Modi Links 1937 Vande Mataram Cuts To Partition

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a veiled attack on the Congress, said on Friday that important stanzas of the national song Vande Mataram were dropped in 1937, sowing the seeds of partition. Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the year-long commemoration of 150 years of Vande Mataram, Modi said that the same “divisive mindset” continues to challenge the nation even today. Marking the occasion, the Prime Minister released a commemorative stamp and coin. “Vande Mataram became the voice of India’s freedom struggle. It expressed the feelings of every Indian.

Unfortunately, in 1937, important stanzas of the national song—a part of its soul—were separated. The division of Vande Mataram also sowed the seeds of partition. Today’s generation needs to know why this injustice was done with this ‘maha mantra’ of nation-building. This divisive mindset is still a challenge for the country,” he said. Referring to Operation Sindoor, Modi said that Vande Mataram is relevant in every era. “When the enemy dared to attack our security and honour through terrorism, the world saw that India knows how to transform into Durga,” he said. “Vande Mataram is a word, a mantra, an energy, a dream, a resolve. It is devotion to Mother India, the worship of Mother India. It connects us to our history and gives our future new courage. There is no resolve that cannot be achieved, no goal that we Indians cannot accomplish.

We have to build a nation that stands at the top on the strength of knowledge, science, and technology,” he said. The Prime Minister added that a few centuries ago, India accounted for nearly one-fourth of the global GDP. However, by the time Bankim Chandra Chatterjee composed Vande Mataram, India had drifted far from that golden era. “Foreign invasions, plunder and exploitative colonial policies had left the country suffering with poverty and hunger. Yet, Bankim Babu invoked the vision of a prosperous India, driven by his belief that no matter how great the challenges, India could revive its golden age. And thus, he gave the clarion call—Vande Mataram,” Modi said. The Prime Minister said that during the colonial era, the British sought to justify their rule by portraying India as inferior.