appeared five years earlier in the November 1875 issue of the Bengali magazine Bangadarshan, which Bankim himself edited.
The full poem consists of four stanzas in pure Sanskritised Bengali. The first two stanzas – which were later adopted as India’s National Song – personify Bharat Mata as a divine mother goddess:
वन्दे मातरम्
सुजलां सुफलां मलयजशीतलाम्
शस्यशामलां मातरम् ॥
वन्दे मातरम्
(I bow to thee, Mother,
richly-watered, richly-fruited,
cooled by the southern breeze,
dark with crops – Mother!)
The remaining stanzas describe the Mother as a ten-armed Durga wielding weapons against invaders – a powerful metaphor for armed resistance against British rule.
From Pages to Protests: How Vande Mataram Became the Freedom Movement’s War Cry
- 1896: Rabindranath Tagore first sang Vande Mataram publicly at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress.
- 1905: During the Swadeshi Movement against the Partition of Bengal, the song became the unofficial anthem. Thousands courted arrest shouting “Vande Mataram” in streets and courts.
- 1906: The Congress formally adopted the first two stanzas as the National Song.
- 1907: The British banned the utterance of “Vande Mataram” in public – a ban that only made it more popular.
- 1908–1930s: From Punjab to Madras, revolutionaries like Khudiram Bose, Bhagat Singh and Subhas Chandra Bose used it as a rallying cry. Bose named his women’s regiment in the Indian National Army “Rani of Jhansi Regiment” and its battle cry was “Chalo Delhi – Vande Mataram!”
Even Mahatma Gandhi, despite his reservations about the song’s militaristic later verses, acknowledged its emotional power. In 1937 he wrote: “It is unquestionably a most powerful and the purest national song we possess.”
Official Status: National Song of India
On 24 January 1950, just three days before India became a republic, the Constituent Assembly formally adopted the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram as India’s National Song, giving it equal status with Jana Gana Mana (the National Anthem). The decision was unanimous.
Key constitutional points:
- Only the first two stanzas are the official National Song.
- It must be rendered in the original Bengali or its exact Hindi translation.
- It enjoys the same respect as the National Anthem when played on official occasions.
Musical Journey: From Tagore to A.R. Rahman
- 1896: Rabindranath Tagore set it to Raga Desh and Bhairavi.
- 1905: Jadunath Bhattacharya composed the current popular tune in Raga Kafi.
- 1950: Pandit Ravi Shankar orchestrated the version played on All India Radio.
- 1997: A.R. Rahman’s Maa Tujhe Salaam version on the 50th anniversary of independence introduced it to a new generation.
- 2022: The official 150th anniversary version was released by the Ministry of Culture, sung by 150 artists from across India.
Why the First Two Stanzas Only?
The later stanzas contain references to the Mother as a ten-armed goddess destroying enemies – imagery drawn from the 18th-century Sannyasi Rebellion against the East India Company. To avoid religious sensitivities in a secular republic, Dr. Rajendra Prasad (President of the Constituent Assembly) clarified on 24 January 1950 that only the first two purely geographical and secular stanzas would have national status.
Vande Mataram in Modern India
- Every 7 November is now observed as National Vande Mataram Day (declared by the Ministry of Culture in 2024).
- It is mandatory in many states (Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat) to be sung in schools every morning alongside the National Anthem.
- The Supreme Court in 2017 ruled that cinema halls may play it before films (later made optional).
- The Indian Navy’s motto remains “Sham No Varunah” – but its war cry is still “Vande Mataram”.
- The song is inscribed on the walls of Parliament and appears on Indian postage stamps issued in 1975, 2005, and 2025.
150 Years On: A Timeless Voice
From the dusty lanes of 19th-century Bengal to the smartphones of 21st-century India, Vande Mataram has survived bans, debates, and time itself. It was never just a poem – it was the first time millions of Indians across languages imagined the land as a mother worth dying for.
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during the 150th anniversary event on 7 November 2025 at Kolkata’s Victoria Memorial:
“Vande Mataram is not just a song – it is the soul of India’s freedom struggle and the spirit of India’s unity.”
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Last Updated on: Thursday, November 20, 2025 3:34 pm by Sakethyadav | Published by: Sakethyadav on Thursday, November 20, 2025, 3:34 pm | News Categories: Latest News India: Breaking News & Top Headlines | News Trail
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