There is an uproar over the national song Vande Mataram. On one hand, Congress is adamant on singing only two verses of this song. Whereas BJP has linked it to appeasement and accused Congress of tearing the national anthem into pieces. The whole incident started when the entire Vande Mataram song was played during the flag hoisting at the Congress office on Independence Day. When Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia Gandhi objected to continuing singing this song even after two paragraphs.
BJP leaders called this incident an insult to the national anthem. The controversy deepened only after the video of Kharge and Sonia Gandhi indicating to stop the song went viral. BJP even said that Congress hates this song and has always been doing appeasement politics.
On this, Congress held a meeting and decided that Congress will sing only the first two paras of the song. The Congress meeting decided to stick with the party’s stand taken in 1937. According to this decision, Congress will not sing 6 verses of the national song Vande Mataram. Only its first two verses will be sung by Congress leaders and workers. Whereas, the Central Government has recently brought the Prevention of Insults to National Honor Amendment Act, 2026. Under this, now insulting the national song ‘Vande Mataram’ or obstructing its singing can lead to a jail term of up to 3 years, fine or both.
Amidst the uproar regarding Vande Mataram, this question is being raised again and again that why are there controversies regarding 2 and the entire 6 verses of this song? What is the problem in singing this entire song and what is its history? To understand this, we need to know who composed this song, when it was composed, under what circumstances and what was its purpose?
How was this song composed?
The song Vande Mataram was composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. He published this song in his novel ‘Anandmath’. When Anandmath was published in 1882, it became publicly and widely known. From here this song started getting associated with the spirit of nationalism. Because, in the context of Anandmath in which it has been used, the feeling of patriotism has been shown strongly.
The slogan derived from this song of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay – Vande Mataram, became a popular slogan of patriots and revolution for a long time. It started being used as a symbol of devotion towards the motherland. Gradually, the popularity of Vande Mataram troubled the British so much that they banned this song and slogan.
In the coming years, Muslims, including some members of the Congress and Muslim League, started opposing it. The reason for the protest was the use of this slogan in Bankim Chandra’s fictional novel ‘Anand Math’. In this, Hindu monks are shown rebelling against the Muslim rulers of Bengal. That’s why this song and slogan have been used.
Why were only 2 verses adopted?
Despite opposition, when the country got independence. Then some parts of this song were saved giving importance as the soul of the freedom struggle. The Congress led by Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajendra Prasad decided to make Vande Mataram the national song of India, but only its first two verses were adopted.
By now you must have understood how the song Vande Mataram became a symbol of protest against the British Raj and an important part of the Indian freedom struggle. Still the question remains that what was there in this song that Muslim leaders of Muslim League and Congress opposed it from the beginning. Why did Congress recognize only 2 verses instead of its 6 verses?
In fact, even before Anandmath, the song Vande Mataram was published in Bangadarshan magazine on 7 November 1875. At that time only the first two verses of Vande Mataram were published in this magazine. Then later Bankim Chandra expanded it to 6 verses and included it in Anand Math in 1882.
The protest was hidden in the roots of this song.
It was published in Bankim Chandra’s magazine Bangadarshan between 1880 and 1882. It was first sung as a chorus by Hem Chandra Bandyopadhyay at the Congress session of 1886. Then soon the whole country recognized its rhythm. Then in 1896, Rabindranath Tagore recited it at that year’s annual Congress session. There was no criticism of this poem then. All its six verses were songs of revolution.
The revolutionaries of Bengal’s freedom movement made Vande Mataram their war cry against colonial rule. This entire poem had become the heartbeat of the rebellion till the Swadeshi movement of 1905. The British banned it in some areas of Bengal. But the public sang it even louder.
This is the reason for dissatisfaction with the song among Muslims
Gradually the popularity and expansion of this poem also gave rise to controversies. In the later part of the first two verses of this poem, the image of the goddess of the motherland alienated the Muslims. Muslims were enraged when this song got a place in Bankim Chandra’s novel Anand Math. Because, in Anandmath, this song was used in the part where the rebellion of the monks against the Muslim landlords has been talked about. In this way the song became less nationalistic and more communal.
When Mohammad Ali Johar took over the presidency of the Congress in 1923, he walked out of the meeting immediately after Vande Mataram was sung. In the 1930s and 1940s, the Muslim League continued its opposition to the song. Congress had to face pressure from Muslim League and the matter reached its extreme. Before 1937, 6 verses of Vande Mataram were sung.
In 1937, Congress decided to limit Vande Mataram to only the first two verses. This decision was taken in response to the objections raised by Muslim leaders. Not only this, Rabindranath Tagore himself had supported this abbreviated version at the request of the Congress.
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