Modi To Launch Vande Mataram 150-Year Celebrations
The celebrations will include mass singing of the full version of Vande Mataram at 9.50 am across public spaces, with participation from citizens from all walks of life: Reports
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the year-long commemoration of the National Song Vande Mataram at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on Friday. He will also release a commemorative stamp and coin to mark the occasion.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said the event will formally launch a nationwide celebration, from November 7, 2025, to November 7, 2026, marking 150 years of Vande Mataram, the timeless composition that inspired India’s freedom movement and continues to evoke national pride and unity.
The celebrations will include mass singing of the full version of Vande Mataram at 9.50 am across public spaces, with participation from citizens from all walks of life.
The year marks the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, composed by Bankimchandra Chatterji on Akshaya Navami, November 7, 1875. It first appeared in the literary journal Bangadarshan as part of Chatterji’s novel Anandamath. “The song, invoking the Motherland as the embodiment of strength, prosperity, and divinity, gave poetic expression to India’s awakening spirit of unity and self-respect,” the PMO said.
On Saturday morning, the Prime Minister will visit his parliamentary constituency, Varanasi, and flag off four new Vande Bharat Express trains, on the Banaras-Khajuraho, Lucknow-Saharanpur, Firozpur-Delhi, and Ernakulam-Bengaluru routes.
The PMO said the new trains will reduce travel time, enhance regional connectivity, promote tourism, and support economic activity across the country. The Banaras-Khajuraho train will save about two hours and 40 minutes, connecting major religious and cultural destinations including Varanasi, Prayagraj, and Chitrakoot.
The Lucknow-Saharanpur service will cover the journey in seven hours and 45 minutes, benefiting passengers from Lucknow, Sitapur, Bareilly, and Moradabad, and improving access to Haridwar via Roorkee. The Firozpur-Delhi train will become the fastest on that route, completing the journey in six hours and 40 minutes, strengthening connectivity between Delhi and Punjab’s key cities such as Bathinda and Patiala.
In southern India, the Ernakulam-Bengaluru Vande Bharat will cut travel time by more than two hours, completing the journey in eight hours and 40 minutes while connecting major IT and commercial hubs across Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.
On Saturday evening, the Prime Minister will inaugurate the National Conference on “Strengthening Legal Aid Delivery Mechanisms” at the Supreme Court in New Delhi. He will also launch a community mediation training module prepared by the National Legal Services Authority (Nalsa).
The two-day conference, organised by Nalsa, will focus on key areas such as the Legal Aid Defense Counsel System, panel lawyers, para-legal volunteers, permanent Lok Adalats, and financial management of legal services institutions.
