Govt., Opposition spar over Vande Mataram

Govt., Opposition spar over Vande Mataram

Nehru ‘betrayed’ song by echoing Muslim League leader Jinnah’s communal concerns, says Modi
Priyanka accuses govt. of using ‘strange’ debate to divert attention from unemployment, rising prices
Since Nehru is on your mind, let’s assign a time, debate the topic and close the chapter, she adds
The Centre and the Opposition on Monday sparred in the Lok Sabha over Vande Mataram, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi terming it the voice of the freedom movement that had been “fragmented” by the Congress in its “surrender before the Muslim League”.
Initiating the debate to mark 150 years of the National Song, Mr. Modi claimed that India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru “betrayed” the song by echoing Muslim League leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s communal concerns.
Leading the charge for the Opposition, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra questioned the need to have a debate on the song and accused the government of using it to divert attention from real issues such as unemployment and rising prices.
She said the debate was being held in the view of Assembly elections in West Bengal next year and to level fresh allegations against those who fought for the country’s freedom. She dared the ruling party to have a debate on Nehru and “close the chapter for once and all”.
Earlier, Mr. Modi said that every Indian breathing the air of freedom owed a debt to Vande Mataram for fostering the fight against colonial rule, but targeted the Congress for truncating the song.
“When the song turned 50, we were still under British rule and at its centenary, we were under the Emergency when certain forces were trying to finish Constitutional rule in India. On its 150th anniversary, it is time to acknowledge Vande Mataram’s role in our freedom struggle. Every Indian breathing the air of freedom owes a debt to Vande Mataram,” Mr. Modi said.
He said that the Congress had compromised on Vande Mataram and surrendered before the Muslim League.
He said Nehru wrote to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose that following Jinnah’s reservations about Vande Mataram in 1937, he had examined the background of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s Anand Math, the novel in which the song appeared, and said that it could irritate Muslims.
“There was a betrayal of Vande Mataram; the National Song was sabotaged. This fragmentation of the song by the Congress reflected the politics of appeasement and also led to its acceptance of the country’s Partition,” Mr. Modi said, referring to the current official version of the National Song as fragmentation.
“Vande Mataram was written at a time when British rulers were trying to impose ‘God Save the Queen’ on Indians,” Mr. Modi said, and added the song went beyond being a political mantra. “Vande Mataram is not just a mantra for political freedom; it was a sacred war cry to rid Bharatmata of the vestiges of colonialism,” he said.
Hitting back, Ms. Vadra criticised Mr. Modi for targeting Nehru and put up a strong defence of the country’s first Prime Minister.
“Since you keep talking about Nehru, let us do one thing — let us assign a time for a discussion, list out all the insults against him... debate it and close the chapter once and for all. After that, let us talk about today’s issues — price rise and unemployment,” she said. “The topic that we are discussing is part of the soul of the country. When we mention Vande Mataram, it reminds us of the history of our freedom struggle. This debate is strange; this song has found a place in people’s hearts; so what is the need for a debate?” Ms. Vadra asked.
Chronology of the song
She claimed that Bankim Chandra had written only the first two stanzas in 1875 and four stanzas were added to the original composition seven years later.
Refuting Mr. Modi, the Congress MP from Wayanad listed the “chronology” of the song and cited correspondence between Nehru and Bose, in which Bose urged Nehru to discuss the matter with Rabindranath Tagore.
She said the composition was first sung by Tagore in the 1896 session of the Congress and since then it had become the war cry for freedom fighters. However, controversy surrounded the song only in the 1930s with the rise in communal politics.
On October 28, 1937, she said the Congress Working Committee adopted the first two stanzas as the song in the presence of stalwarts like Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Nehru, Bose and Tagore. When the Constituent Assembly approved Vande Mataram, it was approved by everyone, including Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Jana Sangh founder Shyama Prasad Mookerjee.
“Questioning the form of Vande Mataram, which was accepted by the Constituent Assembly, is an insult to those great souls who took this decision with their great wisdom. It also reveals an anti-Constitution intention,” she said.