| English: I Bow to Thee, O Mother | |
|---|---|
| वन्दे मातरम् বন্দে মাতরম্ | |
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National song of India | |
| Lyrics | Bankim Chandra Chatterjee,Anandamath (1882) |
| Music | Jadunath Bhattacharya (original) Hemanta Mukherjee (film version) |
| Adopted | 24 January 1950; 76 years ago (1950-01-24) |
| Audio sample | |
Vande Mataram played on theMohan veena byVishwa Mohan Bhatt in 2017 | |
"Vande Mātaram"[a][b] is a poem that was adopted as the national song of theRepublic of India in 1950. It was written inSanskritised Bengali[1][2] byBankim Chandra Chatterjee in the 1870s,[3][4] and was first published in 1882 as part of Chatterjee'sBengali novelAnandmath.[5]
The poem is an ode to the motherland, it was officially adopted by the Indian National Congress in 1905 to serve as a pan-Indian, nationalist salutation toMother India during theIndian independence movement, culminating in its 1950 designation as the National Song of the Republic of India, sharing equal honour withIndia's National Anthem.[6]
The first two verses of the song make abstract reference to the "mother" and "motherland", without any religious connotation. However, later verses mentionHindu goddesses such asDurga.[7][8] The references to Hindu gods became a point of contention in 1937, after which theIndian National Congress, on suggestion ofMahatma Gandhi andRabindranath Tagore, adopted the two stanzas of the song. Unlike the national anthem, there are no rules or decorum to be observed when recitingVande Mataram.[9]
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was one of the earliest graduates of the newly establishedCalcutta University. After completing his Bachelor of Arts, he joined thecolonial government as a civil servant, becoming a Deputy Collector and later aDeputy Magistrate. Chattopadhyay was very interested in recent events in Indian and Bengali history, particularly theRevolt of 1857 and the previous century'sSanyasi Rebellion.[10] Around the same time, the administration was trying to promote "God Save the King" as the anthem for Indian subjects, which Indian nationalists disliked. It is generally believed that the concept of "Vande Mataram" came to Chatterjee when he was still a government official, around 1876.[11] He wrote "Vande Mataram" at Chinsura (Chuchura), in a white colour house of Adhya Family nearHooghly river (near Jora Ghat) inWest Bengal.
The novel Anandmath is noted for pro-British sentiments. In this novel, Chatterjee argues that the British rulers are the savior of India and Indians cannot overcome arrogance without the British rule.[12][13]
Chattopadhyay wrote the poem in a spontaneous session using words fromSanskrit andBengali. The poem was published in Chattopadhyay's bookAnandamath in 1882, which is set in the events of the Sannyasi Rebellion.[10][11]Jadunath Bhattacharya was asked to set a tune for this poem just after it was written.[11]
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"Vande Mataram" was one of the most popular songs of protest during theIndian independence movement. The colonial government in response banned the book and made the recital of the song in public a crime.[14] The colonial government imprisoned manyindependence activists for disobeying the order, but workers and general public repeatedly violated the ban many times by gathering together in the presence of colonial officials and singing it.[14] Rabindranath Tagore sang "Vande Mataram" in 1896 at theCalcutta Congress Session held at Beadon Square. Dakhina Charan Sen sang it five years later in 1901 at another session of the Congress atCalcutta. Poet Sarala Devi Chaudurani sang the song in theBenares Congress Session in 1905.Lala Lajpat Rai started a journal called "Vande Mataram" fromLahore.[11]Hiralal Sen made India's first political film in 1905 which ended with the chant.Matangini Hazra's last words as she was shot to death by theCrown police were "Vande Mataram".[15]
On 20 May 1906 inBarisal (nowBangladesh), more than ten thousand people ,Hindus andMuslims together marched withVande Mataram flags in a landmark nationalist procession.[17][18]
In 1907,Bhikaiji Cama (1861–1936) created the first version of India's national flag (theTiranga) inStuttgart, Germany, in 1907. It had "Vande Mataram" written on it in the middle band.[19]
A book titledKranti Geetanjali published by Arya Printing Press (Lahore) and Bharatiya Press (Dehradun) in 1929 contains the first two stanzas of the lyrics on page 11[20] asMatra Vandana, and a ghazal composed by Bismil was also given on its back, i.e. page 12.[21] The book written by the famousmartyr ofKakori PanditRam Prasad Bismil was proscribed by the colonial government.[citation needed]
Mahatama Gandhi supported adoption and the singing of the Vande Mataram song. In January 1946, in a speech given inGuwahati (Assam), he urged that "Jai Hind should not replace Vande-mataram". He reminded everyone present that Vande-mataram was being sung since the inception of the Congress. He supported the "Jai Hind" greeting, but remanded that this greeting should not be to the exclusion of Vande Mataram. Gandhi was concerned that those who discarded Vande Mataram given the tradition of sacrifice behind it, one day would discard "Jai Hind" also.[22][note 1]
Parts of the "Vande Mataram" was chosen as the national song in 1937 by theIndian National Congress as it pursued the independence of India from colonial rule, after a committee consisting ofMaulana Azad,Jawaharlal Nehru,Subhash Chandra Bose, Acharya Deva, andRabindranath Tagore recommended the adoption.[24] The entire song was not selected by Hindu leaders in order to respect the sentiments of non-Hindus, and the gathering agreed that anyone should be free to sing an alternate "unobjectionable song" at a national gathering if they do not want to sing Vande Mataram because they find it "objectionable" for a personal reason.[24] According to the gathered leaders, including the Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, through the first two stanzas began with an unexceptionable evocation of the beauty of the motherland, in later stanzas there are references to the Hindu goddessDurga. Tagore believed Vande Matram could not unite all communities.[25] TheAll-India Muslim League andMuhammad Ali Jinnah completely opposed the song in 1937.
In 1937, Indian National Congress PresidentSubhas Chandra Bose asked Tagore for his views on Vande Matram.[25][26] Tagore replied:
The core of Vande Mataram is a hymn to goddess Durga: this is so plain that there can be no debate about it. Of course Bankim Chandra does show Durga to be inseparably united with Bengal in the end, but no Mussulman can be expected patriotically to worship the ten-handed deity as 'Swadesh' [our native land]. . . . The novel Anandamath is a work of literature, and so the song is appropriate in it. But Parliament is a place of union for all religious groups, and there the song cannot be appropriate.
Thereafter, with the support ofMahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, the Indian National Congress decided to adopt only the first two stanzas as the national song to be sung at public gatherings, and other verses that included references to Durga andLakshmi were removed.[16][27]
Rajendra Prasad, who was presiding theConstituent Assembly on 24 January 1950, made the following statement which was also adopted as the final decision on the issue:
...The composition consisting of the words and music known as Jana Gana Mana is the National Anthem of India, subject to such alterations in the words as the Government may authorise as occasion arises; and the song Vande Mataram, which has played a historic part in the struggle for Indian freedom, shall be honoured equally with Jana Gana Mana and shall have equal status with it. (Applause). I hope this will satisfy the Members.
- —Constituent Assembly of India, Vol. XII, 24-1-1950[28]
While the poem is an ode to the motherland, and the text does not explicitly name the figure, the question of its intended subject is debated. Even though some argue that, the poem initially refers toMother Bengal[29][30][31][32] a view supported by Sri Aurobindo, who referred to it as the "National Anthem of Bengal,"[33] conversely, a more substantial number of bipartisan political parties, historians and national sources emphasize the poem's broader significance as a pan-Indian symbol: it was officially adopted by theIndian National Congress (INC) for all-India use in 1905 and again by the Congress Working Committee in 1937 when it was sung by theNobel laureateRabindranath Tagore to serve as a militant salutation toBharat Mata (Mother India), a concept integral to the pan-IndianIndian independence movement against the colonialBritish Raj.[6][34] Its status as a symbol of the larger national resistance culminated in the Constituent Assembly granting it official status as the National Song in 1950, to be honoured equally with the National Anthem.[35][36] Adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 24 January 1950, Vande Mataram is the national song of the Republic of India, sharing equal honour with the national anthem,Jana Gana Mana.[37] This status was initially affirmed by President Rajendra Prasad,[37] and reaffirmed by theMadras High Court in 2017,[38] and theBhartiya Janta Party-ruledGovernment of India in November 2022, despite the Constitution of India containing no explicit reference to a "national song".[39]
The poem played a vital role in theIndian independence movement. It first gained political significance when it was recited byRabindranath Tagore at Congress in 1896.[40][41][42] By 1905, it had become popular amongst political activists and freedom fighters as a marching song.[42] The first two verses of the poem were adopted as the National Song of India in October 1937 by theCongress.[16][43][44] The song, as well asAnandmath, were banned underBritish colonial rule under threat of imprisonment, making its use revolutionary. The ban was ultimately overturned by theIndian government uponindependence in 1947.[14][45]
On 24 January 1950, theConstituent Assembly of India adopted "Vande Mataram" as the national song of the Republic of India.President of IndiaRajendra Prasad stated that the song should be honoured equally with the national anthem of India, "Jana Gana Mana".[37]
In July 2017, the Madras High Court ruled that the "Vande Mataram" shall be sung or played at least once a week in all schools, universities and other educational institutions of Tamil Nadu. The Court also ruled that the song should be played or sung in government offices and industrial facilities at least once a month.[38] However, in November 2017, the Madras High Court backtracked and left the decision for the Tamil Nadu's government to make the decision.[46]
In November 2022, theGovernment filed anaffidavit at theDelhi High Court, stating that "Jana Gana Mana" and "Vande Mataram" would "stand on the same level" and should be accorded equal respect by citizens,[39] even though the Constitution of India does not make an explicit reference to a "national song".[47][48]
The first two verses of "Vande Mataram" adopted as the national song of India read as follows:
| Bengali script[49] | Romanisation of Bengali (ISO 15919) | Devanagari script | IAST transliteration[40][50] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
বন্দে মাতরম্৷ | Bandē mātaram | वन्दे मातरम्। | vande mātaram |
The complete original lyrics of the "Vande Mataram" are available atVande Mataram – viaWikisource.
| বন্দে মাতরম্ (Bengali original) | Sanskritised romanization (ISO 15919) | वन्दे मातरम् (Devanagari transliteration) |
|---|---|---|
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|
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The first translation ofBankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's novelAnandamath, including the poem "Vande Mataram", into English was byNares Chandra Sen-Gupta, with the fifth edition published in 1906 titled "The Abbey of Bliss".[51]
Here is the translation inprose of the above two stanzas rendered bySri Aurobindo Ghosh. This has also been adopted by the Government of India's national portal.[40] The original "Vande Mataram" consists of six stanzas and the translation inprose for the complete poem byShri Aurobindo appeared inKarmayogin, 20 November 1909.[52]
Mother,I praise thee!
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
Bright with thy orchard gleams,
Cool with the winds of delight,
Dark fields waving, Mother of might,
Mother free.
Glory of moonlight dreams,
Over thy branches and lordly streams,
Clad in thy blossoming trees,
Mother, giver of ease,
Laughing low and sweet,
Mother, I kiss thy feet,
Speaker sweet and low,
Mother, to thee I bow. [Verse 1]
Who hath said thou art weak in thy lands,
When the swords flash out in seventy million hands,
And seventy million voices roar
Thy dreadful name from shore to shore?
With many strengths who art mighty and strong,
To thee I call, Mother and Lord!
Thou who savest, arise and save!
To her I cry who ever her foemen drove
Back from plain and Sea
And shook herself free. [Verse 2]
Thou art wisdom, thou artlaw,
Thou art heart, our soul, our breath
Thou art love divine, the awe
In our hearts that conquers death.
Thine the strength that nerves the arm,
Thine the beauty, thine the charm.
Every image divine.
In our temples is but thine. [Verse 3]
Thou art GoddessDurga, Lady and Queen,
With her hands that strike and her swords of sheen,
Thou art Goddess Kamala (Lakshmi),lotus-throned,
And Goddess Vani (Saraswati), bestower of wisdom known
Pure and perfect without peer,
Mother lend thine ear,
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
Bright with thy orchard gleams,
Dark of hue O candid-fair [Verse 4]
In thy soul, with jewelled hair
And thy glorious smile divine,
Loveliest of all earthly lands,
Showering wealth from well-stored hands!
Mother, mother mine!
Mother sweet, I bow to thee,
Mother great and free! [Verse 5]
Apart from the aboveprose translation,Sri Aurobindo also translated "Vande Mataram" into averse form known as "Mother, I Praise Thee".[53]Sri Aurobindo commented on his English translation of the poem that "[it] is difficult to translate the National Song of India into verse in another language owing to its unique union of sweetness, simple directness and high poetic force."[54]
"Vande Mataram" has inspired many Indian poets and has been translated into numerous Indian languages, such as Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Odia, Malayalam, Assamese, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Urdu, and others.[55][note 2]
Arif Mohammad Khan translated "Vande Mataram" intoUrdu.[57] It can be read in Urdu (Devanagari script) as:
| Devanagari script | Nastaliq(original orthography) |
|---|---|
तस्लीमात, माँ तस्लीमात | تسلیمات، ماں تسلیمات |
Despite the Constituent Assembly of India declaring "Vande Mataram" as the "National Song of India" with "equal honour" to the National Anthem of India, "Jana Gana Mana", an intermittent political and legal demands persists regarding the elevating the status of Vande Mataram to the national anthem.[36] Advocates for elevating Vande Mataram to the status of national anthem often cite its pivotal role as the rallying cry of the Indian independence movement, arguing that its historical significance and revolutionary background surpass that of the current anthem.[6] This demand has led to severalPIL pleas in various courts, including theDelhi High Court, seeking a directive to grant it equal status to, or replace, "Jana Gana Mana"; however, such petitions have historically been dismissed, with courts noting that the decision is not a matter for judicial interference.[59] But, these persistent demands continue to resurface.[60]
Year 2025 marks completion of 150 years of publication of Vande Mataram, first published on 7 November 1875. The event is acknowledged by theNarendra Modi government as a celebration of the song.[6] A parliamentary discussion has been scheduled inLok Sabha on 8 December 2025 to mark this anniversary and to spotlight lesser known facets of the song’s history and legacy.[61] The discussion is as an attempt to redefine and reinforce national identity through the lens of the song, its legacy, and what it stands for today.[62][63]
The poem has been set to a large number of tunes. The oldest surviving audio recordings date to 1907, and there have been more than a hundred different versions recorded throughout the 20th century. Many of these versions have employed traditionalIndianclassicalragas. Versions of the song have been visualised on celluloid in a number of films, includingLeader,Amar Asha, andAnand Math. It is widely believed that the tune set forAll India Radio station version was composed byRavi Shankar.[11]Hemant Kumar composed music for the song in the movieAnand Math in 1952. Many singers likeLata Mangeshkar,K.S.Chithra sung made it cult classic.[64] In 2002,BBC World Service conducted an international poll to choose ten most famous songs of all time. Around 7000 songs were selected from all over the world. "Vande Mataram", from the movieAnand Math, was ranked second.[65] All India Radio's version and some other versions are inDeshraga.[66]
The first two verses of the song were adopted as the National Song of India in October 1937 by the Congress Working Committee prior to the end of colonial rule in August 1947.
The song Vande Mataram, which played a historic part in the struggle for Indian freedom, shall be honoured equally with the National Anthem of India, and shall have equal status with it.
Part of the poem, greatly regarded for its nationalist vision of India as a goddess, was set to music and became the foremost of Indian patriotic songs. It was unofficially adopted as the national song... when independent India became a republic in 1950.
Vocals
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Works ofBankim Chandra Chattopadhyay | ||
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